Welcome to Day 3 of Multisensory Homeschooling for Children with Special Needs! If you missed yesterday’s post, you can find it here.
Today’s multisensory technique for homeschooling a child with special needs is the use of board and card games.
Day 3 – Board and Card Games
Since I began working with my struggling learner, I have realized how much learning happens just playing games, whether they’re board games, card games, or puzzles! My daughter understood the concept of addition and subtraction (finally!) after playing several games of Sorry! with us over a holiday break a couple of years ago. I was showing her how to count backward and forward on the number line to add and subtract, and she said, “It’s just like that game we played!”
Playing board and card games and working puzzles can help your child with special needs work on math concepts, memory, classifying, visual/perceptual and visual processing issues, listening comprehension, motor planning, fine motor skills, social skills, critical thinking skills, expressive language skills, and more.
If you’re feeling burned out in your homeschool, try adding some games to the mix. It might be just what you need to work on your academic goals and provide some much-needed fun!
Here are some of our favorite games:
- Sorry!
- Uno
- Stare! Junior
- Guess Who?
- Operation
- HedBanz
- Cranium Zooreka
- Kerplunk (We have the Toy Story 3 one, but there are different versions.)
- Twister
- CandyLand (My Princess loves the Disney Princess version!)
- Bop It! – There are a few different versions of this too. It was an accomplishment when my daughter got five in a row!
They’re not exactly games, but working puzzles is another great way to work on skills your child needs. My daughter was ecstatic when she was able to put together a 24-piece jigsaw puzzle by herself! We work on larger puzzles with smaller pieces together, and we enjoy the challenge. Try puzzles with your child too!
Does your family already have favorite games that aren’t on this list? Look at them through the eyes of an educator or therapist. I’m sure you’ll find value that goes well beyond family fun. Get the games out and start playing!
What games does your family enjoy? In which ones do you see additional support for your child with special needs?
Other posts in this series:
- Day 1 – Reference Cards
- Day 2 – Educational Apps and Software
- Day 4 – Therapy Apps
- Day 5 – Books and Programs
Related posts:
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This series is just one of many taking place this week with iHomeschool Network’s Hopscotch. Click the graphic below to see a complete list. There’s a wealth of information there!
Great idea! I just realized a few days ago we were in a homeschool rut.. and today we played word family bingo and made a cotton ball snowman.. Sammy could not wait to show my husband and I realized how fast he can read -at and -otwords! I think we will play another game tomorrow to help with some of our math problems!
thanks for another reminder to bust out those games!
You’re welcome, Lindsay! Board games really are a great way to break out of the routine. I forget to use them sometimes myself. Tomorrow is therapy day, but I’m thinking maybe Friday we need to play some at our house!
Thank you for this.. My son is special needs and he needs a multi-sensory approach. I have used some of the things that you have suggested… My son is very visual, so I have a big white board up, so we can work on things, if he hanging issues…
Thank You for this series…
I would love to share the books that I have read and used.. Be back on Friday
You’re welcome, Kelly. Thank you for reading and sharing your experiences. I can’t wait to see the books that work well for your son. It’s great that you have already discovered many of these techniques on your own. Good job, mama!
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I’m not home right now to look at our game shelf, but the game that pops into my mind right away is Uncle Wiggly! Has both counting (up to 100) and reading (cute little rhymes)!
Thank you for the recommendation, Betsy! I’ll have to check that one out too!
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