19 Educational Games to Add Fun to Your Homeschool Lessons

Even if you’ve managed to get into a nice schedule after the holidays, the winter months can seem to drag on, and sometimes winter doldrums set in. Kids are longing to go outside but the weather doesn’t allow. Why not overcome those winter blues by incorporating games into your homeschool routine? Games offer opportunities for hands-on learning, stimulate creativity, and foster critical thinking skills. Here are a few new games we’ve recently added to supplement the four core subjects that might make your homeschool lessons more engaging and memorable. 

1. If you’re looking for a creative way to help your child learn to tell time, the Time to Fly Game might be the perfect fit. Players compete to be the first one to get across the finish line. How do you do that? By telling time, of course! The game comes with a plane clock with movable hands. Every turn, draw a card and move the clock hands so it shows the time on the card. Pull down the tail fin to check if you’re right. If you are, you can move to the next spot on the gameboard that is the same color as the card! This game’s self-checking property means kiddos can play and learn with you or on their own. For 2-4 players ages 4 and up. 
2. Practice addition and subtraction together with the Simple Math Bingo Game. First, draw a colorful number tile illustrated with animals. If it answers a problem on your board, then you can put a tile on the correct spot. Be the first player to fill the board to win! Recommended for grades K-3.
3. The Real Big Catch Game is adorable, hands-on, colorful, and educational—everything you need in a game geared for littles! The object of the game is to score the biggest catch of fish, measured by lining up your fish on the ruler. However, you can’t tell how long each fish is until you lift it up and it expands to its full length! Includes 9 telescoping fish, a folding ruler (measures up to 39”), a purple fishing rod, and instructions. For 2-3 players ages 3 and up.
4. The Make a Pie! Game is a sweet way to learn fractions! Each turn, spin to discover what fraction of pie you can take. Fit the pieces together to create a whole pie, and if you build the most pies, you win! But watch out—if an opponent lands on “Take a piece”, a piece of your pie may be pilfered! Pies are divided into halves, thirds, fourths, eighths, and sixteenths. Instructions include a chart of equivalent fractions for reference. For 2-3 players.
5. Explore multiplication, division, and more with the interactive Area Model Tray with Base Ten Blocks from Hand2Mind! Featuring movable x- and y-axes and built-in factor tracks, this hands-on tool helps children visualize mathematical concepts using base ten blocks. The write-on/wipe-off surface provides a place where equations can be written out, and factor tracks can be filled with black units and rods to represent equations. Children will then work to solve the equations using the colorful Ones blocks, Tens rods, and Hundreds flats. This set includes 1 base ten area model tray, 4 hundreds flats, 20 tens rods, 100 ones units, a dry-erase marker, and an Activity Guide.  

1. Want to work on creative writing, communication, and self-expression? Skillmatics’ Storybook Art Kit helps kids create their own stories by providing 2 hardbound storybooks, colorful stickers, writing prompts, vocabulary lists, markers, and pencils. This kit will especially be helpful for kids who need a creative boost and have trouble coming up with topics and descriptive words. Recommended for 5-10 years old.  
2. Looking for an innovative way to bring poetry into your homeschool? The Magnetic Poetry Kits allow poetry to emerge as kids rearrange words and word parts. Kits come in several different themes including Bird Lover, Forest, Science, Happiness, Zen, and Healing Words. What a great activity for language building skills and fostering creativity! There are over 200 magnets in each kit, but you can collect more kits to expand word options and themes. Bring nature inside when you can’t get outside. For grades 3 and up.
3. Scrabble Slam is the best-selling, fast-paced, easy-to-play card game version of Scrabble. Start with any 4-letter word on the table, like “CAKE”, and yell out “Ready, Set, Slam!” Quickly change the existing word, 1 letter card at a time, to create a new word. For example, “CAKE” turns into “BAKE” turns into “BIKE” and so on. The first player to play out all their cards wins! Bonus "Double" Scrabble Slam game rules are included. For 2-4 players. 
4. Popped: The Reading Game offers hands-on, action-packed reading practice with multiple difficulty levels. Correlating to the Science of Reading and endorsed by reading experts, this game builds reading fluency using 250 vocabulary words, emphasizing short vowels and consonant blends. On your turn, draw a card and sound out the word using a 3-step process. First, say each letter sound (/b-a-d/). Then, blend the first consonants and vowels: /ba/. For step 3, read the full word: /bad/. When you read the word correctly, add the card to your personal pile. During your turn, you can take a chance and continue drawing cards. But be careful! A Popped! card will end your turn and you’ll have to return all your cards to the draw deck. But a Balloon Dog card scores you 3 extra cards, and you can continue playing. When the deck runs out, the player with the largest card pile wins!

