TODAY IS National Scrabble Day, and my mind has turned to word games. That’s right! Scrabble, the granddaddy of all word games, has its very own designated holiday, celebrated each year on April 13.
Celebrate National Scrabble Day
In honor of National Scrabble Day, why not join the fun by engaging your family in one of these Scrabble-themed activities or projects?
Scrabble – Play the official crossword puzzle board game.
- Scrabble – Play this free online version!
- Boardless Scrabble – Speed Scrabble played with just the tiles
- Anagrams – Test your skills! An anagram is a word or phrase made by transposing the letters to create another word or phrase. For instance, MARCH is an anagram of CHARM. Scrabble players must rearrange tiles to create words, so anagrams make great practice!
- Word and Letter Games – Find letter-matching games, Scrabble activities, Scattergories-type worksheets, and other skill-building games. Activities and printables. (This is an ESL site, but the activities translate well to native English speakers.)
- Printable Scrabble Game – print your own board and pieces. Or, download and print these realistic “wood” tiles for FREE!
- Printable Word Scramble and Cryptogram Worksheets – Similar to anagrams, cryptograms provide practice with rearranging letters. These are arranged by both theme and grade.
- Handmade Gifts for Scrabble Lovers – Even if you can’t actually make these crafts today, you can begin planning some serious Scrabble-themed Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and birthday gifts.
- Pinterest Scrabble Craft Ideas – Find all sorts of great ideas for converting Scrabble elements into photo frames, wall art, Christmas ornaments, magnets, and more!
Tap into the Benefits of Word Games
Whether you play online—or with pencil, paper, cubes, tiles, or game boards—word games are great for building vocabulary and thinking skills. Besides Scrabble, there are other favorites too! Challenge your children with some of these stimulating activities.
Popular letter-arrangement games include:
Benefits: Vocabulary development; improved spelling skills; cognitive and social benefits; mental stimulation
Paper and pencil puzzles offer more options for word lovers:
Crossword puzzles
- Acrostics
- Hangman
- Word searches
Benefits: Boredom busters; mental stimulation; improved brain function; better concentration; vocabulary development; improved spelling skills
Structured games that focus more on word meanings include:
- Mad Libs – Both the paper-and-pencil variety
and online versions such as Mad Glibs
- Scattergories
- Taboo
- Charades
- Try this free online Charade Ideas Generator
- Balderdash
Benefits: Improved language skills; social benefits
Your children will think they’re getting a break from school to play games, but you’ll know differently. Using word games and exercises that are stimulating, educational, and fun, you’ll be helping your kids give their brains a workout!
Your Turn
What are your family’s favorite word games?
5 comments ↓
Since you like anagrams, I wondered if you might be interested in finding out more about cryptic crosswords. This is a link to a post I did recently which looked particularly at clues that involved anagrams. Cryptic Crosswords – Anagrams
Wow, Carole! These look really challenging! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the tips! You’re right! I often play puzzle games with my children and I could really see their development while growing up!
Yes, it’s always fun to watch them learn when they think they’re just “playing”!
[...] Build Skills With Puzzles & Word Games- In Our Write Minds Scrabble is one of my favorite games. Kim shares links to Scrabble and other word games that will make learning to spell fun. [...]