Using games in your homeschool is an ideal way to squeeze in extra learning opportunities while having fun with kids of all ages. Incorporating games for elementary age students can help bring history and science to life, teach important math concepts, and build reading fluency too.
We love playing games and learning from them as a family. Keep reading to discover some of our favorite third and fourth grade games for homeschool lessons.
Let’s talk more about all the amazing learning benefits games can have for your homeschoolers. Plus, I’ll share my must-have games for your homeschoolers this year and some easy tips for making games a daily part of your homeschooling journey.
Why Games Are Ideal For Learning
Playing games in your homeschool is a great way to teach all kinds of important concepts to your kids through play. Young children will learn important life skills like taking turns and good sportsmanship. Games also give kids opportunities to practice problem solving, strategy, and critical thinking.
You can use games to bring the subject to life or create fun new ways to practice basic math and reading skills. Games encourage reluctant homeschoolers to participate in a way that’s engaging and exciting for them. Plus, they provide a unique way to help kids retain the information they’re learning while having fun too.
We love games because they offer opportunities for our family to learn together and make memories. Plus, games give us a fun way to sneak in extra learning opportunities too.
Educational Games Perfect For Third And Fourth Graders
Preschoolers and kindergartners can learn important early skills from games like taking turns, counting spaces, and following instructions. But what about older elementary homeschoolers?
There are lots of awesome educational games you can use with your older elementary homeschoolers too. Third and fourth graders have mastered the basic concepts of reading, addition, and subtraction.
Now they’re focused on mastering multiplication and division. They’re learning to read lots of different kinds of texts fluently. They have surpassed games like Candy Land, teaching colors, taking turns, and counting spaces. Not to worry, there are still lots of awesome educational games perfect for this age group.
Gameschooling seeks to add hands-on opportunities for kids to practice and master all the new concepts they’re learning. There are tons of awesome educational games for third and fourth graders that do just that. Ready for my list of favorite third and fourth grade games?
My Top 5 Must-Have Games For Third and Fourth Grade Homeschooling
There are tons of amazing games for skill-building with your third and fourth grade homeschoolers this year! If you can add just a few of these educational games to your homeschool lessons this year, you’ll be adding all kinds of amazing benefits and fun for your kids.
So if you can only add a few, you’ll definitely want to check out these top 5 games for homeschoolers in the third and fourth grade:
Prime Climb
This game has become a family favorite at The Waldock Way! Prime Climb is a math board game that focuses on helping players practice multiplication, division, and prime number concepts. It’s perfect for third and fourth graders as well as older homeschoolers too.
Scrabble
This classic is perfect for third and fourth graders! In addition to helping with reading fluency, spelling, and building vocabulary, Scrabble helps kids practice important cognitive skills like concentration and strategy.
MadLibs the Game
Your kids will love MadLibs The Game! It’s sure to bring on giggles from the whole family as you engage in wordplay that helps teach vocabulary, grammar concepts, and reading comprehension skills.
Trekking the World or Trekking the Parks
These games are perfect for bringing history, science, and geography to life in your homeschool this year. If you’re planning to use my Traveling the World curriculum with your third and fourth graders, you’ll definitely want to add the Trekking the World game to your homeschool plans.
Will you be taking field trips to the National Parks? Check out Trekking the Parks. It works really well with my Traveling the Parks curriculum for homeschoolers.
Professor Noggin (in the topics you are studying)
The Professor Noggin trivia card games are an excellent way to bring hands-on gameschooling fun to your science and history lessons with third and fourth grade homeschoolers. There are tons of topics available in a wide variety of subjects! Choose the topics that match up with what you’re currently studying.
An Easy Way To Incorporate Games Into Your Homeschool Day
Sometimes we get into the habit of checking boxes and it can feel overwhelming to add “extras” to our homeschool day. I get it and I’m guilty of making that mistake too sometimes. I’d like to encourage you to find easy ways to incorporate games into your homeschool day this year.
There are lots of easy ways to make time for games and learning through play. In fact, making these activities a regular part of our homeschool day has enhanced our experience and created amazing learning opportunities I didn’t expect.
Strewing is one of our favorite homeschool activities because it allows me to add in extra activities and games in a way that’s fun and easy. Strewing focuses on providing opportunities for independent learning through exploration of carefully chosen items.
Single player games are ideal for strewing. Check out my favorite single player games for your third and fourth grade homeschoolers as well as games for younger homeschoolers too.
Want to try strewing in your homeschool this year? You can learn more about how to successfully use strewing in your homeschool with my FREE Strewing Guide.
Do you practice strewing or gameschooling in your homeschool? Share your favorite games and activities for homeschooling in the comment section. I can’t wait to read about your favorite games and try a few with my family this year too!
Special thanks to Jessica Waldock from The Waldock Way for sharing her favorites and for giving so many great ideas! She is a true gameschooler and a wonderful friend of My Little Poppies.
Jessica Waldock is a writer, photographer, and homeschool mom of one living in sunny Florida. She founded The Waldock Way as a way to give back to the homeschool community that she loves so much. At The Waldock Way Jessica shares tips, tricks, inspiration, and unique resources that help ignite a love of learning in children that will last a lifetime. She inspires families to engage in homeschooling as a lifestyle where relationships come first and interested led learning prevails. Jessica also has a fabulous collection of unit studies on her website and shares generously on her YouTube channel.
