Word games are a great way to get homeschool students to increase their vocabulary. Here are a few that can be played to raise the energy in the homeschool classroom while continuing to teach the kids something new. They are also great for ice breakers with other homeschool families.

The Adjective Game

The homeschool student says an adjective followed by a name. For instance Lucky Luke. The next one in line must repeat the first adjective and name combination and add his own. So it becomes Lucky Luke, Bright Betty. Each person in turn must continue adding to the list. The ones who miss out or get the sequence wrong are dropped out. The game continues till only one person is able to get the entire list correctly. It may help for the first person to drop out to keep a list of the names and adjectives to ensure that the sequence is recorded. The homeschool teacher may also opt to do this task and sit out the actual game.

The “I Know You” Game

We need at least three participants for this game, the more the merrier. One homeschool student asks another a question. This could be something like, “What’s your favorite color?” The person asked the question does not answer, however the person sitting to their left must say, “I know you, your favorite color is ….”. Then they check with the person and if the answer is right, the person who answered correctly gets to ask a question. Should the answer be wrong the person will say, “You don’t know me” and then proceed to ask the next question in the game. This one can continue till everyone has had a chance to ask a question, or till the homeschool parent decides is enough.

The Compliment Game

Stick a piece of paper on the back of each member in the homeschool classroom. Now hand over pens to everyone. Each person must write down a compliment for the person on the paper on their back. They need not write their names on the paper. Wait till everyone has written down the compliments for everyone else. They can take off the papers from their back and read their compliments.