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When homeschool parents carefully pour over textbook websites and catalogs, they sometimes forget to supplement the book purchases with educational games. These games are always a welcome diversion to any homeschool day's routine, but, more importantly, educational games carry the added value of sparking the joy of learning within a child. A game's educational objections can make the lessons learned from a textbook come to life.

Few homeschoolers dispute the advantages of educational games. Take, for instance, the most well known board game of American youth Monopoly. Millions of youth have grown up playing Monopoly for decades. None would refute the value or the merits of Monopoly. Though never billed as an educational game, the game which required that players spend hours acquiring properties and utilities is a game that teaches the value of equity, calculating rent, and doing a myriad of math problems along the way to learn those lessons.

No matter which subject that a homeschooling parent needs to teach, the vast array of available educational games makes any "dull" subject fun and interactive. For instance, students ages ten and up can benefit with a rocket themed language arts game called
Language Launch Game (Wiebe, Carlson, and Associates) which helps solidify grammar skills, sentence structure, vocabulary and more.

Foreign language studies are especially enhanced with educational games. As with any attempt at foreign language, frequent usage is the key to learning to translate, speak, and comprehend different patterns of speech. Educational games with a foreign language focus take away the awkwardness of those first oral attempts of a new language. Games such as the Grammitica Fantastica Game reinforce Spanish sentence structure and basic word sounds. Great for ages seven and up, this game opens the door to learning Spanish with fun.

Some educational games are just basic flash cards while others are a game board format. But most parents will agree that educational computer games are the newest favorite for learning while laughing! From preschool to adult, educational software enhances the learning experience.

For children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or other learning obstacles, an educational game can hold the child's focus far longer than a textbook or consumable workbook. For homeschool sibling groups studying a common topic, an educational game is a format in which a family can study, learn, and enjoy together.

Given any educator's quest to seek new and innovative ways to capture a student's attention and spark a desire for learning, homeschooling parents would do well to stock their homes' shelves with several educational games. The value of these games will be defined not only in the child's enthusiasm to play, but also in the child's grasp of the related subject matter.

Learn more about this author, Jan Vroegin.
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