{"id":1266,"date":"2013-03-21T06:30:14","date_gmt":"2013-03-21T13:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/?p=1266"},"modified":"2013-03-18T07:32:02","modified_gmt":"2013-03-18T14:32:02","slug":"abcya-a-great-library-of-educational-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/2013\/03\/21\/abcya-a-great-library-of-educational-games\/","title":{"rendered":"ABCya: A Great Library of Educational Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published with Permission
\nWritten by Andy Harris
\nwww<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>aharrisbooks<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>net<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\nwww.TOSMagazine.com<\/p>\n

Computer games are here to stay. There\u2019s no denying it. There is something extremely compelling about video games, especially for today\u2019s kids. Some games are not appropriate for kids, and it is right to be nervous about them. However, some games can be useful reinforcement tools for your lessons. If you can find a fun way to reinforce skills in math, reading, typing, or science, maybe you should reinforce them.<\/p>\n

ABCya (abcya.com<\/strong>) is a website containing dozens of games written by frustrated schoolteachers who could not find quality educational games easily and couldn\u2019t afford the few quality games they found. The games are available for free on the website and are grouped by age level and topic. The site does feature Google<\/strong> ad-word advertising, but the ads are small and unobtrusive and are mainly visible on the home page. Each game page hosts an ad, but I didn\u2019t see anything objectionable as I used the site.<\/p>\n

Although the quality of the games varies, they are all well made, and most are quite entertaining. They were created with the public school audience in mind, so there are a few themes (there\u2019s a Halloween game in the K\u20131 section) you\u2019ll want to be alert to. All the games use Flash<\/strong> technology, so they\u2019ll work fine on any reasonably modern computer. They should play on Android<\/strong> devices (although many games rely on the keyboard) but sadly will not work on iPhones<\/strong> or iPad<\/strong>s. A few of the more popular games have been converted to apps and are available for 99 cents each.<\/p>\n

Kindergarten\u20131st Grade Games<\/span><\/p>\n

Many great games are suitable for younger learners. Often these games are best played together with a parent or older sibling.<\/p>\n

Here are a few of the highlights in the K1 section:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Refrigerator Magnets\u2014This game allows you to create words by dragging letters onto a picture of a refrigerator. Yes, I love real refrigerator magnets, but we always seem to lose the M<\/em>. You can\u2019t lose letters with this version, and you can print or save your results.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Letter Bingo\u2014Play bingo as the computer gives you the letter name or sound.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Keyboard Zoo\u2014Cute, early tool for learning where keys are on a keyboard<\/p>\n

\u2022 Word Search Junior\u2014Simplified \u201cmake your own word search\u201d puzzle. Use your own vocabulary words or names of people in your family.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Connect the Dots\u2014Numerous connect-the-dots games to reinforce counting skills<\/p>\n

\u2022 Marble Math\u2014Simple math problems with digital manipulatives (marbles) to help students work out the problems . . . and pirates too!<\/p>\n

\u2022 Make a car, house, face, pizza, etc.\u2014A number of related games begin with a background image and allow you to put your own parts together to make your own custom object. All can be printed or saved. Not super-educational, but it\u2019s a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

2nd\u20133rd Grade Games<\/span><\/p>\n

The second- and third-grade games add more typing and math to the mix. Here are a few highlights:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Typing Games\u2014Three different games introduce typing in different, fun arenas: munchies, cup stacking, and keyboard challenge.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Decimal Tiles\u2014Nice online manipulatives for math<\/p>\n

\u2022 Time and Money Games\u2014A couple of games to practice time telling and money addition skills<\/p>\n

\u2022 Math-Man Jr.\u2014A variation of Pac-Man that reinforces addition and subtraction skills<\/p>\n

\u2022 Geography Games\u2014A series of games about states and capitals, as well as interactive maps<\/p>\n

\u2022 Jet Ski Addition \u2014Online, multi-player game. The speed at which you answer questions determines how fast your jet ski goes.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Word Cloud\u2014Not really a game, but one of our favorites. Enter in a number of words and they are turned into colorful graphic art that you can save or print. Really fun way to make cards, place mats, and other fun print-outs.<\/p>\n

4th\u20135th Grade Games<\/span><\/p>\n

The games for fourth- and fifth-grade students are (appropriately) a little more detailed. They cover more sophisticated topics:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Synonyms and Antonyms\u2014A couple of games help kids review these ideas.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Spelling Bees\u2014A game that reinforces spelling with vowels<\/p>\n

\u2022 Dirt Bike Proportions\u2014An online, multi-player game for practicing ratios (I got schooled by a fourth-grader)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Multiplication Grand Prix\u2014Similar to the dirt bike game but with multiplication problems<\/p>\n

\u2022 Percent Panic\u2014Very similar to an old arcade game, but it teaches percentages.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Label the Skeleton\u2014Simple anatomy game<\/p>\n

\u2022 Tower of Hanoi\u2014Fun puzzle game that\u2019s actually used in advanced computer science courses to teach a process called recursion<\/p>\n

\u00a0Just for Fun<\/span><\/h2>\n

Some of the games on the site are just plain fun. They may have some educational value, but mainly they\u2019re just fun. These can be fun to play together or to save as reinforcement after your kids have done some of their schoolwork. They\u2019re pretty fun for adults too:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Bouncing Balls\u2014This is a variation of a popular arcade game. Shoot colorful balls to make matches and clear the board.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Civiballs\u2014A logic game something like Cut the Rope. Several variations are available.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Mini Train \u2014My personal favorite. Drag and drop bridge pieces so that the train can cross over a gorge. Or make the train jump over the cliff and crash into hundreds of pieces. I know. A piece of me is just wrong.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Fruit Collection\u2014Bounce the fruit into the basket. It gets hectic in a hurry.
\n\u2022 Rotate and Roll\u2014Rotate the entire game board to deliver balls to their home. It\u2019s actually quite addictive.<\/p>\n

There are more great games to discover on this site. I haven\u2019t shown you all the games, and new ones are being added all the time. Be sure to check out the site and see how you can integrate it into your school. As always, stop by my website if you have questions or want to chat about this topic or anything else about computing and home school.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Andy Harris is a home school dad, father of four great kids, and husband to the greatest home school teacher ever. He has taught all ages of students, from kindergarten to university level. Andy is the author of a number of well-known books, including HTML\/XHTML\/CSS:\u00a0 All in One for Dummies, Game Programming–The L Line, PHP6\/MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner, <\/strong>and Beginning Flash Game Programming for Dummies. <\/strong>For more information about his books, to see where he is speaking next, or to just say hi, please stop by his web site: <\/em>www<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>aharrisbooks<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>net<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright, 2012. Used with permission. All rights reserved by author. Originally appeared in The Old Schoolhouse<\/em>\u00ae<\/sup> Magazine<\/em>, the family education magazine, July 2012. Read the magazine free at www.TOSMagazine.com<\/a> or read it on the go and download the free apps at www.TOSApps.com<\/a> to read the magazine on your mobile devices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published with Permission Written by Andy Harris www.aharrisbooks.net www.TOSMagazine.com Computer games are here to stay. There\u2019s no denying it. There is something extremely compelling about video games, especially for today\u2019s kids. Some games are not appropriate for kids, and it is right to be nervous about them. However, some games can be useful reinforcement tools […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,79,47,71,102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classes","category-classroom-help","category-informative","category-just-for-fun","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1266"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1268,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions\/1268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}