The Game Plan Game is an educational safety board game which enhances critical thinking. Because everyone needs a game plan!
November 21, 2018 – GPG is on Amazon! This game makes a perfect Christmas gift for kids, parents, daycare providers, healthcare providers, and teachers!
Educational safety board game that enhances critical thinking
Ages 4 & up – Fun and Easy Interactive Play
Encourages conversations with adults on critical issues & teaches safety information
November 10, 2018 – Tips and ideas for teaching your child to feel and express gratitude all year round!
As parents, we want our children to not only be able to feel thankful for what they have but to be able to express it also. We’ve seen and heard ungrateful children (often in the malls right after Christmas!) and we know ungrateful children often grow up to be ungrateful adults. These are people you make excuses to not be around for very long. Many adults who complain, who are constantly wanting something (or someone) more or better, who are self-absorbed and greedy were probably ungrateful children, children who never learned how to feel and express gratefulness for what they had. We do not want that for our children.
And the good news is as parents we are our child’s greatest influence. We set the example for how to act, how to speak, how to treat others, and how to believe. If we model thankfulness for what we have, regardless of the amount and regardless of how it compares to another’s blessing, our children are more likely to have that thankfulness as well.
Here are a few ways to encourage your child to recognize the blessings they have, to appreciate them instead of taking them for granted, and to be able to express that thankfulness.
For at the least the first ten or so years of their lives we are our children’s role models. We should take this responsibility seriously. We will, ultimately, have a hand in what type of adult our child will grow into. What are we modeling to our children right now? Do they see us unsatisfied or hear us complaining? Are they watching us express dissatisfaction with our home as we envy those with larger, prettier, more expensive homes? Do they hear us express what we wish we had more than they hear us express gratefulness for what we do have? If we have this “more, more” attitude then we’re probably wasting our time trying to teach thankfulness to our children. They will see right through us. If your own attitude is not one of appreciation and gratefulness then you have an assignment to complete before you take on trying to teach your child to feel appreciation and gratefulness: work on yourself first!
Children are selfish by nature. They aren’t born wanting to help others or to share what they have and far too many children grow up to be, yep, adults who are selfish and who do not want to help others. Not a pretty sight. We don’t want that for our kids. We want them to be better. It’s our job to instill this kind of generosity and thoughtfulness in our children. There are some easy, fun ways of doing this:
This not only teaches your child that there are children out there who have much less than they have but also gives your child the chance to feel and express gratitude for what they have.
Children are notoriously self-absorbed. Their own little world is, to them, the only world there is. Help them view their lives in a more global way. This helps them see how much more they may have in terms of homes, clothes, family, etc. than other children in poorer parts of the world. There are age-appropriate shows and DVDs on TV or that can be rented from your library that can show your child how children live in other parts of the world. There are also publications, such as National Geographic Kids, that show your child a much larger view of the world as well.
Talking about being thankful only one day a year is, well, kind of useless. Being thankful should be a daily endeavor. Make sure your family expresses appreciation and thanks to each other and others year round. Teach your child to always say “Thank you” and that being thankful is as important, if not more so, than just saying it.
This can be a weekly family activity where each family member writes down one or two or ten things they’re thankful for and why. This can be a list your child keeps that you talk about regularly. This can be writing and sending thank-yous after Christmas or birthdays or just whenever. What all these activities have in common is:
Letting your child help you cook dinner (or lunch or breakfast) teaches them the process of preparing and cooking the food and does it in a fun, memorable way. Even better, talk about where the food came from, how it was bought, what it does in the body. Afterward, have your child help you pack up leftover food to take to a shelter or soup kitchen. This will teach them not only the importance of being thankful for the food but also the importance of sharing what we have with less fortunate people.
We have a great responsibility to teach our kids the lessons they need in order to become good, generous, thankful, considerate people. The life skills they will need all through their life start with us, their parents. This blog focused on gratitude and generosity, helping others, but there are many other life skills we must teach our children:
The Game Plan Game is a fun, interactive way of teaching life skills. Research has shown material learned in an enjoyable, active way is retained more thoroughly and for longer periods of time. This game allows you to engage with your child, to play interactively and to teach and learn crucial life skills that they’ll need for the rest of their lives. We’re on Amazon – check us out and order yours today! Christmas is just around the corner!
Image Credit: http://www.imagenesmy.com
Order The Game Plan Game on Amazon now!
The Game Plan Game download is available now on Amazon! Come check it out and order yours today (remember – Christmas is just around the corner!)
