Learning with Games | Blocks Rock!
MOM! She’s being mean to me!
I closed my eyes and groaned inwardly. Seriously… the time between the end of winter and the beginning of springtime — you know, when the weather can’t quite make up its mind what it’s going to do — is so exhausting for an intense and curious family full of differently-wired kids.
What’s a homeschooling mom to do?
Enter gameschooling…
I’ve been using games as learning tools forever — way before I had kids of my own, I used gameschooling as a tool for my gifted learners to learn in the resource room and as part of their extension work. Gameschooling is smart schooling.
And Blocks Rock! is one of this quirky family’s new favorites.
What is Blocks Rock! all About?
Blocks Rock! is a competitive block building game that develops spatial thinking and mental rotation skills, all rolled into an amazingly fun game complete with a handy travel case. In fact, it’s so popular here, that we throw it in the car for when the kids have to wait at music lessons or restaurants, and it’s become a staple at our homeschool group’s monthly game club.
The idea behind the game is simple – choose a card and use your blocks to race to be the first to build the structure in 3D. The first one to build the image successfully rings the bell and wins the card. Simple. Fun. Fast-Paced.
It’s fun for all ages.
The best part is that all my kids — 15, 10, 8, and 5 — love it, so it’s truly a family-friendly game that is easily adaptable to each player’s individual ability level.
Who is Blocks Rock! for?
Blocks Rock! is appealing to little guys like my 5 year old, who is fine-tuning his beginning spatial skills, learning to think logically, and loves racing to ring the bell, all the way up to older kids like my 15 year old, who wants to “set the record” for solving all of the cards the quickest. Honestly, one of my favorite things about games that look like puzzles (like Blocks Rock!) is that they can be played by kids of various ages in different ways.
What is Great About Blocks Rock!?
Watching learning happen without kids even being aware of it is one of the greatest joys of homeschooling – and getting to do that through the use of family game night is even better! I adore watching my kids play games like this because they think they’re just having fun, but I know that they’re learning valuable skills.
With Blocks Rock!, kids develop critical STEM skills, and — as shown through research — activate the regions in their brains linked to both motor and spatial processing skills. They have unplugged fun and develop their brains in the process!
Problem solving skills are probably my favorite thing learned when kids play visual-spatial games like this. They must employ one of the most challenging problem solving strategies when they first start to solve: guess and check. Guess and check seems simple, until one realizes that kids not only need to guess the solution to the problem, and check to see if their idea works, but they also need to apply any knowledge they gain to improve their guesses over time. This sharpens kids’ critical and logical thinking skills – skills that are crucial in today’s media-driven world.
Games like this simply help kid become better thinkers.
Why should you add Blocks Rock! to your game closet?
Okay… so this is always a tough one. Are you like me — you have SO many games that you can’t fathom adding another one? (Actually… this is more like my husband. I can always justify another new game!). Blocks Rock! is one to add if you’re a gamer.
It’s portable.
It’s unplugged.
It’s easy to learn.
It’s low stress.
It is a literal brain builder.
It’s super fun.
It’ll help you get through until the warm spring and summer weather decides to stick, so there’s no more fighting and screaming going on. (Well… maybe it won’t eliminate all the fighting. But it’ll help!)
Blocks Rock! is a great family game, and fun for all ages. I highly recommend this game for all homeschooling and gameschooling families.
Want more gameschooling suggestions? Try these: