Games that are great for learning vocabulary with smaller groups. There will be links to purchase for as many as possible. I am not sure what is available outside the German language area. None of these were intended for learning a foreign language, but all work wonderfully. All of the games encourage the use of basic phrases like. “My turn.” “Your turn.” “Whose turn is it?” “Roll the die.” “Take a card.”

Croco:

This is a simple game for counting and basic game skills. Each child pushes down a tooth on the crocodile. At dome point his mouth snaps shut. I demonstrate to the children and let it close on my finger to show them that it doesn’t hurt. In round one I go from one child to the next. They must say the next number before pushing down a tooth. I tell them that if they don’t want to, they point to me and say “You do it.” Then they say the number, choose a tooth by pointing, and I have to push it down. Sometimes I will give a child a marker (stone, chip, token, anything) when the crocodile closes on them. The first child with three markers wins. In round two, any child who wants to keeps pushing teeth until the mouth closes. We all count with her. The child that gets the furthest wins.

Flip-Flap:

Loads of cards with various pictures fit into a stand that turns them to face the children then away again. It can be turned as quickly or as slowly as you wish. The child who says the card first gets the card. The child with the most cards wins. I usually go through the pictures we are using first to check the vocabulary. If I have a group of mixed ability I will tell them before turning the card who is allowed to answer.

This game is currently not being sold new, but is available on e-bay.

Blinde Kuh:

Glasses shaped like a cow wearing sunglasses cover a child’s eyes. She then pulls a cardboard figure out of the box and must identify it by feeling its outline. In addition to regular game vocabulary and the words, I tend to add sentences like “Close your eyes.” “No peeking!” and “What do you feel?” As in Flip-Flap, we discuss the words beforehand. I will often pass around the cards to children with their eyes open, have them feel them and say the names before we do the game blindfolded.

Nanu:

This one has some great basic vocabulary. If I am doing a specific chapter, I may create my own round cards. All the cards are laid out on the floor or table. Five colored caps are then placed over five of the cards. The child whose turn it is rolls the die. She must try to say what is under the color cap she has rolled. If she has rolled the joker she may choose which color she wants to guess. The cap is then lifted. If she is correct, she keeps that card and puts the cap over a new card. If she is wrong, the cap is replaced on the same card. The child with the most cards at the end of the game wins.

Schokohexe:

In case you don’t speak German, this means “chocolate witch”. The vocabulary here is “milk, butter, cocoa, sugar, vanilla, nuts, witch”. The cards are in a pile in the middle. The goal is to collect all six ingredients for chocolate. The child whose turn it is turns a card over. He says its name (if he doesn’t know, I help). At this time other phrases are added naturally, such as “Oh, too bad, you already have sugar!” or “You don’t need sugar. You need vanilla and nuts!” The child may turn over as many cards as he wishes. When he decides to end his turn he looks at the next child and says “Your turn.” The trick is that the deck is full of witches! If you turn one over, you must put all the cards you turned over in that round back on the discard pile. I usually say “Oh no, a witch!” and by the end of the game all the kids are saying it.

Farbenbär:

A simple game for learning colors with the very young. Eight plastic bears sit in a circle with their backs to one another. The child whose turn it is rolls two die. He turns a bear of each color he rolls. If this results in two bears of the same color facing the center he gets a honey pot. You can decide how many honeypots one needs to win. Depends on the age, concentration level, and number of children playing. I have them say the colors they have rolled. I say “Roll the die.” “Turn the bears.” “Yay, a honeypot!” and other such phrases. By the end other kids sometimes start to say them as well,

Unfortunately another game that is currently not available new but can be found on e-bay.