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Games that Benefit the Brain

Most kids love to play card and board games, but did you know that many offer benefits far beyond the obvious social gains? Many games are actually good for cognition and can exercise the...

10 Great, Free Typing Games

Over the summer months, kids can easily improve their keyboarding skills while having fun. There are numerous free typing games available on the internet, and this blog post highlights a few of th...

Why MPower Games Transform Struggling Learners

I am so excited to tell you about my publication, MPower: Cognitive Remedial Card Games! MPower offers a selection of multisensory sorting games that improve memory, processing speed, and multiple ...

50 Awesome Remedial Games for Struggling Readers

When I first began my private practice about 20 years ago, my primary focus was remedial reading with Orton-Gillingham (OG) methods. With my doctoral training in hand, I continually reviewed readin...

Ten, Fun Games that Strengthen Visual Processing

Visual processing is an important cognitive skill for children to develop, and there are many fun games that help to strengthen this skill. What is Visual Processing and Why is it Importan...

More Games that Benefit the Brain: A Review

If you have been reading my blogs, you know I'm a big fan of bringing the fun factor into learning. In fact, did you know that many games can improve cognitive functioning?   Some Games Exercise an...

10 Great Games for Students with Dyslexia

With the holiday season almost upon us, finding fun and beneficial educational materials can be key for keeping students with dyslexia busy over the break. What's more, you can continue to use the...

Free Internet Games That are Great for the Brain!

Explore My Collection of Over 100 Free Educational Games As a learning specialist and educational therapist, I’ve spent years exploring the internet in search of engaging, high-quality educational...

What Reading Games Ignite a Love for Learning?

Using games in the learning process brings joy as well as a positive motivating factor into lessons.  Instead of bribing kids with external motivators such as candy and stickers, games ignite an i...

The Best Games to Engage Students on Zoom

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog entitled, How to Use Zoom for Video Tutoring, but this week, I wanted to share with you five fun, educational games I created for my students that you can pl...

What Fun Writing Games Motivate and Inspire Students?

Writing can be a wonderful and creative activity for students; however, if learners hate the process, it can be difficult to teach them this needed skill.  So what can be done to motivate strugglin...

Over 100 of the Best, Free, Online, Educational Games

Many parents and teachers are cautious about allowing computer time, and for good reason. Too many children become hooked on fast-paced, mindless games that encourage the very behaviors we work har...

Teaching Grammar: Games Reinforce the Parts of Speech

Many high school graduates report weak grammar skills, and they claim that they had little instruction in this area of academics. In fact, poor grammar deters many from communicating in writing, bu...

108 Online Games that Offer Cognitive or Educational Benefits

Over the years, I have scoured the internet to find high-quality online games that not only entertain but also strengthen the brain, support cognitive growth, and help learners find joy in the proc...

How Can Auditory Processing Be Improved with Fun Games?

Many students who struggle with auditory processing weaknesses can be irritating to teachers and family members because they just don't seem to pay attention or follow verbal directions.  In additi...

5 Fun Games and Activities to Strengthen Listening Skills

I'm happy to continue a discussion on listening skills from my prior blog post, "What are the 7 Root Origins of Poor Listening Skills?"  This past blog reviewed the cognitive skills behind listenin...

Remediating Dyslexia with Orton Gillingham Based Reading Games

Students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities often learn differently and require an alternative approach to learning basic reading. In addition, most of these young learner...

The Best Educational Games for Family Fun |Good Sensory Learning

With kids and many parents at home, it's an ideal time to play some fun, educational games and connect with your loved ones.    What are the Different Types of Educational Games? Some games reinfo...

Why are Games the Best Teaching Method for Learning?

In my practice as a learning specialist and educational therapist, I quickly learned that games were the secret weapon to learning.  Candy, toys, and other bribing forces trigger limited and brief...

Eight, Dyslexia Games Make All Reading Programs Fun and Memorable

Do you ever have to bribe your students with candy or stickers to entice them to read through long lists of words or complete workbook activities? There are a multitude of phonics and Orton-Gillin...

Executive Functioning Games for Groups and Classes: EFUN For All Ages

I'm thrilled to announce that Executive Functioning Games for Groups and Classes is now available in print for the first time!   While many of you have already explored and enjoyed the digital ver...

Main Ideas and Supporting Details Instruction, Activities and Games

Strong reading comprehension is a key to academic success, and one of the most essential skills within that process is the ability to identify main ideas and supporting details. When students ma...

Powerful Orton-Gillingham Friendly Games that Bring Delight to Learning

About 20 years ago, when I first began offering students one-to-one Orton-Gillingham-based reading remediation, I was having to bribe my students to read long lists of words, word parts, and nonse...

Inference Activities for Students: Free Games, Ideas, and a Printable Workbook

Inferences can be one of the most challenging reading and thinking skills for students to master. Unlike facts that are directly stated, inferences require learners to read between the lines, using...

Free Money Game Idea - Fun House Money Game

Integrating games into academic lessons sparks curiosity, builds multisensory engagement, and captures the attention of even the most reluctant learners. Play transforms learning; suddenly, student...

