Has your little one transitioned from preschooler to big kid? They must be six! Oh, what a fun age. They’re still fully into pretending, but they’re also starting to communicate more effectively. They’re understanding bigger concepts, and ready to start playing more intricate games.
If you’re looking for fun and educational games for your six-year-old, you’ve come to the right place! Keep reading to find out some of our favorites and why they are so good for this age (and the whole family, too!).
What Makes A Good Game For A 6-Year-Old?
There’s a big jump from the world of preschool games to games geared more towards a six-year-old. After all, as we are sure your six-year-old has reminded you, they’re not a baby anymore. They’re a big kid now! From their improved communication skills to reading and teamwork skills, they’ve taken a leap into big kid territory.
Looking for games that are at the appropriate level for them can help them stay entertained and learn or reinforce new skills. Here are some things to look for in games for your six-year-old.
Problem Solving
From an early age, kids practice problem-solving. When they are super little, crying sure does solve a lot of problems. Luckily, as kids get bigger, they communicate more clearly and are able to better understand and address a problem.
Their critical thinking skills are now becoming more advanced. Finding games that help them hone their problem-solving skills are important. Creating a scavenger hunt, for example, is a fun game for six-year-olds to use their problem-solving skills.
Incorporates Reading
At this point, you probably have a budding reader on your hands. Reading levels for six-year-olds are all over the map, so only you know what’s best for your child. Incorporating reading into games, even if it’s just a word here and there, can help reinforce what they’re learning in school. Simple games like the rhyming game can be super fun at this age. Start with the word “cat” and think of all of the words that rhyme with it. This is a great game for the car or if you’re playing with younger players.
Includes Numbers
Understanding the concept of numbers is a new skill for six-year-olds. Sure, they can count, but now they understand what numbers mean and how to use them to do simple things like add. Playing fun games that include numbers can help your child continue to explore the meaning behind numbers. Number and math games are especially good for older kids but it definitely doesn’t hurt to start young, either.
Cooperative Play
Around the age of six is when kids start to think about others. They want to play with other kids, their parents, and other adults in their life. Games with competition are good to help teach them not to be a poor sport, but it’s still important to include cooperative games at this age as well. When you play a cooperative game, you’re all working together to accomplish the same goal as a team, which doesn’t involve opponents. Everyone’s a winner when you work as a team!
Fun And Educational Games
Your child is at such a fun age! They have reached a sweet spot for playing fun games. When kids reach six, they’re able to understand more of the concepts behind the games and have longer attention spans.
We have created a list of some of our favorite fun and educational games for your six-year-old. You’ll find games where they have to run around and move their bodies, (you’ll thank us later at nap time mom, six-year-olds have a lot of energy!) games that they can play with their grandparents over a Caribu video-call, and games that they can play independently at home..
Matching Games
This is the perfect game for kids who are just starting to read! They’ll love the matching games found on Caribu. In these games, they must find different matches. Can they find the letter that matches the picture? What about the picture that matches its name? There are tons of matching game sheets to choose from including letters, numbers, and matching pairs.
Simon Says
Who doesn’t love a good Simon Says game? This is one game that you can get involved in as a parent. If you don’t know how to play Simon Says, it’s simple! Call out different things you want your child to do such as touch their nose, spin in a circle, jump up and down, but before you ask, say, “Simon says.”
For example, “Simon says touch your chin!” If you say Simon says, then they have to do the action. If you don’t, then they shouldn’t do the action. Younger kids love this game because it can get really silly.
Once they’re out, switch it up! Let them be Simon and you follow the directions. What six-year-old doesn’t love to tell grown-ups what to do (*rolls eyes*)? You follow the directions and see if they can trick you. Switch back and forth until you run out of ideas to call out.
If your child is struggling with boredom one day, this is a great game to start out of the blue and see how far you can take it!
Red Light, Green Light
‘Red light, green light’ is another great game for kids. You can play this one while you are at home or even take it on the go. If you’re going for a walk around the neighborhood, you can play ‘red light, green light’ as you walk. It works as an indoor game on rainy days or an outdoor game if you have a big space to play in.
If you say ‘red light’, everyone must stop. ‘Yellow light’ means walk, and ‘green light’ means RUN! If you want to get really fun, add in a few more variations. Purple can mean skip, orange can mean gallup, blue can mean dance, and pink can mean walk backward. This is a fun one for a family game night!
Kids love mixing up this classic game. You can test their memory skills to see if they remember all of the different colors. This also helps them work on their gross motor skills and it’s perfect for all age groups.
Memory
What kid doesn’t love a good game of memory? Memory is a fantastic game for six-year-olds. It puts their problem-solving skills to the test. This game is played by flipping over two cards to see if they are a match. If they are, keep them and go again! If you didn’t find a match, flip them back over, and it’s the next person’s turn.
You can find about 30 different sets of memory card games on Caribu! If your little one is missing their cousin who lives too far to play in the same room, they can give them a magical Caribu Call and pull up a memory game to play.
Mazes
One game that is super fun and helps kids use their critical thinking is a maze. Six-year-olds love finding their way through the topsy turvy mazes to get the car to the finish line or the Olympian to their gold medal! On Caribu, you can find tons of fun mazes for your child.
There are also mazes that incorporate numbers and addition to make them even more challenging!
If you’re looking for a family activity that your six-year-old will love, try finding a corn maze. You can take this fun game off of the screen and make it life-size! As a family, you can work together to make it through the turns and dead ends of the corn maze. Similarly, obstacles and treasure hunts are great too.
Charades
Imaginations are still alive in six-year-olds. Playing a game like charades can help them use their acting skills to act out the clue they’re given. If your six-year-old is reading or just starting to read, use simple words that they can act out. If you think some words are too hard, you can add pictures to the words to make it a little easier.
In this game, you can take turns acting out different words for the other person to guess. You can even bring grandma and grandpa in on the fun! Set up a Caribu video-call, and everyone can work together to guess what the actor is acting out. For an extra level of fun, there can be a fun prize for the winning team!
Sequence Games
If you are looking for an independent-play game that is fun and educational, check out our sequence games. In these games, your six-year-old will have to figure out different sequence puzzles. They may have to figure out the path of a fire hydrant to put a fire out or fix pieces of a map. Your child will love these fun games and have no idea they’re actually learning!
Time To Play
Your six-year-old is quickly changing from a preschooler to a big kid. They’re learning more about how to communicate, problem-solve, and play together with others. They’re also starting to read and have a better understanding of numbers. With all of these changes, the games they play should reflect them. After all, they aren’t toddlers anymore!
Other great game ideas include:
- A board game like Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly (good for fine motor skills)
- Dominoes or marbles
- A dice game for counting and math help
- The junior version of harder card or board games
- Make-believe games where they pretend to be a princess, dinosaur, or monster
Games like memory, ‘red light, green light,’ mazes, charades, and ‘Simon Says’ are some of the best games for the wonderful age of six. Don’t forget to join in on the fun! Kids love playing with their parents and watching their silly side come out.
At Caribu, it’s always playtime! Whether you play alone or with your family in a different country, we’ve got your back. We love bringing families together to create new, fun memories together!
Sources:
Milestones for 6-Year-Olds | CS Mott Children’s Hospital | Michigan Medicine
The Growing Child: School-Age (6 to 12 Years) | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia