About

Hi there! I’m glad you’re here! Allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Kendra, Jesus-follower, wife to James, and mom to two busy kiddos. During the day you can find me homeschooling my son Reagan (13) and my daughter Cassidy (10), as well as teaching piano to a fabulous collection of roughly 30 kids. When I’m not doing my day job, you can put money on the fact that I’m probably talking about games, playing games, or trying to convince anyone around to play a game with me.

I haven’t always loved games. It’s a newish obsession, despite growing up with a mom who brought out games at every social opportunity. I *tried* to like games and play them with my kids, but they never landed with me.

That all changed in 2022.

Just about every significant change in life has an origin story. Some are just better than others and get more air time. This one has possibly been over shared. (It’s one of my gifts. You’re welcome.)

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Let’s begin with a call from a good friend on a bright summer day. While teaching at my piano studio 40 minutes away, my 10- and 7-year olds were hanging out with her kiddos on their mini farm. Jenn knows I don’t usually answer my phone, but she also knows that if anyone calls me while knowing I’m at work, I’ll answer. Especially if they have my kids,

I answered.

”I’m pretty sure Reagan has a broken arm.”

When you consider that I’d made it just over ten years with a highly active, risk-taking boy and hadn’t yet ended up in the ER for a significant injury, I was definitely overdue.

Fast forward to the following day while my son trailed me through my favorite bookstore, searching for anything to keep him entertained for the coming 6-8 weeks. After all, most video games require two hands with opposable thumbs. He couldn’t go swimming. Reading would only entertain him for so many hours a day.

We stumbled across the Minecraft Builders & Biomes boardgame. It our current life situation, it felt pricey. $40 for a game?! And, to be honest, I’d played a lot of unfortunate games in the previous ten years. Games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders and Sorry. Games that made me think all games kind of sucked.

But, as Reagan’s eyes lit up and he tried to grab the oversized box in one hand, I couldn’t refuse. We paid, took the game home, attempted to read the rules, and then I turned to YouTube.

Thank you, Jesus, for Rodney Smith and his Watch It Played channel. Within no time we were playing and actually enjoying ourselves. Over the next few weeks, various friends came over to give the game a try.

You know what also happened during the next few weeks? I tumbled down the rabbit hole of modern tabletop games. I was hooked.

As I clicked through video after blog post after Instagram post, my excitement grew. I may have dropped more cash than necessary. After fulfilling the day’s responsibilities, I’d crack open a game and figure it out, most often with Reagan (who usually smoked me). The more we played the more apparent it became that games offered more than entertainment, although good games always do that.

I learned that games help with executive function, mental math, planning, strategizing, teamwork, social interaction, and so much more. Looking hard enough, I could find a game for any skill I wanted to strengthen in my kids.

Here at Game School Mom I share some of what I’ve learned, both about games and about how to select and play them with specific outcomes in mind.

Whether you’re curious about gameschooling or homeschooling or building relationships or simply like games, stick around. It’s all here, and if it isn’t yet…it soon will be.