Day to day games and activities keep the brain engaged and often your child will not even realize these small puzzles are helping build up their logical brain. Although standard revision methods such as practice papers and online lessons are as important as ever, adding in a 30-minute fun activity here and there will break up the afternoon and keep things stimulating for your child.
The Number Plate Game
Whilst out and about, use the last 3 letters from a car’s number plate to come up with the longest word you can think of. Whether you’re on a walk home from school or on a long car journey, this is a great way to pass the time and keep your child entertained. Small chunks of this game are a fun yet productive way to consistently work on vocabulary.
Flashcard Hide & Seek
Here is where a bit of DIY and creativity comes into play. Identify an area in which your child needs to work on and make some Q&A flashcards. This could be vocabulary lists or maths questions with definitions/answers on separate cards that need pairing up. Hide these cards around the room and challenge them to find the cards and pair them up with the correct answer.
Scrabble
Not only great fun for an evening spent as a family, but there are many more benefits posed to your child’s development. Obviously, the game is great for vocabulary, but the bonus squares on the board also require reasoning skills to work out how letters can be strategically placed to gain a higher score. Adding an English Dictionary into the equation can help them to learn some new vocabulary but use a time limit to keep things energizing!
Speed Maths
Bring out their competitive edge with a bit of friendly competition! If you have two or more children this is ideal, or alternatively, it makes a great game to play when their friends are over. Readout multiplication or division questions and see who can shout out the answer the quickest – why not get them to create their own buzzer sounds too! This is a great way to speed up their mental maths and release their competitive sides.