1. Do you have a LEGO lover in the family? Unite history and building with the LEGO Epic History book. Providing a basic overview and understanding of chronological history, this book is filled with facts and tidbits about random and iconic creations through the ages. Each two-page spread features a specific time period and includes several different items from that age, as well as facts about each item, tips on creating the items, the geographical location of the featured time period, and more! The book also includes 53 LEGO® pieces that can be used to create a Greek temple, rocket launch pad, wooly mammoth, and pagoda—all items mentioned in the historical sections of the book. The back of the book includes step-by-step instructions to complete these items. The front cover has a storage compartment where the included LEGO® pieces can be stored. 
2. Studying U.S. history? With big, colorful, thick pieces, this United States Shape Puzzle is perfect for introducing geography to your littles. The map has color-coded states with names for easy learning. Includes a drawstring bag for storing pieces and measures 8” tall and 15” long when complete. Contains 15 pieces.
3. Also available for your U.S. history study is the United States Bingo Game. Learn key information about each of the fifty states with this fun game. Each colorfully illustrated bingo card represents a different U.S. region, while the illustrated chips feature icons symbolizing important industries and wildlife associated with each state in that region. The first player to collect all their chips and shout “Bingo” wins! Additional information about the states is found on the back of each bingo card, further sharpening a child’s geography skills. Recommended for ages 5 and up, 2-6 players. 
4. This isn’t a new game, but it is a great Constitution resource for the whole family! The Constitution Go Fish Game is a perfect addition to turn any American government study into a multi-sensory experience. The game includes 48 game cards, a booklet, and 6 different games to play with different learning skills practiced with each game. The booklet provides the teacher with multiple game ideas to teach the U.S. Constitution to kids in a one-on-one setting, in a family with kids of different ages, or in classrooms with as many as 40 students. Also included are explanations for all 48 Constitution Go Fish cards.

1. Learn about animals and their habitats across the world with the Where Do I Live? Bingo Game. Kids fill their “biome” bingo card with colorful creature tiles. Each tile features an animal illustration on one side, while the other side has the animal’s name in four different languages: US English, French, Spanish, and German. This is a fantastic way to introduce children to the unique animal homes that share our planet. For 2-6 players. 
2. Flash Cards Go Fish Life Cycles includes 10 total life cycle card sets. The game plays just like Go Fish! except the goal is to collect and match cards to complete life cycles of plants and animals. Cards are hole-punched for easy storage and have one corner shaped differently for easily lining up. Each life cycle set consists of 5 cards and the different sets include bird, butterfly, dolphin, frog, grasshopper, sunflower, oak tree, pumpkin, salmon, and snake. 
3. Make snow anytime, anywhere with Miracle Snow in a jar. Simply add water and watch it expand into snow—snow that lasts for weeks without melting! For cleanup, simply allow it to dry up, throw salt on it to melt it, or use it in a garden (this was originally used in the agricultural industry to grow drought-tolerant crops). Kids will be enthralled by this mesmerizing kit—especially if you live in a climate with no snow! Includes 100 grams of instant “snow.”
4. Play a classic memory game with beautiful artwork by John James Audubon. The Audubon Memory Game includes 36 pairs of illustrated birds to shuffle and place face-down on a table. Then flip over 2 per round to attempt to find a match. Unmatched cards that are revealed are immediately turned back to the face-down position after the player’s turn. For one or more players. 72 cards total (2.2” x 3.5” each).
5. Introduce children to the planets of the solar system and their distance from the sun with the Our Solar System Glow-in-the-Dark Giant Floor Puzzle! Each planet has helpful identifiable features and a clear label for easy learning. When assembled, the 48-piece puzzle measures 3 ft. x 2 ft. 
6. Take a break from your science text and go exploring in your own home! The 10 in 1 Treasure Excavation Kit has all the tools kids need to dig up fossils and discover 10 treasures. Some of the treasures included are gemstones, fools’ gold, pearls, shark teeth, and more. You can even take your learning further and do some extra research on the items found.

By weaving play-based activities into your day, you’ll find that winter isn’t so dreary after all—it’s just another opportunity for creativity and connection. Kids will also look forward to meaningful family interaction and become more enthusiastic about learning!