Fun, Educational Games
See, numbers CAN be fun.
Who said learning isn't fun? Yes, we're all guilty of thinking that at one time or another, but as the babysitter, you have the unique advantage of being respected AND cool. Part of taking advantage of that is to use your power for good and introduce games that also have educational benefits.
Whether you introduce any of these during the summer to keep kids' skills sharp or during the school year to make certain subjects seem more fun, it's a great way to pass the time on the job!
SPELLING PUZZLE
Write down several words on separate index cards, making sure to leave a little extra room between each letter (bonus points if you use the kids' actual spelling words!). Cut the index cards so that the letters are separated, and put the pieces into envelopes, one envelope per word. Give an envelope to the child and shout "GO!" to let him open the envelopes and attempt spelling the now-scrambled word. When you say "STOP," the round ends and if he correctly spelled the word, he gets a point. This game is great because you can have the child race against himself or race against a sibling, as you tailor the words to each child to level the playing field.
SIBLING SPELLING
For a less competitive game, try sibling spelling, where the kids actually work together. Write several different words on scraps of paper and put them in a basket (each child can have his own basket with age-appropriate words). Have one child take a word out of his sibling's basket and read it aloud. The sibling must spell the word, and then they reverse roles. If there is no sibling, you can play the role yourself.
DECODING SIGN LANGUAGE
If you have a computer and kids who want to learn sign language, this is a fun one! Following the link below, the computer will show you and the children a letter or number in sign language, and you'll all guess what number or letter is being represented. The best part about this game is that even if you don't know an ounce of sign language, you can still play -- the site has a little cheat sheet on each page! http://www.funbrain.com/signs/index.html
SECRET MATH DECODER
It's spy games meets secret decoders meets... math. On a sheet of paper, write each letter of the alphabet and pair them with a math problem. For example, S = 7+5. Then write a secret note of blank lines, hangman-style without the morbid hangman image. Let's use "Sittercity" as our sample note. Your note will look like __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __. Underneath the first blank, you'd write 12. The children will have to look back at the decoder paper to see which equation equals 12. When they figure "S," they'll plug it into the blank. You can make this as complicated or simple as needed, and they can play as a team or separately.
MATH BINGO
Using this link, make your own bingo card with numbers instead of letters. (You can keep shuffling the numbers to print out many different bingo boards.) On scraps of paper, write down equations whose answers will appear on the bingo cards. Stuff those scraps into a plastic sandwich bag, shake it up and call out the equations. Give the kids a minute to figure out the answer and locate the number on their card. The first person to get a column or row of numbers in a row, wins!
MATH CROSSWORD PUZZLES
Print off PDFs of math crossword puzzles from this awesome site. It's got addition crosswords, subtraction crosswords, multiplication crosswords and more. Of course, if you don't see any that would work for the kids you sit for, you can also look online for templates to make your own. (We like Discovery's Puzzle Maker, ourselves.)
REVERSE TEACHER
Have the child teach YOU. It's a great, effective way for kids to learn, even if you do end up feeling a little foolish for not remembering the term for a triangle with two equal angles. (Cough, cough, isosceles, cough.) The child can create his own crossword puzzle for you -- and give you helpful hints when you get stuck on 12-across.
