My daughter (15) and I love to play word games. A couple of years ago, she received a game called, “Linkee” for Christmas. “Linkee” has cards that give four trivia questions. After answering the four questions, players try to figure out what the answers all have in common. When they figure it out, they shout, “Linkee!” If they are right, they win the card, which has a letter on the back. The first person to earn all of the letters that spell “Linkee,” wins.
We love the game (even though no one else will play with us). However, a lot of the references are a bit too difficult for elementary aged kids. You can imagine my delight, then, when I discovered there is another version of “Linkee” specifically designed for younger children. “Dinkee” is for ages 8 and up. If you want to get a sense of the game, you can visit this site, where there are sample cards as well as a free downloadable version.
I played “Dinkee” with my eighteen 2nd grade students yesterday, and they loved it. They worked as tables to try to earn the cards, and it seemed the only regret was that we didn’t have time to finish the game. I’ll definitely be adding this to my list of recommended games for kids.
If you question the value of a game like this in school, then you might want to read this article, which gives a pretty compelling argument about the benefits of making connections.
To challenge your own brain in a similar fashion, you can also try the “Kennections” puzzles by Jeopardy champion, Ken Jennings.
