Special thanks to Bingohouse.com for sponsoring today’s guest post. Read on to learn great tips on introducing kids to bingo!
Today, it seems that children spend an inordinate amount of time playing video games and surfing the net. Many of these games offer little or no social interaction, which is important for a growing child. There is one game that can provide the necessary social interaction and has been adapted to teach a wide variety of subjects: bingo. There is a huge selection of free bingo games available online. Many offer unique cards that can be easily downloaded and printed. There are games for every grade level, and bingo makes learning fun and entertaining.
For preschoolers, alphabet bingo games are available. Parents can give their toddlers a head start by playing alphabet bingo. Place the letters of the alphabet on the bingo card in random order. Use the traditional 75 ball card grid substituting letters for numbers. Parents should decide ahead of time whether to use uppercase or lowercase letters or a combination of both. Place a letter on a sticker and put it on the card’s free space. When the letters are called out, the child must cover the matching letter on the card. This version of bingo has been used by several schools and has been very effective teaching children the alphabet.
The Germans were the first to use bingo as an educational tool in the late 19th century. The practice spread across Europe and finally reached the United States in the early part of the 20th century. One of the first educational games created in Germany was math bingo. Today math is more important than ever and for most schools math and science are priorities. Children can learn basic addition and subtraction while playing math bingo. Create a bingo board with the answers to easy math problems. For example problems could be 2+5 or 6-1. The child will cover the correct answer on their card. For the above examples the child should cover the 7 and 5 squares. This is a great way to teach a subject that many find difficult and will help children to overcome their fear of math.
Bingo can be used to teach geography. Prepare clues using the names of countries, capitols, rivers, oceans or any other geographic locations. Make bingo cards with the names of geographic locations placed randomly on the card. When the geographic clue is given the child should cover the location on their card.
These are just three examples of how the game of bingo can be adopted to teach almost any subject. There are companies that specialize in educational bingo games. Many offer free downloadable cards, like the free printable Christmas Bingo cards which you can find at BingoHouse.