Sneaky, Fun Way to Build Vocabulary

I love words. When I was a kid I used to snuggle up with a thesaurus and memorize as many words as I could then use them in my school assignments to confuse my teachers. Ah middle school when you think you’re so clever…

Anywho, my kids are not the same at all. They aren’t as interested in learning new terms — least not for now in lower elementary. My oldest has learning disabilities and a real challenge with processing language. My next daughter is smart but super lazy, and we get a lot of groaning when it comes to anything academic looking. My son picks up most things easily but is only 7 and still building out his vocab.

To be honest, I was not really expecting greatness out of the new game we received from Timberdoodle, Storyteller’s Card Game, in exchange for my honest review.

I am so happy we tried it — we think it’s the bee’s knees.

Basically it’s played exactly like Apples to Apples. A themed “story card” topic is drawn. Other players submit a card with a word they think best applies. The person who drew the story card chooses the best term and awards the story card to that person. First person to receive 5 story cards wins. I’m a fan of straightforward rules and quick gameplay. This has both. What’s unique about this game are the picture cards.

The words are categorized at the top by the topic or connotation most commonly attributed to the word. The definition is given, and there are word pairs at the bottom. On the flip side is artwork that conveys the word meaning.

All of my kids intuitively used the illustrations to deduce the meaning. My oldest who struggles the most with vocab was still able to play just by matching pictures she thought worked with the story card best. I don’t know if she will pick up a lot of new vocabulary, but I love the way it’s working her logic — and she thought it was tons of fun.

After first introducing this, I played one game with the kids; then I had to go wrangle the toddler. The kids continued playing the rest of the day. It’s currently a family favorite for game night.

What I think is especially neat is that the Timberdoodle 6th grade curriculum handbook also includes many brilliant extensions in game play: writing ideas, solo gameplay, storytelling marathons and challenges. Definitely take a look at the 6th grade kit if interested. I know we will be incorporating creative writing with the cards.

All in all, the Storyteller’s Card Game from Timberdoodle is a sneaky and super fun way to boost vocabulary. I think it’s great for a range of ages. The youngest will pick it up based on pictures (and have fun even when they don’t) and it’s an excellent resource for older kids to finetune wordplay. It’d make a great game for siblings to challenge one another or for practice before any standardized tests; I could even see it in younger kids’ morning baskets. Outside of homeschooling, I’d personally love to see this in therapy centers for special needs kids; it’d be a great tool for an SLP. English as a second language families would do well with this too.

As for us, we’re finding this to be a great family game and happy to have it in our learning toolbelt.