File Folder Games... I have often spoken of the wonderful benefits of file folder games. I have recently been asked about them by several people so I thought I would write a little here. Of course I just wrote a long post and blogger chose that moment to experience "technical difficulties” and I lost the whole thing – so I will summarize and try to be brief (this is brief for me keep in mind).

A file folder game is basically any game or activity that is self contained and placed in a file folder. We have a collection of about 40 of them right now, covering topics such as: addition, subtraction, phonics, patterns, shapes, colors, numbers, ABC's, numbers, matching, opposites, graphing and so on. My kids love them and we use them in the car, doctor's office, or anywhere we need to wait as well as during school and freetime.

These are really easy and cheap to make, albeit time consuming (printing, coloring, laminating, cutting, glueing, velcro) to make – but well worth it. Some great resources to make your own games include: Preschool Printables, Free Board Games, and Homeschool Hutt. I also find it relatively easy to adapt printouts from Enchanted Learning into simple or more challenging games.

For those who prefer to use non-online resources there are several great books out there. I especially enjoy the Carson-Delarosa series (we have used many of these). There are also CD-ROMS with printouts available such as this one. We have also made games out of old issues of “Your Big BackYard”.

All in all I can't say enough good about file folder games. The many hours of this summer that I spent creating these for my children has been well worth it. I am also making some for gifts for friends and family. Just thought I would share. Remember you can make these appropriate for any age. We started with basic shapes and colors and you can do science facts, math and logic games and anything your imagination can think of – or resources are available for. They are compact, self-contained and if done right pretty tough to hurt (always a plus with small children) and the kids love them.

Peace,
Tenn