Even before I became a parent, I imagined family board game nights with my kids. I loved playing board games as a child, and still do, so I couldn't wait for my boys to be old enough to play board games with me. At ages four and six, they are the perfect age for family board game nights (or game time during the day is probably a more accurate description). So here are some of our favorite board games to play with the kids. These are the games that have been the most played and well-loved in our house. They are all boy-approved (as I'm a mother of only boys) and they are great for working on social skills, language skills, and fine motor skills.
Here are what we consider to be the best board games for kids.
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Board Games for Toddlers & Preschoolers
We were first introduced to this game by a speech pathologist and by subsequent speech pathologists as well. It's a great game for working on fine motor skills and both of my boys love how the pirate randomly jumps up out of the barrel.
Raccoon Rumpus is another game that was introduced to us through speech pathology, as it is an excellent way to work on pronouns. It was also a great way to push my oldest son to think less literal and more abstract by dressing the raccoons in silly outfits. This game requires no reading skills and focuses on color learning.
My youngest son loves this game! It's a great way to work on colors, counting, and listening skills. Another game that was introduced to use through speech pathology (seems like a common theme so far, right?).
We have played this game more than I care to admit. My kids cannot get enough of this game. You have to protect your chickens from Louie who flies around in his airplane. Yet another game we discovered through speech pathology.
Zingo!
We just recently purchased Zingo! and we instantly fell in love with it. My youngest son particularly loves the Zingo! dispenser. This game is also available to work on sight words, numbers, and telling time. Definitely a must have game for kids!
Board Games for Ages 6+
Connect 4
Obviously, Connect 4 is one of those classic board games for kids. You know...one that you likely owned and/or played as a child yourself. My oldest son loves this game!
Pathwords Jr. Puzzle
This game is like a combination of Tetris, word search, and crossword puzzles. And it's definitely a great game for letter lovers like my son with hyperlexia! Although, at age six, this game was almost too simple for him and his hyperlexic mind. However, my four year old can easily complete all the easy puzzles in this game by himself. So it definitely suits a variety of ages. I love word games too, so I got hooked and now I want the regular version for myself.
Don't Rock the Boat
When there's pirate penguins involved, then how can it not be a fun game? This game is much harder than it looks, but my boys love it!
There's just something about being six and Pokemon! Over the summer, just before my oldest turned six, we started to learn to play Pokemon together as a family. Well, when he returned to school for grade one, I discovered that nearly all the boys in his grade had developed an interest in Pokemon as well. It's like some rite of passage for little boys or something. Anyway, my boys played a game of Pokemon every morning and every night. They absolutely love it!
