Friday, December 31, 2010

Great Preschool Game Ideas

These Preschool game ideas are sure to make your kids jump for joy and have a jolly good time.

Hunt the Ring


For this game a long piece of string is required.
On this a ring is threaded, and the ends of the string are knotted together.
The players then take the string in their hands and form a circle, whilst one of the company, who is called the "hunter," stands in the center.
The string must be passed rapidly round and round, and the players must try to prevent the "hunter" finding out who holds the ring.
As soon as he has done this, he takes his place in the circle, whilst the person who held the ring becomes the "hunter."

Hot Tamales


The "tamale" in this game is a knotted handkerchief.
One player is chosen for the Hot Tamale man and stands in the center of the room while the others sit around in a circle.
The Hot Tamale man begins the game by saying, "hot tamales, hot tamales," at the same time throwing the hot tamale to some one in the circle who must throw it to another player in the circle and so on,
tossing it from one to another without stopping.
The Hot Tamale man tries to catch it and if he succeeds, the one who last tossed it changes places with him and the game continues.

Frog in the Middle


One child is seated on the ground with his legs under him and the other players form a ring round him.
They then pull him about and give him little pushes, and he must try and catch one without rising from the floor.
The child who is caught takes the middle, and the frog joins the circle.

Enjoy these great Preschool game ideas.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Airplane Games - Are You a PC Aviator?

Well, flying is not easy and it takes a lot of skill, diligence, and determination to fly an airplane. You have to understand that airline pilots go through all kinds of training in order to strive for excellence. There is not any room for mistakes, because just one flaw could mean the difference between life and death. Then of course if you have others with your or various products being flown somewhere, a crash could be detrimental. The point is pilots should never stop learning and developing his skill.

One thing to understand about the learning process today is you do not have to sit in a plane or simulator. Instead you can learn right from the comfort of your own home. What you will be able to do is learn the basics until it is time to sit inside the real thing. When you look at a PC Flight simulator program, there are plenty of airplanes to choose from, and work with during the learning process. Granted, you will probably feel awkward in the beginning, but as time goes on it will get more comfortable. It is all about practice, practice, and more practice. In the beginning you may not understand certain dials or buttons, but eventually it will all come around.

Obviously one of the first things to learn is how to get your airplane off the ground and in the air. While this sounds easy, you definitely have to figure out how to steer your airplane on the runway, and take off. It is the only way you will be a good PC aviator. You may be full of talent, but if you do not have dedication or patience, it will all be for nothing. If you are having problems there are helpful hints you will find along the way, so do not be afraid to use them.

You will also be able to take advantage of the add-ons that can make it even more challenging. Whether you want to plug in pedals, a joystick or anything else, it is a lot different then using all the buttons on your keyboard. When you take this route you will soon realize how much more fun it can be. In fact, you will start feeling like you are maneuvering a real airplane.

We can't forget about the crazy graphics either. Years ago they made PC aviator games look like arcade extravaganzas, but in today's world they are about as realistic as they can get. Whether it's the scenic views, the controls, or even the flight patterns, it's just like you are in a real airplane. Plus you will see charts and runways from various airports found all over the world. So if you want to be a pilot, or it has been a long time dream, your first step to making it a reality is by starting with these flight simulators. It will definitely start your career on the right path, and be a small step in helping you become a successful commercial airline pilot.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Free Online Virtual Pet Games

If you've always wanted your own pet but haven't been able to get one, then free online virtual pet games could be the next best thing. These games have been designed to allow people to create their own pet and take care of it in ways just like you would in real life - fun for both children and adults!

These free online games are available in two main formats. The first is a game that you will download straight to your computer, and be able to play after installing. These can be great fun, and mean that you won't have to be connected to the internet each time you want to play. However, you should always make sure you're downloading from a reputable source.

The next kind of free online game is a website that allows you to sign up and create your pet online. The website has everything you need to get going, and once you've made your pet you can even interact with other pet owners - playing games, and buying or selling items for virtual cash for your pet. The possibilities are endless on these websites! All you need is a valid email address to sign up for these websites.

