Game Club has been developed to be ideal for kids who are 5 to 13 years old, or who are in Kindergarten, through the 8th Grade. There are several different versions of Game Club to choose from, just choose a set appropriate to the grade level of the children who will be playing the games.
Game Club focuses on many problem solving strategies, including: creativity, perseverance, generalization, the process of elimination, collaboration, instinct, and planning. At each Game Club, teachers are encouraged to choose one of these problem solving strategies as the focus for the session. After discussing this strategy, kids focus on using that strategy during the game session, then reflect on how it worked towards the end of the session.
The social skills Game Club focuses on are: cooperation, responsibility, encouragement, questioning, and patience. As with the problem solving strategies, a single social skill is focused on during each Game Club session and reflected on towards the end of the session.
ThinkFun games are designed to help develop cognitive skills in sequential reasoning, spatial reasoning, critical thinking, creative thinking, and the ability to find multiple solutions to problems. Additional information on methodologies that can assist in cognitive development are included in a specific Teacher’s Guide specially designed for each game set.
A Game Club can be held anywhere there are tables and chairs! Just make sure that you have enough space to spread out the games for the kids -- the Teacher’s Guide will show you how-- and get playing!
A specially designed Teacher’s Guide, which is included in every set, will outline how to run a ThinkFun Game Club, from set-up to clean-up.
Anyone who works with children ages 5 to 13 can do a Game Club! A school teacher, a recreational leader, a scout leader, a church group...there are so many possibilities!