Games are a great way to not only have fun with your child but also to develop various crucial skills for the child - including communication skills, social skills like turn-taking, vocabulary, literacy, memory, sequencing skills and many more, besides motivating the child to participate and communicate more!
Here are some games that you can try at home.
1. Simple Simon
This is a great fun game that you can play anywhere, without any accessories like a board, or dice etc. and something that all kids and adults enjoy equally! You can play it with members of the family or with other children too.
Skills developed:
- Listening and Comprehension skills
- Memory skills
- Awareness of body parts
- Vocabulary
- Gross motor skills
How to play the game?
- One player becomes "Simon"
- Simon gives a command to the second player (one at a time) to do a simple task - e.g.
- Simon Says "Touch your toes"
- Simon Says "Touch something green" etc.
- The tasks can include gross motor skills, vocabulary, touching different body parts etc.
- The second player performs the task that Simon has said
- Applaud to encourage the child as soon as they perform the task "Awesome, well done!"
- If the player doesn't perform the task they are "out"
- Next, the second player becomes "Simon" and chooses a task for the first player or third player to perform.
- So each player gets a chance to be Simon and to do as Simon Says and can be continued as long as the child wants to play.
How to play the game using Avaz?
Setting up Avaz for the game
a) Download the folder to your app
If you wish to download the above folder to your app, click the attachment below to download .avc file to your Avaz app from the same device where the app is loaded. Once downloaded, you can tap the .avc to move it to the app directly.
If you are having difficulty to import the folder, tap here to know more - How to import a folder or .avc file to Avaz app?
b) Create your own folder in Avaz
- Create a folder called Simon Says and add different icons with appropriate "tasks."
- Click here to know How to create a folder and icons in Avaz?
- Also add icons for turn-taking and cheering the child to motivate them to continue.
2. Snakes and Ladders - DIY
You can create your own Snakes & Ladders game to help your child develop various skills.
It's a great DIY game that you can create at home, based on your child's individual interests and support needs.
It serves multiple purposes - a great way to not only play and have fun with your child but also to motivate them to build on so many skills, all at one go and also offer rewards and fun for the child (get an ice-cream) etc. And best of all, you can custom-build it for each child, based on their individual needs!
Skills developed
- communication skills (e.g.talk about yourself, tell a story)
- motor skills (e.g.jump 5 times, crawl like a baby)
- social skills (e.g. help someone, turn -taking)
- literacy(learning to count),
How to play
Take turns to roll the dice. As you move your individual pieces, perform the task where your piece lands. Applaud the child with every task that they perform with "good job!, well done!"
The first one to reach the top is the winner!
This is just a sample board. You can modify it as per your child's interests and support needs.
Using Avaz
Add only those tasks that the child is already familiar with in Avaz. E.g. name 5 fruits / describe yourself. Keep Avaz available with the required icons added for some of the tasks mentioned. In Describe yourself. Add the child's name, age, family details in About Me folder. Use Avaz for turn-taking too.
3. Memory Game
This is a fun game where you can build memory skills for the child while also having fun!
Skills developed
- Memory
- vocabulary
- observation skills
How to play the game
Show an object/ article (e.g. a small ball or clip, eraser etc.) for a few seconds and then close it or remove from the learner's view. Then ask the child what they saw. Ask them to tap the icon on Avaz. When they touch the correct one, applaud and encourage them with "wow! good job!".
Else encourage them to try once more with "Sorry, that's not correct. Try again".
Setting up Avaz
Add a folder called Memory game. Add the items that you want to use for the game in Avaz. E.g. ball, clip etc.. Add icons for turn-taking - e.g. my turn, your turn, good job, you won, I won.
Related articles:
Avaz blog - Family games using Avaz
Avaz blog - Simple games to develop speech and language skills
FAQ - What is turn-taking and how to teach it?