Whatever you choose, free online virtual pet games can allow you to create the exact type of pet you want. From dogs and cats to dragons and unicorns - they have it all for you to enjoy! Just get browsing the internet to get started with your new pet.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Fun Counting and Math Games for Children

Whether you have a 2 year old who is just starting to learn numbers or a 10 year old that knows subtraction or addition, it is never too early or too late to learn about counting or math games. Children that are young benefit from games that teach them how to count objects and recognize numbers whereas older children benefit from games that help them learn how to add and subtract and build the basis for learning about algebra.

Aside from the obvious board games where you roll the dice and move your game piece a certain number of spaces, there are plenty of other counting games that you can play. Dominoes can keep kids busy for hours. I recently spent over 1 hour playing with dominoes with my two year old. We counted the numbers of dots. We counted the dominos as we stacked them or put them in or out of the container. We lined them up and counted them together. After they were all lined up, I let him push the first domino to make them all fall down.

Hide things in your house such as blocks, plastic eggs or marbles. Before you hide them, count them with your child. Then, they can go find them all. Once they have been found, they can count them again to make sure that they have all been found. Older kids can add or subtract to figure out how many they have left to find. In order to encourage sharing, have two or more children hunt the objects. At the end of the hunt, count the number in each Kid's bucket. Then work together to ensure that everyone has the same amount in their pails.

Falling objects in a bucket or plastic containers lined up side by side. Count how many items are in each segment. The number of objects that is not in a container. Once again, the opportunity to incorporate addition or subtraction with the children.

Children love to eyes, ears, fingers, feet, body parts etc. Count learn together. Toinstance ask, "How many eyes does Mommy have?" or "How many fingers do you have?" Count familiar household items such as pets, shoes or pots and pans.

Children also love to eat snacks, so incorporate counting with snack time. Ask "How many Cheerios do you have?" or "How many Goldfish are in the blue cup? How many are in the red cup?" Count out snacks to make sure each child has the same amount. If one child has two more Cheerios than another one, teach them to give the other child one of their friends so that they have the same amount.

Be creative to include in teaching your child. Love and learn to count, but they also want to have fun. E 'can be incorporated into daily activities. Leading by example and show them how to count things. If you do not have the numbers, counting and playing all day long, but at the same time there are many possibilities to know their number. Work with your children to come up with your own fun>games and counting activities.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Bored? Play Scrabble Online With Other People!

Scrabble is a well-known family game that lets you build words in a crossword-style board. It requires a bit of creativity, a decent vocabulary, and a bit of forward thinking. Now, you can play that same family friendly game online with other people including friends and relatives!

Online Scrabble is played the same way as traditional Scrabble. You receive seven tiles and you take turn placing these tiles on the board to form words. The next player then places another word made out of tiles on the board, connected to a previous word. By the end of the game the board turns into one giant cross-word puzzle and the player with the highest score wins.

Online Scrabble is also scored the same way as traditional Scrabble, with each letter assigned to a specific number of points. There are also "bonus" spaces on the board such as "double letter score", "double word score", "triple letter score", boosting a word that may be only worth 3 points to 9 points simply by where it lies on the board itself.

The great thing about Online Scrabble is that it is also compatible with many social networking website, particularly Facebook. Here you can compete with your friends or play anonymous players. There are a few ways to play. You can play live, or one move at a time, notifying your friend once you have placed a word. These games take longer to complete, especially if your competitor is not online constantly, or if you only have time to check your game sporadically.

Scrabble can provide hours of challenging word-fun and now that you can play the game online, there's no stopping you!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Kids Educational Games - A Smarter Choice Than Video Games

Unlike 15 years ago, the kids games that are available today are failing to contribute towards the education of our children.

Games like battleships and monopoly were common, and although more fun than educationally-focused, they still instilled a reasonable degree of learning. Monopoly made you calculate figures in your head and about how to best use that money, whilst battleships helped with memory retention.

Today however, has taken a turn for the worse. While there are some excellent kid's educational games available in shops around the world, there is far greater market emphasis on games that involve watching a computer/television screen. Yes, computer games like Xbox and Nintendo are consuming a large percentage of children's time outside of school.

What's worse is that children don't even need to head to the "spacies parlour" and stand up playing these games anymore. They can simply play one of their Xbox or Nintendo games from the comfort of their own home.

