Teach Your Child English Using Word Puzzle Games

Is your child poor in English?

No matter what you do, he or she is either just not willing to learn or is not able to grasp the subject.

This must be so frustrating for you!

Does this mean that your child is dumb?

Definitely not!

The same children happen to know about every detail about their favourite sports or their favourite TV show down to the last detail. So what is it that they find in TV shows and sports that they find lacking in studies?

Most of you have guessed the answer correctly. It is “INTEREST”. They don’t find the process of learning English interesting enough.

Interestingly, there is an interesting way of teaching your children English and that too, by generating their interest!  A word puzzle game for kids may just be the solution you are looking for.

A word puzzle game for kids consists of different types of puzzles which require children to form proper meaningful words using jumbled letters and meaningful sentences using jumbled words.  There are many such games available in the market. As a parent, it is your responsibility to find out those puzzle games that intend to develop your child’s vocabulary. Introduce your child to these games and get involved with them.

A word puzzle game for kids not only increases the vocabulary of the kids and helps them learn English, but also by inducing them to think, develops their analytical skills as well.

Nowadays children have become highly tech savvy as well. Put a mobile phone in their hands and see how they remain glued to it. So, why not use it to their advantage?

There are many word puzzle games available for download on mobile phones. These mobile puzzle games have highly interactive interfaces and engaging content which help engage the children and help them learn English while they also have fun. PunnyFuzzle is one such word puzzlegame for kids which helps your child learn English by solving puzzles.

By introducing your children to these games, you ensure that playing and learning English become synonymous. These puzzle games add the element of fun and generate their interest in the learning process

ESL Games – An Exciting Way to Learn English

Study and games hardly go hand in hand. They are in fact, in many cases, considered rivals. What people fail to realize is that both are complimentary to one another. This is especially true if the object of study is learning a new language.

 Learning a new language, especially if it is a language other than one’s mother tongue, is a difficult task. And if one doesn’t find it interesting, then it becomes all the more difficult. And being the lingua franca, the English language deserves a special mention here, when we are talking about learning a second language.

However, learning a language solely depends on one’s interest in learning that language. So, the question that arises is, “How to make the task of learning English interesting?”

Well, there are a variety of methods, but what I would like to highlight today is the effectiveness of ESL (English as a second language) games as a means to learn the English language.

So, what are ESL games?

ESL word games or simply ESL games are vocabulary building games that help non-English people learn English. Many English teaching institutes incorporate this method to teach English to the non-English speaking population. These games use images, photographs, and activities like charades to teach people new words and by using practical methods, help them frame sentences using those words.

How are ESL games helpful?

For some, learning English seems to be an intimidating task and conventional teaching methods may make them quickly lose interest. ESL games add the “fun” quotient to the learning process and make it interesting. Besides, ESL games also involve group activities that make the learning process an enjoyable and exhilarating experience. Also, it has been found that people learn faster when the learning process involves group activity.

Are these games only meant for children?

While the brains of children are more receptive to new information and this helps them learn a language easily, it becomes increasingly difficult to grasp a new language as one ages. Most of the times, the level of excitement shown by adults in the process of learning is lower as compared to children. So besides children, ESL games are beneficial for adults as well and many institutes which provide English learning courses for adults find these games highly useful.

Nowadays, our mobile phones and computers have also become tools for entertainment and learning. So if one does not have the time or the resources to attend an institute for learning English, he has the additional option of using the internet and mobile phones as tools for learning. There are many ESL gamesavailable as mobile applications and people can also use them as a means to learn English.

Learning English has become absolutely essential in today’s world and because of their effectiveness, ESL games are being widely adopted as a means to teach English.

Why Puzzle Games are So Important for Your Kids

As a child, I remember playing with puzzle games which included creating images of different animals by filling the empty gaps and building houses using a set of blocks. And I really loved them.  And as an adult, I am really thankful to my parents for introducing me to these games. This is because I have come to know and understand how a puzzle game for kids is so much beneficial for children. Here are a few areas where a puzzle game for kids can prove to be of immense importance.

1. Cognitive skills-  Puzzle games come in a variety of forms and include a variety of shapes and colors and hence, they help a child learn and differentiate between colors, shapes, alphabets and in this way, develop their cognitive abilities.

2. Problem-solving skills

     A puzzle game for kids induces a child to think and find connections between the various elements of the puzzle and find the right pattern and then joining all the elements to complete the puzzle. This, in turn, develops the problem-solving skills and analytical abilities of the child.

3. Hand and Eye Coordination- When children play with puzzles, they use many trial and error methods and try visualizing the correct placement of the various elements and then they use their hands to place the elements in the positions they visualize. This process helps them in developing their hand-eye coordination.

4. Fine motor skills-  Playing with a puzzle game for kids involves grasping and picking up small pieces and placing them in the gaps or fitting them in the right places. And all these activities improve children’s ability and strength to grab and hold objects and put them down and thus, help in developing their fine motor skills.

5. Social skills

       Puzzle games can be a great means of developing social skills in children.  Group puzzle solving activities involve discussing the proper positions of objects, correcting each other’s mistakes and also involve sharing the joy after solving the puzzle. All these activities help enhance their social skills.

6. Builds confidence

        Successfully solving the puzzle after overcoming the challenges gives children a sense of achievement and they feel proud of their achievement. This, in turn, helps develop their confidence.

7. Improves memory

        Kids often like solving the same puzzles again and again and in the course of time, they can easily remember the correct positions of the objects of the puzzle.  This exercises the kids’ minds and helps them develop a better memory.

A puzzle game for kids is thus, a fun and exciting way to develop these essential set of skills in your children early in their lives. You can also play problem solving game.

Why Problem Solving Games Promote an Enlightened Life

Since childhood, I was very interested in problem solving games. From the jigsaw puzzles and Rubik cubes, I gradually graduated to riddles and math based problems. To tell all of you frankly, problem solving games prevent brain cells to atrophy and actually build new neurological connections.

Now, why do these games deserve the credit for out-of-box thinking? Let us see the approach one has to take when trying to decipher problem solving games.

1. To classify the problem: First of all, we need to put the problem in a fixed mould so as to marinate it for cooking later!

·         Using Simple Language: In problem solving games we use simple precise and unambiguous language, like we may explain any event to a child. This develops our soft skills and body language.

·         Different Variety: What different way you approached the problem today than maybe five years ago? You have to introspect whether there is variety in your thinking.

·         Focus and visualization:  Our ability to focus increases substantially when we concentrate on problem solving games. Also, new ideas emerge when we visualize that the problem is already solved, and act from there! This leads to positive visualization in our overall lives.

·         Crystallize: To shrink the problems to a manageable and workable size is important. This dissection is important in life, to simplify falsely assumed complicated life situations.

2. To form a ‘Think Tank’: We can work as a collective force to deal with problem solving games.

·         Idea Generator: Lots of ideas are opened up with the potential for realization. We learn to respect and value others ideas, and learn that any idea can be good, even if it comes from others.

·         Ridiculous Ideas: Sometimes, the ideas we discard as invalid are the most useful to solve a problem. This is an important life lesson: To never underrate any approach in life, however stupid it may seem.

·         Various Combinations: Various N*N combinations can be tried for problem solving games. In life too, you should never give up until all the paths are walked.

·         From a Third Person POV: Imagine you are Mr. Picard, the neighbor. How will he approach the problem? What Would Picard Do? This is very important in life, as in each event of your life, you will be able to dis-attach from and approach from a neutral standpoint. When we see our own ‘problem’ in our lives through someone else’s eyes, we do not take it personally and it dissolves and gives a sense of relief and joy.

3. Finding the solution: In problem solving games, many times there is no right or wrong answer, and sometimes, no solution at all! It’s the effort that counts!

·         Idea Meeting: Also known as ‘brainstorming’, it involves forming committees to present ideas and agreeing upon one. This facilitates working in a group.

·         Mock up Encounters: This means testing a prospective idea. This allows many of the ‘cringe-worthy’ people to follow up on their promises.

·         Objective: Does the means of the idea satisfy the end? Problem solving games help us to clearly focus on our ultimate objectives in life.

·         Bringing ‘Fun’ to the Routine: When you bring humor to problem solving games, you inadvertently bring humor to your life and this makes living life easier.

4. Accepting the Solution: In problems: we are right or wrong. Similarly, in life we sometimes win and sometimes lose, but life goes on nevertheless!

Thus, problem solving games can act as a catalyst in living a lovely, joyous and peaceful life!

GAMES AS A MEANS TO LEARN ENGLISH

Learning a language may be boring and unexciting for a few children. No matter whether you are a parent or a teacher, making these kids learn is a difficult task. This is because they don’t find the topic exciting enough and hence, are not able to pay attention during the learning process. However, ask them about their favorite cartoon shows or their favorite sports and they will provide you with all the information down to the last detail.

So, we see that paying attention is the key to learning; and a child pays attention to the things he loves and enjoys doing.  So how do we devise a strategy which will help them learn as well as enjoy?

The answer is simple. Make them learn and enjoy at the same time. And introducing games as a means of learning is probably the best way to engage children in the learning process while having fun. Similarly, games to learn English are an effective way of teaching English to children. These games are interactive and help them learn by employing a variety of techniques. They manage to grab the attention of the children for a longer period by keeping the latter engrossed in them. Some games to learn English not only help the kids learn English, but also improve their analytical skills.

Games to learn English are available in a number of forms. Some are in the form of puzzles, while others are simple word building exercises aimed at improving the children’s vocabulary. As a parent or teacher, you should expose the kids to a variety of these games and find out which among these manage to engage them the most. Then let them continue with the games they are interested in.

