Games have set the stage for education for a very long time. Contemporary games provide invaluable opportunities for children to develop skills they still need today: visual discrimination, refined small motor movements, eye-hand coordination, spatial awareness. Most games can be turned into learning games with just one added ingredient: parents!
Game play makes "teaching" almost effortless. Simply name a characteristic as you play ("I'm moving to a blue square.") to turn any game organized by shape or color into a learning opportunity! Practice counting with hopscotch skips or add aloud with dice. It's hard to say who will enjoy those "Montessori moments" more--you or the children.
