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One of the earliest games that children learn how to play, believe it or not, is bingo. That shouldn’t come as a surprise since the game of bingo started a long time ago chiefly as a way to teach children various concepts such as mathematics, identifying plants, animals and insects, spelling and language skills.

Online bingo has a way of reaching the kid in all of us. Many online bingo games, including those found on Bingomania, feature bright colors and graphics that have a broad appeal and bring out the fun no matter what age you are!

Learning with Bingo

Today’s teachers know the value of teaching children through games. One of the best games to get kids to learn about various concepts is bingo. For many types of educational bingo, especially in kindergarten and early grades, the bingo squares contain pictures rather than the numbers that most of us are used to. Questions are called out that are reflected in the pictures appearing on the cards. 
Later in the learning process, students can learn their letters, colors, numbers or words and phrases. Not only can young learners learn the complexities of the English language, but bingo is also used as a way to teach other foreign languages as well.

Science and Bingo

Even in its earliest beginnings, bingo was used to teach children. It was first used in Eighteenth-Century Germany to teach children how to recognize plants, animals and other things found in nature. Today bingo can be used to teach all kinds of concepts in science just as easily as it has been used to teach language skills and mathematics. Bingo can help students to learn about the world around them and scientific concepts such as astronomy, biology, natural history, and other earth sciences.

Math Bingo

Math is one of those subjects that can seem intimidating to kids. Because they tend to become bored quickly, it’s hard to keep their attention. Educators are finding that even the most math-challenged students can become more engaged and begin to grasp the concepts better when it’s fun.

Bingo provides the perfect way for math students at every level to be introduced to a wide variety of math concepts including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. As they master these math problems, they can then go on to learn more complex problems that involve algebra and geometry. There are scores of math learning sites. One that specializes in math bingo can be found at Learn With Math. The site features a number of different bingo game cards that teachers can use to teach students about math.

Teachers simply make up bingo cards for their classes by putting the correct answers to a number of problems ahead of time. These are distributed at the beginning of class with the answers on the cards vary. Students can either work alone or in teams. The first student or team of students with the correct answers to the problems wins the game.

Home Schooling and Bingo

Over the years, more and more families are opting to privately or home school their children instead of sending them to public school. Bingo can be used just as easily in a homeschool environment as a teaching tool just as well as in a more formal classroom setting. Regardless of the subject being taught, parents and teachers both understand that when kids are having fun, they are more likely to grasp and remember the concepts being presented.  Whether you are teaching language, science, math, or other topics such as various religious or personal holidays, bingo can be adapted to it! The grids that make up a bingo card can be changed to match whatever the lesson happens to be about.

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You might already know that bingo is a pretty versatile game. It can be played almost anywhere, both in real-time in a bingo hall or online. Bingo’s versatility has lent itself to several very different and unusual versions of the game. Here are some of the more interesting ones that we’ve found.

Toddler Bingo

This particular version of bingo is aimed at the parents, grandparents, and caretakers of toddlers rather than the kids. Each square features behaviors that toddlers are famous for. Everything from throwing a toy to throwing a tantrum in the middle of a store, to refusing to eat foods or falling asleep from sheer exhaustion are featured. More specialized versions are available for situations when taking a trip with a toddler by plane, train, or automobile.

Kindness or Pay It Forward Bingo 

This bingo game can be played by both kids and adults. This particular game of bingo involves doing nice things for others. Squares feature such actions as spending time with a friend, writing a letter to a friend you haven’t seen in a while, to buying them a cup of coffee, offering to pay their bus fare or other thoughtful gesture. This game is especially great if played as a blackout bingo game. The idea is that the winner of the game isn’t the only person who wins – a lot of people are also winners on this one.

Finals Week Bingo 

This bingo is especially aimed at college students and their families. Finals are stressful enough. Playing bingo games may be a way to relieve a little of the tension. Squares on the face of the bingo card include things such as falling asleep in the library, crying in frustration over pretest questions, to hearing someone ask the question “How are finals going?”. This game is all in good fun and it might even take your mind off your grades at least a little bit. Other college bingo versions that can be found online include Orientation Bingo, Faculty Bingo, and Boring Class Bingo.

Scandal Bingo

If you’re a news junkie or pay attention to politics at home or abroad, this particular bingo might provide a bit of fun in the face of various crises. Bingo cards can list things such as Presidential press conferences, interviews with various world leaders of current administration staff members, or unusual headlines. You can make it up as you go and see how often the items on your card come up each day.

Thrift Store Bingo

If you love a good bargain, sometimes you can find fantastic treasures in second hand or thrift stores. Playing thrift store bingo can add an extra element to it that can bring a scavenger hunt element to your search for bargains. Draw up a bingo card and include both items that you are looking for and some of the more unusual things you might find in a resale shop. Strange items such as old Christmas decorations, unfinished needlework, Mel Gibson movies on VHS, Mister Roger-type sweaters or bell-bottom pants. Be sure to include a square for a special, unexpected treasure at a great price, too!

Brand Name or Billboard Bingo

Traveling across the country or the city can be tedious at times. A game of billboard bingo can help break up the monotony. Place well-known and obscure brand names on your cards and mark them off along the way. Brand names can appear on billboards or even on the sides of trucks that are making deliveries. You may also include on the cards, certain makes of cars to make it even more interesting.