Jenga, Kerplunk & More

So many fun games to choose from where should I begin... Well board games are excellent for many reasons. First they are fun and motivate students to participate. Second they work on skills like following rules. Third they teach social skills (which can be directed by the teacher and then generalized). Finally they work on fine motor skills. Fine motor is what I want to address. Jenga, Kerplunk, Operation, Perfection were all staples in my classroom. Games can teach so many skills that I tried to work them in several times a week. The motor involved in playing the games listed above is great and some students may require assistance from another individual. Playing a game to work on motor skills helps to diversify the motor practice from things like writing. When you are at a store looking at the games think about the level of fine motor skill involved in the task. Some are obvious like the ones I listed. Even things like lifting and lowering the tiles in the game Guess Who involves motor skills. Connect 4 involves picking up the tile and placing it in the correct slot that works on motor skills. Holding a hand of cards during games like Uno involves the motor to hold and release one card at a time. Also picking up one card at a time from a flat surface can be challenging.