The best way to teach a child is through play. Children pick up alphabets, poems, maths, and many other subjects faster, when taught through games. You can incorporate many concepts in their minds, without even making them realize that these are the same boring subjects taught in school. Games can not only be fun, but an excellent teaching aid in making children understand, remember, and retrieve the concept they pick up while playing. You can build their language skills, widen their knowledge in world history, geography, science, and many more subjects. There are many interactive, cognitive, and educational toys available in the market that can be very useful for this purpose. You can find them at toy stores and malls. But, it is even more fun when you and your kids sit down and make one by yourself. It will help you bond with your child, the siblings can bond among themselves, and everyone learns something out of this constructive activity. The fun, in fact, doubles when you play a game that has been made by you. Jigsaw Puzzle If you thought jotting down the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle in their right places was fun, wait till you go the reverse way round. Making a jigsaw puzzle of your own, is also very interesting. The kids will love cutting the different puzzle pieces. To make a jigsaw puzzle, cut a thin cardboard sheet of the desired size. Paste a picture or photograph of your choice on it. On the backside of the cardboard, draw a zigzag line from top to bottom, leaving a space of 1 inch from the left edge. Draw similar lines at a distance of 1 inch from each other. Similarly, draw zigzag lines horizontally, 1 inch apart. Cut along these lines to make your jigsaw pieces. Jumble the pieces and your jigsaw puzzle is ready to be solved. This activity helps in building and developing the analytical skills of the kids. Spool-a-Word This game helps build your kid's vocabulary and spelling skills. You will need three spools and 1 unsharpened pencil. Take a marker pen and write the letters s,r,l,g, and f around one spool. Write a,e,i,o,u on the other spool, and on the third spool write n,t,d,p, and b. Use different color markers on each spool. Put the spool containing the letters s,r,l,g, and f, then the one containing the vowels, and then the last spool around the pencil. Now, turn the spools on the pencil and form a word. See who can come up with more words in a minute. This is an interactive and fun game that will be enjoyed thoroughly by the kids. Brain Teaser Art This helps children learn and understand some basic math skills. You will need a stencil to create geometric designs. Try making a bird with lots of circles, or make a house using squares, rectangles, and triangle shapes. You have to keep in mind the number of shapes you draw. Color the brain teaser with an array of colors. After you finish preparing your brain teaser, ask the kids to count the number of shapes. It will be great fun as the children will get puzzled with the geometric jumble of shapes. This game improves their counting skills. You can also play 'who can bounce a ball more times?'. Children will learn to count and the game will strengthen their concentration levels. You can play 'Simon Says' with a twist. You can spell a word and ask the kids to pronounce it. There are other ways too, in which you can improve your children's thinking capabilities. You can involve them when shopping and introduce them to exotic vegetables and fruits sold at the market. Also, tell them about the countries or region where they are cultivated. The next time you visit a market, pretend you forgot the name of the exotic fruit and vegetable and ask them to help you remember! There are many online sites where games based on phonics, language, arts, world history, and maths are offered. Children love playing online games and educational games help them learn things the fun way. It is a win-win situation. You can come up with smart ideas that can make a daily chore into a fun educational game. You can ask kids to help you in the kitchen while cooking. They can learn to measure the ingredients and in turn learn about measurements and fractions. Involve them in daily household accounts. It will help them gain the elementary knowledge of mathematics. These inexpensive educational games are innovative and trickle the little gray cells of your kids. Let lose the child in you, and enjoy playing these games with your kids.