Play First, Learn Anyway: Five Brilliantly Simple Word Games

I honestly think - and I'd like to actually check this one day - that you could cover about 60 - 70% of the primary national curriculum objectives through games alone. This may not be important to you at all, but if it is, the skills and knowledge your kids will pick up through playing games will amaze you. Some games have taught my kids skills that would have taken many lessons to work through in school.

Word games are particularly great. They're simple, quick, easy to adapt from very basic to ultimate challenge level and are just pretty fun. Language is naturally creative, and when kids can explore it playfully, they absorb loads of literacy skills without even realising it.