Games for the Holidays
School holidays give us an opportunity to slow down and spend extended amounts of time together with family and friends. It’s a great time to enjoy a board game, which give us the opportunity to explore the real fundamental concepts of number. It also allows for exposure to combinations and exploration of number patterns.
Strategic thinking is employed, as sibling tries to beat sibling, and everyone works together to unseat mum from her crown as family Monopoly champion. Quick mental maths is used to determine how much rent your brother owes you, or whether the banker has given you the right change.
When children are engaged in meaningful situations, there is motivation to really understand what is happening, in the hopes that it will lead to your advantage, and a win! Through engagement, deeper understanding and reasoning occur.
Here are some of my families’ favourite games:
- Catan
- Uno
- Carcassonne
- Ticket to Ride
- Pandemic (and Pandemic Rapid Response)
- Mastermind
- Sequence
- Rummycub
- Tenzi
- Phase 10
- Monopoly
- Exit
We also have a selection of games that we take when we travel, often small puzzles that fit into a backpack and can be pulled out while we wait. Bananagrams is a restaurant dinner favourite.
Above all else, playing board games is about family time and enjoying coming together, though a little competition never hurt anyone.Â
Rachael Grieves | Head of Mathematics
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Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
