Environmental Board Games for Primary Children

Teach your children about the environment with a board game.

The recent green movement has brought with it a number of products that reflect a more environmentally conscious way of life. Think of hybrid cars or organic foods or energy-saving light bulbs. Game designers have also profited from the green movement, introducing a number of board games suitable for teaching primary children about the environment.

Recycling Board Games

One way that your children can learn about saving the environment is by playing a recycling board game. One of these board games is made by Plan Toys and it's called "Eco Recycling Game." This one- to four-person game comes with dice, a playing board, four recycle bins, four figures and sixteen pieces of recyclable waste tokens. It teaches children how to recycle properly, in addition to teaching them how to save natural resources by keeping certain objects out of landfills.

Animal Board Games

There are also board games available that teach children about the animals in their environment and the role they play in the ecosystem. Outset Media has released a set of three board games called "My First Three Nature Games," which teach children about animal food chains. The only board game in this set is "Who's Afraid of the Fox," which is a memory board game that asks children to recognize an animal based on its image, and categorize it as an herbivore, omnivore or carnivore.

Ocean Board Games

Young children should also learn about the importance of our oceans and the animals that live in them. Ocean-opoly is one game that does this. Based on the popular game Monopoly, Ocean-opoly ha children buy sea creatures and raise rents by collecting blocks of water and trading them in for big fish. At each step of the game, kids are presented with fun facts about each ocean creature that is featured in the game.

Plant Board Games

You may also choose to teach your children about the important environmental impacts plants have on our environment. With The Wild Seed Game, children learn about such plant topics as nutrient and light requirements, germination and food chains. The object of the game is to "sprout" or grow the fastest by turning over cards and advancing your playing piece through the seasons. The makers of this game have also included a storybook that you can read to your children to teach them even more about plant science.

References

• Plan Toys: Eco Recycling Game
• Products of Canada: My First Three Nature Games
• Educational Learning Games: Ocean-opoly
• Board Game Geek: The Wild Seed Game