October 12, 2018 – Kids just want to have fun – parents want to be sure they’re safe. Read our Halloween tips on Halloween safety!
Most kids love Halloween. Most parents are concerned about their child’s safety during Halloween. There are plenty of things to be concerned about, such as traffic/non-traffic accidents involving pedestrians, your child’s safety as they’re trick-or-treating, costume safety, and the safety of the candy your child receives.
The more serious facts regarding Halloween safety are that in 2016, 7,330 pedestrians were killed during Halloween in both traffic and non-traffic cases (non-traffic accidents occur in parking lots, driveways, etc.). Children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day of the year. In 2017, the month of October showed 3,700 child deaths, thus ranking it #2 in motor vehicle deaths by month. The only month with higher MVA/pedestrian deaths was July with 3,830 deaths.
So the dangers are certainly out there. What are some good ways we, as parents, can ensure our kids stay safe while having a good time?
Following is a list of costume safety tips:
Staying safe is of utmost importance as your child is canvassing the neighborhood. Here are a few trick-or-trick safety tips:
It’s a sad and frightening fact that there are people out there who want to hurt others, even children, by tampering with the candy or other food products they give out. The aftermath of Halloween is just as important, if not more so, than the costumes and trick-or-treating. This is largely because everyone’s guard is down at home. Safety takes a back seat to digging into the candy. Here are some candy/food safety tips to follow afterward:
Whether you’re driving with your child to trick-or-treat or just driving through neighborhoods where kids are trick-or-treating, it’s very important for you to be extra vigilant. Here are some safety tips for motorists:
Kids love the magic, creativity and fun of Halloween. Follow these safety tips to ensure that as your kids are having fun they’re staying safe too!
Image Credit: Westside Seattle
How to get your child off to a great new school year!
As parents, we are our child’s most influential role model. Our children look to us for how to handle situations, what to anticipate and what to dread, what rules to follow. This parental role cannot be overemphasized, especially when it comes to education. A new study shows parental involvement in their child’s education affects their child’s performance more than the school.
An eye-opening research study, the Coleman Report, conducted in 1966, analyzed how a student’s home environment affects their school performance and resulted in a surprising (at the time) conclusion: Family background strongly correlates with educational and economic success. The study was impressive, led by James S. Coleman, a Johns Hopkins University sociologist and encompassing over 3,000 schools, almost 600,000 students and thousands of teachers.
It’s clear that the way we, as parents, approach the new school year will greatly influence how our child approaches it well. Let’s look at some ways we can positively influence how our kids start their new school year.
We all learn differently. One person may learn through practice, another through watching, and another through reading or hearing new information. Discerning how your child learns is very important and will ensure greater success, and less frustration, in helping them learn, understand and retain new information.
What makes your child’s eyes light up? Does he like reading or being read to? Does she enjoy helping you with the garden or yard care? Does your child like music, cooking, crafts? Does your child enjoy being around groups of people or is your child more of a loner? Take notice of what revs your child up and integrate that into learning. A trip to the zoo, a walk through the park, a day trip to the museum or library, an afternoon of crafts – it’s so easy to use your child’s interests as a vehicle to bring new information and experiences to their day! And research has shown repeatedly that information learned in a fun way is retained much longer.
Research has shown that when teachers have good relationships with their students’ parents and have positive perceptions of parental involvement in their child’s education, their own levels of positive interaction with the child increase. In fact, according to Keith Herman, a professor at the University of Missouri College of Education and co-director of the Missouri Prevention Center, research findings illustrate the importance of parent-teacher connections and also stress the importance of training teachers in creating positive relationships with their students’ parents.
Helping your child in matters of school and education (actually, in ALL matters of life) doesn’t require expensive gadgets or toys or even specialized classes – all it really requires is simply talking to your child. Talking with your child, in a reciprocal manner that allows your child’s contribution and feedback, gives them practice in language usage and also helps them feel that their opinions and views matter. The content of the conversation, however, is important too. For example, if you talk with your child about numbers, counting, calculating, they’ll start out learning math with a stronger mathematical foundation than kids’ who do not participate in these conversations with their parents. Children whose parents engaged them in conversations about specific subjects have been shown to have an advantage in learning those subject areas.
Reading aloud to your child will expose her to literary vocabulary and ideas and can spur interest in reading generally. Susan Becker, M.Ed., suggests taking turns – you read one or two chapters and then your child reads one or two chapters. Allow your child to choose the book, book series are a great way to get your child involved in reading. Keep it on your child’s level and only read books your child is interested in.
