Screen-Free Summer--My Kids' Favorite Board Games!
Summertime is here and we are in full swing! As many of you know, if you have read my book, Triggers, too much screen time can cause all kinds of problems in our house so we limit the amount of time our kids can play video games. My kids slowly begin to idolize their game time and that's not what God wants us to be devoted too, right? We adjust as needed, but right now, my older boys (ages 10, 7, and almost 6) get half an hour on Mondays and an hour on Saturdays--our same routine during the school year. During the summertime, they can play Just Dance every weekday since it gets them moving!
I’m also considering a screen-free month in August. We usually do this every few months and it’s a sanity saver. The months we fast from video games and tablets are our best months as a family!
It sounds great to be screen-free most days, but that also means that I need to provide some good options for them when it’s boiling outside (Today is an unusual 110 degrees!) and they can’t shoot hoops or skateboard. If you read my last post, you know that we are committed to volunteering somewhere each week or so this summer. You can read about the food packs we helped to fill at CHF, here.
For the last month, we have also been playing a fun variety of board and card games and I thought you might like some of these options too! We are truly obsessed with each of these games! The links below are affiliate links, so if you do many a purchase through these links, Amazon gives me a few cents at no extra cost to you! Thanks for supporting the blog! I hope you love these games as much as we do!
Monopoly games have been entertaining families since 1935, and people love the roller-coaster ride to success. Pass Go, take a Chance card, and you might just build the property of your dreams…or you might end up in Jail! Whatever happens, it's fun all the way to the top! And now kids can join in the excitement with the fast and fun Monopoly Junior game.
UNO Attack! teaches the same valuable lessons as the classic UNO card game – matching skills, family fun with just a hint of strategy. But UNO Attack! comes with a special electronic card shooter and an exclusive Attack! Attack! command card, which introduces a whole new level of luck to already unpredictable play. Grab your family and friends for a game night and experience firsthand which of the players who the shooter targets next. Will it be Dad? Mom? Your annoying little brother? Find out with this family favorite game.
Old Maid, Crazy 8's, War, Go Fish
Store your child’s favorite card games all together in one festive tin! Be ready to keep them entertained during surprise visits, play dates, rainy days and family game night! This set includes the classic card games Old Maid, War, Crazy 8s and Fish with each set of game specific playing cards containing unique and delightfully illustrated pictures and numbers. Ideal's Classic 4 Kids Card Games is designed for 2-plus players and includes instructions on how to play all 4 games!
Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure in which players collect and play matching train cards to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America.
The longer the routes, the more points they earn.
Additional points come to those who can fulfill their Destination Tickets by connecting two distant cities, and to the player who builds the longest continuous railway.
Slide, collide and score to win the game of Sorry! Draw cards to see how far you get to move one of your pawns on the board. If you land on a Slide you can zip to the end and bump your opponents' pawns – or your own! Jump over pawns and hide in your Safety zone while getting powers with the 2 power-up tokens. Keep on moving and bumping until you get all three of your pawns from your color Start to your color Home. But watch out, because if you get bumped, Sorry! It's all the way back to Start!
Pick up a game or two and join in the fun! I'll be sharing other fun activities we are doing this summer in coming weeks. Stay tuned!