A Guide to Gameschooling is a practical resource for parents and teachers who want to use everyday board games as meaningful learning tools.
Written from more than twenty years of teaching experience, as well as the author's own experience using games with his children, the book explores how play can support mathematics, English, humanities, problem-solving, social skills and more-without turning every game into a lesson.
For homeschoolers, much of the hard work has already been done. Each game is linked to relevant curriculum outcomes, making it easy to see how everyday gameplay can contribute to a child's learning. Rather than trying to interpret curriculum documents and work out how an activity might fit, parents can choose a game, follow the suggested learning opportunities and see the outcomes it can support.
The curriculum index also works in reverse. If there is a particular outcome or learning area that needs to be covered, parents can look it up and find games that provide opportunities to explore it. In this e-book edition, handy internal links make this even easier, allowing readers to move directly from curriculum outcomes to relevant games and quickly navigate throughout the book. For teachers, these same links provide a practical starting point for programming, lesson planning and identifying opportunities to use games within existing units of work.
The book includes a catalogue of 80 board, card and role-playing games, with suggested learning areas, developmental stages, practical modifications and links to curriculum outcomes. Alongside the catalogue are chapters exploring how to facilitate games, teach explicitly through gameplay, use games in the classroom, design games with children, and extend learning beyond the board.
Drawing on experience in both mainstream and Steiner education, A Guide to Gameschooling offers a flexible approach to learning through play-for homeschool families, classroom teachers and anyone looking for a different way to engage children in meaningful learning.
Aligned with the Australian Curriculum (ACARA v9), with VCAA and NESA equivalents included.