Talk with them about current events and how they are related to what they’re studying in school. Ask them about a topic they’re learning about, find a current event or issue that relates to that topic, and discuss what the issue is, how to improve or fix an issue, and how they themselves can help or participate (such as donating to hurricane victims).
Most research has shown a direct correlation between the educational level of the parent and their child’s academic performance. Research also supports the theory that highly educated parents influence their child’s success later in life. As parents we can model the learning process for our child, illustrating the importance of learning and applying what we’ve learned to our lives and world.
A new school year has begun. We as parents are in a wonderful and challenging role – that of an educational role model to our children. Get involved and get your child off to an awesome new school year!
Image Credit: Pinterest
GPG Download is Now Available!
The Game Plan Game download is available now and the boxed games coming in August!! Come check it out!
GPG Unveiled!
It’s very important that children learn values early on so they’ll keep and practice them later in life! In our new blog post we look at six important values and how to teach them in a fun way.
As parents (and/or teachers) we know the importance of instilling values we ourselves treasure in our children early on. A child who learns how to be polite and kind at the age of 5 will more than likely not have a problem showing manners and kindness at the age of 15. What are some of these important values and how can children be taught these values in a way that sticks with them?
It’s much easier and more fun to play a game than to be talked to or instructed, and information learned during play is more likely to be retained. The theory of the cognitive benefits of playing has strong science to support it.
One study, conducted by psychologist Edward Fisher, analyzed 46 published studies of the cognitive benefits of play (Fisher 1999). The finding was that “sociodramatic play”—what happens when kids pretend together—“results in improved performances in both cognitive-linguistic and social-affective domains.”
In another study, Alison Gopnik and her colleagues (Walker and Gopnik 2013; Buchsbaum et al 2012) present the argument that counterfactual reasoning helps us plan and learn by permitting us to think through “what if” scenarios. Pretend play taps into the same skill set. Pretend play provides children with valuable opportunities to improve their reasoning about possible worlds. [1]
We all need to know and practice certain values as part of simply living on a planet with other people. Courtesy, honesty, kindness, ability to get along with others, being able to wait our turn – it’s true that all we needed to know for life we learned in kindergarten!
Let’s look at 6 important values and some suggestions on how to teach them to your child in a fun way.
Establish a chart listing acts of kindness each child in the home or classroom performs. Create a column next to each name, and give each child a packet of stickers, any type of stickers the children like. Each time you notice a child doing a good or kind deed, let them place a sticker in his/her column. At the end of each week, award a prize for every sticker that earned. [2]
Write down a short factual statement on a piece of paper, such as “Dogs like to play catch.” Then hand it to a child to rewrite the statement on another piece of paper, changing one word of the sentence. For example, the child could write, “Dog like to play golf.” Have the child then pass the note to the next child, who repeats the process. Once everyone has had a turn rewriting the sentence, recite the original sentence. Then, take the final written version and read that to them as well. Discuss how the two versions are different from each other. Compare this game to when we tell a lie, even small lies. True statements can change dramatically as words are changed, added, removed, etc. Discuss how big lies can be created and can result in hurting someone’s feelings and discuss the importance of always being truthful. [3]
Kids can’t develop strong values until they have enough empathy to gauge other people’s emotions. Empathy can be nurtured by helping your child learn to read nonverbal cues. This activity will help your child become aware of these nonverbal cues. Gather up some magazines and flip through them together, focusing on the people in the photos. Ask your child what they see in each person’s face and body language, what kind of mood does the person seem to be in? Have your child put these pages in a binder. Or you can help your child cut out the faces and paste them in a scrapbook. Later, look at the pictures again with your child, talking in depth about the emotions you identified. Point at a face and ask whether it’s okay to feel that way (explaining that the answer, of course, is yes, no matter what emotion is depicted). [4]
To help your child learn the benefits of perseverance, plant a garden. Since you don’t want to stretch your child’s patience or interest, go with things that are fairly quick and easy to grow, flowers or vegetables or both. Sunflowers are great because kids get a kick out of their height. To “double up” on values and sneak in some lessons on kindness, have your child take some flowers after they’ve bloomed to a neighbor, family member, nursing home, etc. If you plant vegetables, teach them the value of gardening as you cook and eat them together. (Bonus: A child is much more willing to eat her veggies if she’s planted and tended them herself.) [5]
This game is a variation of “Simon Says,” and it reinforces good manners. The object is teaching your child that they should do what is polite and should not do what is impolite. When you say, “Polite Polly says to say please and thank you,” the child should say back, “please and thank you,” if she thinks that is polite. Give points for each correct response. The opposite happens if you say something impolite, such as, “Polite Polly says to stick out your tongue.” If the child sticks out her tongue, she would not get a point, because that is impolite. If she does not stick out her tongue, she would get a point. After five points, the child gets a prize. [6]
Of course, one of the best ways to teach values to your children is to lead by example. If you want your child to grow up to be respectful, compassionate and honest, you need to strive for these qualities within yourself. Your lessons can quickly be forgotten if your children watch you contradict what you try to teach.
