Monday, April 25, 2011

Professor Noggin Card Games!

Here are a few of our decks


















The Professor Noggin card games are wonderful. With so many topics covered and more added all the time, they are a fun and stimulating way to learn about history, science, geography, nature, and even hockey. Age level? They say 7 and up, but my son started off with them around the age of 4 and 5-- as you'll see there are more than one way to use them ;-)

How do they work? Basically they are a Q&A card game. One side of the cards has a picture and the other side has 2 sets of questions, one easy set of three questions and one set of hard questions. The included dice is rolled to determine which question (1, 2, or 3) will be asked and the card is won by a correct answer; an incorrect answer sends the card to the bottom of the card pile. The goal is to collect as many cards as possible. Before the game commences, players decide who answers the easy questions (maybe the kids) and who answers the hard questions (maybe the adults). 

My son was never into playing them that way though. He preferred to read them on his own and create time lines or use them in story creation. Sometimes he would quiz me or ask me to quiz him, but we've never actually sat down and played them competitively or ever used the dice. So, these cards can be fun for all kinds of imaginative play!

The Professor Noggin series began with "Life in the Ocean" which was quickly followed by "Insects and Spiders" and "Wildlife of North America." Now there are 37 titles with "Hockey" and "Baseball" being the most recent. For a list of their titles click here. If there is a topic you'd love that they don't have, you can always suggest a title (on their website)!

This is a made in Canada product and definitely has a strong North American focus, but has several international titles. And while it does have a few Canadian focused titles ("Geography of Canada" and "History of Canada") it seems like there are even more American titles (from civil war to presidents, plus geography and history). And, if it matters to you, these card games have won several awards.

Click here to check out "Wonders of the World" card game: it's complete list of topics, their game instructions, and a sample card with questions and answers.






















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3 comments:

  1. We have at least one set of these cards (the pets one, I believe)...I always thought they were very well done, and have considered getting other sets. I didn't realize there are quite so many of them! Thanks for the inspiration :)

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  2. Your welcome Susan. I really do think these are a great resource since they cover so many topics and seem to blend well with common 'home schooling' themes. They are simple and adaptable, very easy to create new games with or use as inspiration or story creation.

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