Sometimes after a lesson or in between meals, a fun game can be a great distraction for the kids. Check out the Learning section of our website and see what fun and imaginative products we have for your kids!

Bring the old-school charm into your kitchen, family room, or kids’ bedroom with a Chalk-it-Up Blackboard from Sassafras–– There are three cute 18” blackboard shapes, The Owl, the Dinosaur, and the Robot!

Here are five Blackboard Games you can play, as suggested by kidactivities.net

1) Hangman

An easy method of helping children learn to spell regardless of grade level by incorporating weekly spelling words and also an informal game to employ when teaching both children and adults a second language. This video will assist newcomers to the game in learning how to play:

2) Win Lose or Draw

A great team game, and just one of many fun things to do with a whiteboard, it challenges players on the opposite team to guess what is being drawn. A timer is used to make it more exciting with one minute given for each round; if no one guesses what is being drawn by the 30-second mark, the pen or marker can be passed to another team member if desired but the puzzle value or point value is then cut in half. The drawer cannot give hints and cannot speak nor can they use letters, numbers or symbols in the drawing. Should a member of the opposite team mention part of the phrase or word it is allowed to be written down on the board. If the other team guesses correctly they receive a point, and the team with the most points wins. A basic total of 10 points per round is a good place to start. The first team to earn 30 points wins. Teams usually consist of 3 players. Players can incorporate a bonus round if desired. This is a speed round with 90 seconds given for completion. The team that has the most points after the 3rd round is the team to begin the speed/bonus round. Passing the marker to another team member is allowed twice during this round, and each correct guess is worth 25 points. Phrases for the bonus round as well as words for the regular rounds are written down on index cards and given to the team by the game monitor who does not participate in the rounds but is the referee for the game. The team with the most points at the end of the bonus round wins.

3) World Traveler/Geography

Travel the world right at home with this game. Explore your hometown, a specific State or Country. A great game for one or two players and even teams to participate in, don’t forget the referee. Given clues by the referee such as the language spoken, climate, oceans surrounding it, famous landmarks exports they are known for and even its flag can all be a part of the game. As each clue is correctly guessed, the referee will draw a portion of the outline of the Country or State until the entire outline is completed. For younger children, write dashed lines for each letter of the name of the State, City or Country. The first player to correctly guess the area wins.

4) Relay Race

There are variations on this competitive game. Divide the board into two with a line down the middle, one side for each team and at the top list the team name or just Team 1 and Team 2 and underline for the headers of those sections. Use spelling words, phrases, or math equations for each team to complete. For spelling words and math equations; words can be scrambled and already written on the board for members to unscramble and when finished they return to pass the marker to the next team member. Math equations can be listed on index cards that each player can receive from the referee (teacher) and take to the board to complete then return the card to the referee and give the marker to the next player who does complete the next equation given to them. Another idea for the relay is remembering phrases, each player must write down one word from the phrase and then return the marker to the next player to complete the second word and so forth until the phrase is complete. This video is an easy tutorial for teachers to use.

5) Tic Tac Toe

A great game to play while traveling with a personal size whiteboard. Simply make an open grid of two lines down about an inch apart and two lines across them also one inch apart. One player will be making an O and the other will make an X in the square they choose. The player that is able to make three in a row wins. Magnetic Tic Tac Toe: As played above but with plastic letters glued to mini magnets or using 12 round magnets, paint 6 with a red X on one side and leave the other 6 leave black and paint a white O on them for players to use.

There’s also the Train and Race Car Growth Charts, with inches and centimeters painted of the front, like a ruler! Your kids can measure each other or objects the room, make up their own fun measuring games!

And if your child is more of a right-brain type that ould use a little daydreaming time, we have fun felt activities, the School and the Building Project: your child can imagine that their teaching a class or building a skyscraper, the possibilities are endless!

And for your younger or musically-inclined children, castanets are a great way to learn rhythm and beats, or learn to flamenco dance–– it’s never too early for kids to learn dances from around the world.

We hope these learning products from Sassafras help your kids to use math and to use their imaginations. And teach them the most important lesson of all... Have fun!