If teaching your child life lessons through play is something you are interested in, The Game Plan Game is a board game that addresses all of the values above and more. Teaching values and life skills through interactive, lively play is both easy and fun with this game. Challenging your child to be engaged, physically and mentally, The Game Plan Game creates valuable teaching moments for the parent/teacher and for the child!
Games With Morals for Kids and Youth Groups
100 Kids Activities to Build Character
Teaching Your Child the Value of Teamwork
Teaching Kids Good Values and Morals, Managing Lying, Stealing and Cheating
Teaching Moral Values in Schools
*The Game Plan Game is an interactive board game that helps parents/teachers teach children important lessons about safety and social expectations.
What child do you know of would turn down having fun? Read on about the value of playing!
Play gives children a chance to practice what they’re learning.
– Fred Rogers
We all like to have fun and obviously, this has its roots in early childhood. What child do you know of would turn down having fun? Children love all types of games, make-believe, role-playing, etc. As parents/educators, we want our kids to be happy and to have fun, but we also are well aware of the crucial life lessons children need to learn in order to stay safe and happy as well. So why not combine the two – learning and playing? Children can be taught through lectures or discussions or they can learn while playing a game, laughing, interacting, moving around, and having fun at the same time. Now, which would YOU prefer?
“Learning through play” is an actual term used in education to describe one of the ways children can learn to navigate their world. [1] Through play children can develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain the self-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments. [2]
Play is essential to a child’s intellectual, social, physical and emotional development. In fact, it’s theorized that healthy play in a person’s childhood can have an impact on that person’s predisposition to violence later in life.
Different Types of Play
Experts have divided the types of play into the following categories:
● Active Play
● Quiet Play
● Cooperative (Social) Play
● Solitary Play
● Manipulative Play
● Creative Play
● Dramatic Play
In this blog post, we’ll look at the link between learning and playing games so, although many of these types of play overlap, we’ll concentrate mainly on the cooperative and creative types of play. [3]
Neil Fleming, a New Zealand teacher and researcher, creator of the VARK model (Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic), presents four different types of learning. As with the different types of play, these different types of learning can overlap. [4]
Learning that takes place through playing can include all of the above learning styles.
Meaningful play has the following characteristics: [5]
● Give a child a choice about what he or she wants to do
● Feels fun and enjoyable for the child
● Evolves spontaneously rather than giving kids a script to follow
● Is driven by intrinsic motivation about what the child wants to do
● Creates a risk-free environment where kids can experiment and try new ideas
Children mostly learn through comparing physical experiences, interactions with others and their own feelings. [6]
Play pulls together the logical and the creative parts of the brain by allowing the child to ask questions, express themselves, collaborate with others and take creative risks. [7]
Games make learning fun, which in turn helps them to pay attention and stay focused. When the child is engaged, they are motivated. An engaged child won’t want to stop playing the game until the game is over; this is known as “intrinsic motivation” and it’s based on challenge, curiosity, control, and fantasy. [8]
Some of the benefits of learning through playing are: [9]
● Learning through the process of playing the game
● Provides a context for engaging practice
● Learning a variety of important skills such as critical thinking, creativity, teamwork
● Connection with the content of the game
● Form positive memories of learning
● Get student attention
● Active engagement
Active learning through play stimulates motivation, memory, and engagement. Teaching children essential life skills through games that are interactive opens communication channels, grabs and keeps the child’s attention, motivates and provides memories the child can call upon when in a situation(s) that require knowledge of personal safety, online safety, stranger danger, fairness, manners, etc. Learning these lessons through play and interaction gives children a game plan for navigating an often dangerous world safely.
*The Game Plan Game is an interactive board game that helps parents/teachers teach children important lessons about safety and social expectations.
All learning happens through play! EdPlay.org
The Game Plan Game 