One of the things both my children and I enjoy about homeschooling is the ability to call for an occasional "Games Day".  I have used games a lot in our homeschooling, especially for my hands-on learner.

Games can range from Uno, Monopoly/Monopoly Jr. to Boggle, Scrabble and other board games, as well as a lot of homemade games.  In fact, our favorite games are homemade.

One of the kids' favorite games is based on the old TV game show "Let's Make a Deal."  This is a really old show I saw as a little girl, so if you've never seen it, don't worry, I'll explain it in detail below.  I especially like to pull this one out once in a while to review what they've been learning, so this game acts as a sort of assessment for me.  The equipment is all homemade, and set-up can be arranged in just moments, so this game is great for even spur-of-the-moment game times.

First, I ask the kids to bring me all their schoolbooks.  (This was a lot easier when they were using a workbook-based curriculum, but anyway...)  Then we get out 3 large hardcover picture books that are roughly the same size, a handful of loose change, and our surprise box.  The surprise box is a small container that holds stickers, stationery items, and other small gifts and prizes.  The kids often collect these items themselves when they receive small gifts at church, birthday party favors, etc. and choose to donate them to our surprise box.

If you've ever watched "Let's Make a Deal," you probably already know how this works, but for those of you who don't...

Stand the 3 picture books up on end, with spines facing out toward the children.  Teacher stands facing the pages side of the books so she can see what's behind the books, but the children cannot.  Place a small prize behind each book.

Then, beginning with the youngest child, select a subject and ask a question based on the child's recent lessons in that subject.  For math, I will usually give the child a problem to solve similar to those he's been solving in his math book.  For spelling, I will give her a word she's had in her recent spelling lists, or a word I've noticed she has misspelled in recent writing.  For English, I may ask a grammar question.  For literature, I may ask a question about the plot of the story the child has been reading, or from our read-aloud.  Science may include definitions of words learned recently, or other factual questions about the recent lessons.  Social Studies may be questions from history, geography, etc., depending on what we've been doing in our lessons.  And so on, through all the subjects.  Usually I will try to ask questions from the same subject for all the children in their turn before switching to a different subject.

Now, here's where the game show concept comes in.  In the old TV show, the host would always make a deal with the participant, "I'll give you a hundred dollars if you can find a paper clip in your bag" or "I'll give you $500 if you can answer this question."  So that's what I do: "I'll give you ten cents if you can answer this math question correctly" and I hold up the ten cents from the handful of loose change.  If the child answers correctly, he can either keep the money, or he can choose to trade it in for what's behind "Door number 1, Door number 2, or Door number 3" (the "doors" are actually the books standing on end with the small prizes behind them.  Most of the time, my kids will opt for what's behind one of the doors, but there are occasions when they would rather have a little extra pocket money.  If the child gets the answer wrong, he has to wait for his next turn to try again, and it is now the next youngest child's turn.

As I said, this game is one of my children's favorites, and it is a fun way for them to review with me what they have been learning.  By the end of the game, they feel rewarded with their little trinkets and prizes and pocket change, and I have a very clear idea of how well they have assimilated the material they've been studying.

In my next post, I'll talk about another of our favorite homemade TV game show homeschooling games: "The Price Is Right"!

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