Today, I am sharing a ridiculously simple idea that will help you to play more, starting now. It’s called the Gameschool Jar Challenge. It costs nothing, and I guarantee it will inspire play in your home!
How to Play More with this Gameschool Jar Challenge
How to skyrocket your family’s gameschooling with this super-simple Gameschool Jar
I don’t know about you guys, but I have some rarely-played games in our game closet. And if we’re being 100% honest with each other, I also have a few games we have yet to play.
Why?
Well, sometimes instructions can be hard to decipher. And sometimes a game takes too long to set up or to clean up (or both!). Other times, we don’t have enough players. Or, we have too many players.
And- gasp!- sometimes a game gets lost in our closet and we forgot it even existed. (Struggle with this, too? Check out our FREE Gameschool Inventory to get your closet back on track.)
Well, I have a super-simple solution for you today. It costs nothing and I promise you, it works! Just ask my kiddos because we have used this strategy ourselves!
Why the Gameschool Jar Challenge works
This Gameschool Jar Challenge works because it’s super easy to implement and then you have a product that is sitting there, on your kitchen table, staring at you.
The kids cannot resist it.
(Not to mention the fact that I am an obliger and I can’t fail a challenge that I’ve said I’d do!)
How to start the Gameschool Jar Challenge
Ready? This is so easy, you guys! Here’s what you need…
Materials:
- Mason jar
- White paper
- Pen
- Scissors
- Gameschool Inventory (optional)
- Gameschool Log (optional)
1. Before you can use the Gameschool Jar, we suggest you fill out this Gameschool Inventory
This will help you figure out what to put in the jar. Plus, it will help you with budget gameschooling later!
2. Highlight all of the board games you never play
Maybe you have some games you’ve never played. Or, maybe you have games you haven’t played in a year. Highlight these games on your inventory.
3. Write the names of the rarely-played or never-played games on a piece of paper
Don’t feel like doing this? Assign it to your kiddos. Boom: copywork!
4. Now, cut the list into strips and add the strips to a jar.
Alternatively, you could write the names on popsicle sticks. That’s what we did this time because we had some rogue popsicle sticks in our playroom that needed a purpose.
5. Place the Gameschool Jar in a prominent location
Now, this is an important step. You must place the Gameschool Jar in a location where you will see it. You want it to stare you down and inspire the kiddos.
We currently have ours on our kitchen island. I was going to take a photo for you but I live in New Hampshire and it’s pitch black at 3 pm. Ha! I will try to take a photo and share it on Instagram later this week!
6. Play more!
We all know that play is good for our children and child development, but did you know that play is good for all of us? It’s true! I’ve created an entire landing page with TED Talks, videos, articles, sites, and other “play matters” resources. You can check it out here:
What about those games in the Gameschool Jar that no one wants to play when the names are selected?
We have done this challenge before and I can tell you that this will happen. Your child will pull a game and everyone will groan. Or you’ll decide that it will just take way too long to set up/clean-up/figure out.
If you keep popping that game back into the jar because you don’t want to play it, that’s telling you something!
If you don’t play it, purge it. You will thank yourself later, I promise.
Sometimes, we gameschoolers fall into a trap … and that trap is dangerous. Read more about the dangers of gameschooling and how to avoid them:
If you want to record your play and make it officially count at the end of the year, check out our Gameschool Log
Are you looking for more tips on how to make your gameschooling “count”?
Take your gameschooling to the next level with Lazy Unit Studies:
If you’ve been following our site for any length of time, you already know about Lazy Unit Studies. The beauty of Lazy Unit Studies is that they allow for you to embrace rabbit holes and surrender to delight-driven learning while helping your children grow into joyful, lifelong learners.
Lazy Unit Studies capitalize upon your child’s current area of interest, layering on opportunities for exploration and discovery until your child is ready to move on to her next learning adventure. By allowing your child to pursue her current passion, you are teaching her to be a joyful, curious, lifelong learner.
To read more about Lazy Unit Studies and how to make them work in your homeschool, here are some resources:
- Lazy Unit Study 101 {eBook with Printables}
- Lazy Unit Study 101: A Self-Paced Course for Homeschool Families
Now, it’s your turn. Tell me: Will you complete the Gameschool Jar Challenge? How do you encourage your family to play more? Share here!
Cait has created several courses for homeschool parents. Cait co-hosts The Homeschool Sisters Podcast and is co-founder of Kindred Collective. Cait is also founder of the Family Book Club at My Little Poppies, a fantastic community of book-loving parents and the Gameschool Community at My Little Poppies, a vibrant community of gameschoolers.
Cait is a contributing writer for Simple Homeschool. Her work has also appeared on The Huffington Post, The Mighty, Scary Mommy, GeekMom, and many others. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.
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