As an exercise physiologist and retired teacher and now a board game designer, I’ve always believed that keeping both our kids’ minds and bodies active were critical in their development. A long time ago, people knew that a healthy body is a prerequisite for a healthy mind. Living by the famous Greek philosopher Thales, Mens sana in corpore sano, “A sound mind in a healthy body” is a great place to start.
This amazing article in the New York Times really drives home just how beneficial play is, and not just to us as individuals, but also to humanity in general. Here's a quote:
Studies suggest that free, self-directed play in safe environments enhances resilience, creativity, flexibility, social understanding, emotional and cognitive control, and resistance to stress, depression and anxiety.
Welcome to episode 22, buying games. In this episode Giles and Don talk about building a game collection, as well as some of our experiences with buying games. Topics covered include collection development policies, building breadth and depth in a collection, collecting with a purpose, factors that help define what to get, dealing with wear and tear, the Jones theory, keeping track of popular games, donations, community and government grants, raising money, using your own collection, finding specials and discounts and thrift stores. We hope you enjoy the episode.
Newsminer.com is running a story about Dan Talbot, a substitute teacher who set up an after-school game club. The club meets three times a week, and brings in as many as 16 kids. It's great to see, and a fantastic reminder that you don't have to be a full-time teacher to set up a game club with a school. Click here to read more.
The Deseret News has a wonderful article looking at the benefits families get from board games, benefits that are both educational and social. Check it out!
Students in Miss Faro’s seventh grade mathematics classes at Carl H. Kumpf School in Clark are using widely known board and card games to practice probability calculations. Click here to read all about it!