Rush Hour style logic games -- beneficial or not?

[Jennifer132]

I just went to our state's homeschool conference and my dd7 played a logic game at the Timberdoodle booth. She was really challenged by it! I know Timberdoodle schedules these games into the curriculum. What do you think? Would you include something like this in your regular homeschool schedule (not just in your home for free time, but scheduled in)? Do you think it's beneficial to schedule it in?

 

Eta: I should add that my kids (7 and 9) would not play these games if I never scheduled it in. They are much more oriented to reading and imaginary play.

[Kathryn]

I don't schedule stuff like that in, but they are available for free play. For "logic," the only thing that I count as "school" is Building Thinking Skills and Mind Benders.

[Arcadia]

My kids enjoy logic games so I had shameless use those for "babysitting" when they were younger and I need to cook. If they never touch logic games, I would schedule the logic games into family play time but not into school time. I had scheduled in Monopoly and Scrabble into family play time in the past because I like them to play some multi-player games and learn to lose gracefully.

[Kareni]

I did include logic games as part of my daughter's schooling.  She started homeschooling in seventh grade.  We used MindBenders and other Critical Thinking Press materials.  We also played games such as Quarto and SET.

 

My husband who tutors math to homeschoolers as well as public and private schooled students routinely uses logic games with his students.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[JustEm]

Math games are the meat and potatoes of my math curriculum for my kids. They don't even know I schedule it because its just mom playing a game withthem.

[*Lulu*]

Yes, I schedule those sort of games almost daily. We also do MindBender type work on a regular basis.

[charcat13]

I just bought Logik Street. I plan to have my younger two play a few times a week.

[Farrar]

I have seen some people sort of downplay them and logic workbooks and puzzles in general in the elementary stage, but I think they help kids learn problem solving skills that are applicable to math and common sense logic as well as get ready for formal logic later on.  I think they can also teach focus and patience.  If kids aren't into them, I don't think it's worth pushing the issue in a major way, but they're a nice way to break up the school day to put them in between things sometimes.  And I think most kids will enjoy some form of them, whether it's the logic grid type puzzles or other worksheet type puzzles, the Think Fun style solo games, or a two player game like chess or Mastermind.

[abba12]

I'm a big fan of timberdoodles stuff. We have table time which is a fun but scheduled activity each day and these sorts of activities are in our table time boxes, so you might consider them scheduled (I choose the box each day not the kids). I definitely make time and space for them in our homeschool budget. We also do the various puzzle workbooks from critical thinking company as a morning warmup type thing, so also scheduled

[Snickerdoodle]

We don't schedule it in, but we have tons of these games and they get a lot of use.   

[Night Elf]

I don't know about scheduling them in, but I do they are beneficial. We had a whole box of logic games the kids loved playing on their own time.