Not only are the thousands of video games contributing next to nothing towards our children's learning, but they're also making them less active and in many cases more obese. The most alarming thing is that a large proportion of today's parents are happy enough for their children to do this.

There are a certain percentage of parents that are against these games and are sensible enough to want to introduce kid's educational games from a very young age. There are superb audio learning games available, activity packs, comprehension and colour learning games. There are also games that involve shapes and positions, matching up pictures, counting games and a number of great puzzles.

It is games like these that teach kids to have to think for themselves and want to learn more. They also provide kids with great motivational skills and the willingness to express themselves and their creative side.

Encouraging our kids to use educational games will ensure that they develop a lot quicker than those kids who numb their brains by being stuck in front of a computer/television for hours on end. Kid's educational games are the ideal way to develop kids into smart, logical thinking young adults. It will also better assist these young adults develop into successful working adults.

The availability of video games will continue to grow, however this doesn't mean children have to play them. It's up to parents to take responsibility and think about their children's future.

Free Online Games For Everyone

When boredom hits, there are a million and one different things that you can try for a little bit of excitement. You can watch television or a movie, or even read a book... but there are only so many times you can watch or read the same thing before that too becomes boring. You can play board games or cards... but you generally need to have other people playing to make that work. You can go out places and do things... but that can be expensive, you might not want to go out on your own, you might not be convenient to leave the house, or it might simply be pouring down with rain and blowing a gale - not really going out weather!

So what can you do then? You need something that you can do within the comfort of your own home, without having to buy or pay for anything, without needing other people around to help and, most importantly, something that will keep you interested with hours and hours of varied and personalised entertainment. Well then, how about free online games?

More than 86 million people play some form of free online games. Young people, old people, academic people, athletic people, people with high end jobs, people in school... In other words, all sorts of people, with all sorts of lives, are getting excited about free online games. But why? What is all the fuss about?

Free Online Games
Since the time that games have been introduced on the internet, its popularity and world-wide acceptance has grown exponentially! People have always been on the lookout for new forms of entertainment and excitement in their daily lives - and the world of online gaming is constantly growing and changing to suit everyone's desires, now and in the future.

For those of you new to online gaming, online games involve playing games on the computer whilst being connected to the internet. No need to go out and buy expensive games and fancy consoles, all you need to do is jump on your computer, connect to your internet, find the free games that you like and enjoy!

Some free games not only allow you to play online, but also include the possibility to download the game straight to your computer, meaning that you can play offline (or when you are not connected to the internet). Some free games also allow you to add them to your personal websites; and often gaming websites will allow you to submit your own games that you have created to be played by others.

Here is the information that you are really waiting to hear though... What exactly are these online games about and will there actually be one that I want to play? And the answer is simple. There are more games than you can possibly dream up on your own, meaning there is sure to be many that you will heartily enjoy. There are simply thousands and thousands of online games available on the numerous websites available for you to choose from. There are the arcade games that everyone grew up with as a child; online shooting games for the amateur marksmen; there are strategy games for those who want to test their wits against the computer; puzzles to give your brain a work out; sport games for the sport crazy; racing games for people who like fast cars; fighting games for the wishful kung-fu masters; girls games and boys games, and kids games and adult games. Plus, within each of these categories is a complete range of different themes, characters goals and difficulties. Take online shooting games or example. The choices for online shooting games range from simple target practice, to full on combat scenarios.

Why Choose Free Games?
So here is the big question... why should you choose free online games over every other source of entertainment? Here are just a few really good reasons why:

1. Free online games are convenient - they can be enjoyed in your own home, at your own computer, any time of the day or night. You don't have to dress up, do your hair or even shower (though, hygienically, this would be advisable!) to play - no one can see you (or smell you), but you!
2. They are free! - In these tough times, where every dollar counts and spending money on games and expensive console is a big no-no, you can still enjoy yourself - for free!
3. They provide hours of excitement and interaction - free online games give you the opportunity to test your skills and wits against your computer, so do not just sit down and watch television while your brain slowly rots away - use it!
4. You cannot deny that winning feeling - you are sure to find a game that you are good at and win. This gives you a natural high, and can raise your self-esteem and self confidence.

So with millions of people already playing free online games, why aren't you?