My Students

When the bell rings at 2:55, many of my students walk home to an empty house, where they watch television, play video games, and surf the Internet for hours until a parent comes home. I would like to start an after-school, Strategy Board Game Club for these students.

I teach 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade Science in a high poverty elementary school in Missouri.

Most of my students qualify for free/reduced lunch, and many have a poor quality of life at home. My students are both energetic and inquisitive learners. They enjoy coming to school, learning new concepts, and playing board games.

My Project

A Strategy Board Game Club will allow my students to stay after school and bond with their peers while playing strategic board games. Strategic board games promote learning, unlock thinking skills, and stimulate brain development in children. The games I have requested are not the old board games that are based on luck but are instead games that promote critical thinking skills and strategy like Ticket to Ride, Timeline, and 7 Wonders. I have also picked some cooperative games like Pandemic, Flashpoint Fire Rescue, Hanabi, and Forbidden Desert. These games promote team building and communication. I have ordered a wide variety of games, so I can have several groups playing different games at the same time.

I am a "Board Game Geek" and have been playing nightly board games with my family.

I love the bonds these nightly games have developed and how we spend more time interacting and less time in front of electronics. This club will allow my students to develop bonds with each other while increasing their critical thinking and communication skills. My goal would be for my students to take what they've learned home and begin playing games with their families.