Free Vowel Combination Game

Using games to teach students the vowel combinations or vowel teams can be a wonderful way to entice your students and bring the fun factor into your lesson. Here is a free game, Voweleos, that I c...

Executive Functioning Game: In or Out

I'm excited to tell you about my executive functioning card game: In or Out! It is the first of a series of executive functioning games that I created to build this vital skill. Card Descriptions:...

Executive Functioning Card Game: Memory Master

I'm so excited to announce the release of my new Publication: Executive Functioning Game: Memory Master! It is the second of a series of four executive functioning games that I have been working on...

Sight Word Bracelet Project and Game

Bringing creativity and crafts into reading and spelling lessons can make learning more engaging and fun!  Research now suggests that playful learning methods increase learning and joy in the proc...

New Executive Functioning Game: No Match Penguins

I am delighted to share one of my favorite resources with you: Executive Functioning Game: No Match Penguin. This game is the third in a series of four executive functioning games I created to str...

Show Don’t Tell: A Descriptive Writing Game

Descriptive writing enables the author to paint scenes and characters in the mind’s eye of the reader. Like an artist, carefully selected, colorful words can convey vivid imagery, but only if the ...

Free Short Vowel Game for Any Reading Program

🎉 Get Your Free Copy of Puppy Party! Learning doesn’t have to be dull or repetitive! Kids don’t need to slog through endless word lists or worksheets to master reading skills. As an educational t...

Letter Cube Fun: Freebie Language Arts Game

I love to use foam blocks for all sorts of language arts fun. Most recently, I created a game that my students adore. I call it letter cubes.  Here are the steps, so you can create it too. You...

Free Visualization Game: For Improved Reading, Writing, and Memory

I recently finished a publication, Mindful Visualization for Learning,  that reviews the history and research behind visualization and then provides teachers with everything they need to assess and...

Using Tiled Floor to Create a Coordinate Plane Game

I love to use stairs and tiled floors when teaching math concepts. In fact, I integrate as much movement and games as possible into my lessons with students. This week, I will present my rationa...

Learning the Short Vowel Sounds with the Game Puppy Party

I wanted to share a free copy of my new favorite reading remediation activity, which is one of the many games in my publication - Reading Board Games: Making All Phonics & Orton-Gillingham-Ba...

Show Don't Tell 2: A New Descriptive, Suspense Writing Game

Have you ever read a book that you couldn't put down, because the author's words allowed you to visualize the scenes as if you had a movie going on in your head? These authors are masters of descri...

Compound Word Game Develops Critical Reasoning, Mental Flexibility and Sequencing Skills

Developing language processing skills, critical thinking, mental flexibility, verbal reasoning, and sequential processing abilities is foundational in any elementary education. But when lessons ar...

Improving Math Word Problem Solving: Free Key Word Race Game

Math word problems stump a lot of students, as they have difficulty figuring out how to change a sentence of words into a mathematical problem. For many, the stumbling block is recognizing and reme...

Free Reading and Spelling Game for the TCH or CH, DGE or GE, CK or K Rules

The English language is packed with confusing rules that can make decoding and reading difficult tasks to master. Furthermore, many of the workbooks and activities are dull, and even if students...

OSMO Develops Verbal Reasoning, Sequential, Spatial, and Critical Thinking Skills

Being a personal trainer for the brain, I am always looking for additional multi-sensory tools that can develop the different cognitive processing areas.  A few months back, I saw a video promotion...

11 End of the Year Activities Using Balls and Balloons

Balls and balloons offer a cheap and fun way to complete your school year. What’s more, integrating balls and balloons brings a tactile, playful, and kinesthetic modality into the classroom. Balls...

Excellent Reading Comprehension: Developing the 3 Core Cognitive Skills

Every teacher would love to ignite a love for reading and nurture voracious readers, but simply teaching your students how to read and asking them to read each night isn't necessarily going to help...

Developing Writing Skills for Students with Dyslexia

Do some of your students struggle with subtle linguistic cues, tricky wording, and following both oral and written directions?  Difficulties in these areas can make it challenging to comple...

Learning Center Ideas: Free, Fun Phonics Activities

It’s wonderful when giggles of joy and excitement ring through the classroom as young students eagerly learn the skills needed to be proficient readers. Learning centers or reading centers are ofte...

3 Reliable Ways to Improve Attention and Working Memory

Did you know that working memory is often touted to be the best indicator of academic success? However, if a student is easily distracted, the academic content can be missed, or it can fade before ...

How Can Teachers Trigger Dopamine and Improve Learning?

Wouldn't it be great if a teacher's actions triggered neurotransmitters in the brains of their students that improved attention, motivation, and learning at large?  Many would say that this idea so...

Help for Struggling Readers: Make Learning Fun and Memorable

Many students struggle with the underlying cognitive skills that make reading both enjoyable and efficient. When areas such as visualization, tracking, visual and auditory processing, or memory are...