I mentioned before that kids need to divert their attention away from gadgets. If they've been hooked on those gadgets for a long time, aside from gradually lessening their gadget time every week, they also need to be introduced to a good habit or a new hobby. One of the obviously healthy habits that you can introduce to them is reading. But what if they don't like reading? What if they use their gadgets for games and socialization?
Enter Board Games! Remember back in the day when there used to be those black outs during our youth? Naturally, we resort to playing all those street games like patintero, chinese garter, tumbang preso. But when our parents does not want us to get too sweaty or too pumped up before dinner and sleep time, they have us play games that does not require all the running and hiding and jumping.
And whether we like it or not, whether we accept this as a fact or not, kids nowadays are less agile, less mobile, at least compared to the kids from 30 years ago. Maybe not all, but most kids I know would prefer mobile phones and computer games over physical games. These board games has suddenly become bored games. But let me tell you, if you are a parent or an aunt or uncle, it is a must that you have at least 1 or 2 of these games at home.
Sungka
This is one of the oldest games I've known here in the Philippines. I think there's a mobile phone counterpart for this in the 90's - Bantumi (I guess) It's a long board with 16 bowl-like holes. 14 of which contains 7 shells each. The goal of the game is to fill you house which is that one large bowl at the side with shells. You can watch the rules of this game on youtube.
Sungka teaches honesty, integrity, and patience. I also used this to teach subitizing, skip counting, and tallying in Math.
Chess
This game is a bit more complex but even a 3-year-old can be introduced to this game. It can br used as memory work, a teaching tool for directions (forward, backward, diagonally) logic and reasoning, and more importantly strategizing.
Monopoly
This one was big among my circle of friends back in the day. We learned our haggling skills from this game. We also learned planning, strategizing, and money management because of this. We exoerienced firsthand how luck could indeed give you so much or take away a lot.
Boggle
This is one of my favoritr games back in the say. I like the sound of the letter blocks clashing against each other and the sides of the box. I love how one has to be extra creative for them to find the letter combinations. Most importantly, I love how you could throw off your opponents' game by making sure you find as many words as possible so as to cancel out their points should you find the same words and earn extra points should you find long words in the puzzle.
Uno
I have forgotten the rules of this game but thankfully, you can watch tutorials on youtube. See how internet is simply just becoming my slave as opposed to it enslaving me? This game is all fun and learning how to play the cards you are dealt. Literally. You may get all the good cards, +4, reverse, block, change color, etc, but if you don't know how to use them properly and strategically, it will be all for nothing.
scrabble
This is another vocabulary enhancing board game. I used this game to teach my kid how to look up words in a dictionary. Always have a dictionary handy when playing this game because your oponent might put a new word on the board, it is always good to learn the meaning of the words and try to use them in a sentence before moving on to the next player. This game not only enhances your vocabulary, it also strengthens the value of honesty and integrity.
These board games, however old school they may be, are the best teachers of important lessons in life. It is a training ground for children in understanding, comprehending, and following rules instructions. It teaches them to be honest, to play fair, and have integrity.
The best lesson in each of this games is accepting failure and seeing it as an opportunity to be better, not as a negative experience. In every game, there is a winner amd there will always be someone who will lose or have the lowest point. It trains kids gracefulness both in victory and in defeat.
