Have you ever seen file folder games? Several publishers have gotten on the bandwagon with this inventive idea, and you can find the books in just about any educational bookstore and online. They come in a wide variety of topics from reading and math to social studies, and they are great for preschoolers on up.
You purchase them as a book, and then you take the book to the copy store. After making your copy, you can color in the pictures if you like, and then cut out the images and have them laminated.
There are two parts to each project. One set of pictures will be laminated onto the inside of a folder, and the other set will be loose. Then your child can match up the loose picture with the coordinating picture inside the folder. You can hold the loose pictures in an envelope or a Ziplock bag stapled to the outside of the folder.
The books contain step-by-step instructions for how to assemble the games, and the pictures are very cute, whether you choose to color them in, print them on colored paper, or leave them black and white. Of course, for the games that teach colors, you’ll want to rethink that black and white thing. Each of the games is fun to play, and your child will learn and understand new concepts at the same time. Once they’ve mastered that skill, don’t be surprised if they ask to play the game over and over again –they’re that fun!
One thing I did find, though, is that children do outgrow these games pretty quickly, and you may wonder why you spent the time making the game when after just a month or two, your child no longer needs it. I recommend that you start a co-op with other moms, where you each buy a book and make the games, and then trade them around. This way, you’re sharing the expense, you’re sharing the work, and your child will benefit from the broader selection of games. This would be particularly valuable if each mom made games on a different skill level, so the children could advance from the very simple to the more difficult. And when these games are laminated, they are durable, so they can be passed from child to child before they need to be recopied and replaced.
Check out this link to see a list of available games. This list is by no means complete, but rather, is provided just as an example.
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