Marie’s Words review. The fun way to learn new vocabulary!
Marie’s Words Review: A Fun Way to Learn New Vocabulary
Timberdoodle recently sent us a copy of Marie’s Words to review. This game comes with 550 illustrated vocabulary cards. Place as many cards as you like face up (illustration on top) on the table. Players then try to figure out the meanings of the words. If you guess correctly, you keep the card. If nobody can guess correctly, turn the card over to read the definition. The player with the most cards at the end wins.
My kids weren’t interested in playing this game by following the rules, but they LOVE looking through the cards.
I’ve noticed that they do try to guess the vocabulary words – they simply prefer to do so in a non-competitive environment.
They also like to pick out their very favorite cards. Seven-year-old Lily is especially fond of the “Cobbler” card you see in the image above.
Eight-year-old Johnny prefers to read the definitions and then study the pictures.
Even four-year-old Anna got into learning new vocabulary! She doesn’t actually know how to read (beyond her own name and her big sister Lily’s name), but she is really into writing words right now. She absconded with a few cards, and an hour or so later I found this notebook. Can you spot:
- Viscous
- Wanton
- Mutable
- Pulchritude
- Scintillating
- Ruse
- Procure
- Iridescent?
I couldn’t figure out a couple of the words – let me know if you solve the mystery!
Timberdoodle includes Marie’s Words in their 4th Grade Curriculum Kit. It will certainly engage that age range, but I think it can also grow with your child through high school. These cards are much more fun than the SAT cards some of my friends used to study in high school!
How do you help your kids learn new vocabulary? Reading is an excellent activity for this, too, and you can find books we love here! Share your favorite books and vocabulary learing strategies in the comments below or by commenting on my Facebook page.
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
I love games that help you learn. :)
Adding pictures to vocabulary cards is a great idea!
Wow! What a fun way to learn vocab words. My 9th grader used SAT cards that are similar with cartoon illustrations. She can’t believe the word Pulchritude means Beauty!
Sounds like a game Princess would love.