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18 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • September 2020 PLAY PLAY WRITTEN BY JILL MORGENSTERN ages & stages MATH SKILLS As the study from Germany demonstrated, math skills learned during board games may be even more beneficial than doing actual homework! But it's not only chess that improves children's math ability. They get practice counting points or board movements in all sorts of games. Other games, such as Yahtzee, also teach patterns. Recognizing the patterns on dice helps children learn to count both quickly and accurately as explicitly taught in some schools in first grade. Additionally, children actually begin to learn about probability as they roll the dice or spin the spinner in many games. Even the simplest board game can reinforce math skills. During the game of Chutes and Ladders, for example, children are beginning to internalize the idea of going back and forth on a number line as well as recognizing the patterns on the dice and the numerals on the board. SOCIAL SKILLS Social skills are an integral part of playing board games. Children begin with the very basics of learning to take a turn and give a turn. This helps them gain patience as they wait for other players. As they grow, they can begin to internalize a sense of fairness from board games. Will the youngest player get to go first? How does it make other families feel if someone cheats? What does it mean to be a good sport? These types of questions come up frequently when playing board games and help children understand what it means to treat someone fairly and be treated fairly. Board games also foster communication skills as players discuss whose turn it is, their plans for their next move, and strategy. How Board Games Encourage Brain Development Pandemic Teaching Through Pandemic Teaching Through With concerns about COVID still prominent, parents are looking for productive ways to make the most of family time. In these days of uncertainty, board games provide not only a cozy family memory, but also learning and brain development in many dif- ferent areas. This is good news to parents who are facing the unknown when it comes to school starting in the fall. A 2008 study from Germany found that children who were given an extra hour of chess per week had an increased ability in basic math skills over their counterparts who were given an extra hour of traditional math instruction. Some home- schoolers have already realized the many benefits of board games and rely heavily on them to educate their children. ...children who were given an extra hour of chess per week had an increased ability in basic math skills...