Nowadays, kids have also become tech savvy; give them a mobile phone and they will remain glued to it for hours. So, as a parent, you can also use your mobile phone as a means to teach English to your children. There are many mobile gaming apps available which help children to learn English. With their highly interactive platform and engaging content, these mobile games are able to keep the children engaged and help them learn English while also having fun. PunnyFuzzle is one such interactive puzzle game which helps your child learn English by solving puzzles.

When playing becomes synonymous with learning, the learning process becomes more engaging and “play and learn” has become the new trend to help children in their learning process. And games to learn English have become important tools to help children learn English while having fun.

Games For Dementia patients

There is Life after Dementia Too: For Those Who Came in Late!

I remember, in 2010, when my grandfather was still alive, and he was suffering from memory loss, how he used to phase in and out of his ‘life story’. He used to go into  a certain type of ‘void’, where he could not remember what he had ate one hour ago, and could not recognise his own children and grandchildren. Little had my family known then, that there is a solution for memory loss: Games for Dementia Patients! If we had known any better, we would have admitted him into a specialised Dementia Care Facility, where they have various programs for them. Instead, we made the usual mistake of admitting him into a general old-age home.

Dementia is a general term that describes a variety of symptoms. Memory loss is a subtype of Dementia. Dementia is caused by damage to brain cells.

Although, today, there exist many ways to reduce or even reverse Dementia, like diet, exercise, Venom (Honey Bee, Snake), and so on, in this blog I will focus on games for Dementia patients as anotherinnovative way!

Dementia can be reversed: The fact!

Let me come back to my original topic of games for Dementia patients: finding those games can be time-consuming and engaging. So, I am going to list them here along with their benefits ok. Here, engagement is an important term. If a patient is not engaged, then he/she is likely to fall into the four a’ of Alzheimer’s namely: apathy, aggression, agitation and anxiety. As you will see, these games are for stimulation, rather than competitive purposes.

1. Bingo: It has shown to have positive effects. It is as low tech as any games for Dementia patients are going to get! Is has use in improving cognitive functions, and in providing mental stimulation. Tests conducted showed it had a long lasting effect on alertness and awareness.
2. Board Games: There is a saying, ‘As we get older, we are actually getting younger!’ As jigsaw puzzles are famous among children, similarly, board games are a hit with the elderly. It provides a type of sensory stimulation. Among games for Dementia patients, board games are a sea of color-Pollyanna, Candyland.
3. Physical Exercises: Activities play an essential role in preventing the progress of Dementia, as a social circle prevents loneliness and generates a feeling of belongingness. These can include walking, aerobics, jogging, laughter therapy, etc. They help in rejuvenation of mood and enthusiasm. They can also involve gardening, doing cleaning work or preparing foods.
4. Card Games: These can involve many different types such as ‘Old Maid’ and ‘Go Fish’. Rummy and Black Jack are evergreen favorites.
5. Computer Based: In a research done in Spain, a computer-based game called as Smartbrain, has emerged as the best among games for Dementia patients. Being a computer-based game, it has promising prospects because these can be instructed to play at the competence level of the player.

As you can see, there is a wide spectrum of benefits to our ‘better halves’ from playing these games. However, make sure in allotting these games for Dementia patients according to association. A patient who has played a game as a child in the past, will relate more easily to it than another game that he/she had played more recently!

Problem Solving Games to Challenge Your Brain

Best Android Problem Solving Games to Challenge Your Brain

Puzzle games are the best option to take a break from your daily routine and refresh your mind. Nowadays, numerous new problem solving games get launch on Play Store. Some are fun, some give your mind stress, few of them help you learn new technology and some have other qualities. Whether you’ve got two minutes or hours to relax, you can pick one from this complied list of the best problem solving games that challenge your brain.

PunnyFuzzles

PunnyFuzzles is one of the best problem solving games as it helps to improve English effectively and easily. Improve your English vocabulary in a fun way with this word learning and a problem solving game. Learning English becomes easy with minimum resources and efforts. This is one of the best Android word games for kids and adults worth downloading.

Word Game for kids

Strata

Colorful ribbons can be elegant, but Strata proves that it can also be used to brutally and brainy challenge. This game provides you a design to match, and then anticipates you to create it by using given digital ribbons on the grid. The game has different level from 2 x 2 grids to 5 x5 grids and with every level the game gets tougher.

Alphabear

Alphabear is another puzzle game with some interesting twist to it. The bear keeps growing and filling the blank space as you create new words from the letter displayed on the board. You earn the point, according to the bear’s size at the end of the game. When you score high, you can win a bear that will be added to your permanent collection, which can be further used to power-up the game. The game has daily missions and numerous bears to unlock that excite and tempt you to play this game.

Four Letters

Download and try this Four Letters app on your Android device. This game is all about speed and it challenges your brain at each level. With the ticks of the clock, you have to create a word from the letters displaying on the screen and each completed word add some extra time to your timer. This game is a nice break from other lengthy word puzzlers.

Install one of these fantastic puzzle games on your Android device and enjoy playing them in free time!

Get more Word Puzzle Game for Kids.