Understanding the world - Rolf Education

Educational play with purpose

Featured games that guide children in exploring nature, society and global awareness

Understanding the world is one of the key development goals in early childhood education. It is about helping children make sense of their surroundings. They learn about nature and animals, communities, cultures and the environment. Educational games can support this learning process by sparking curiosity, encouraging observation, and promoting thoughtful conversations. In this blog, we highlight a small but purposeful selection of games that contribute to this development goal. Some of these games introduce children to important themes such as recycling and repurposing waste, helping them understand the impact of their actions on the planet. Each product invites children to explore, ask questions, and discover the world around them in a playful and meaningful way.

Educational games for Understanding the World

Rolf Basics – Eco twist

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Learn about recycling in a playful way. The children check the control card from top to bottom. On it, they see waste from a certain material, which goes to the factory and is recycled into new products. They then look at the recycle cards and place them under the right factory on the game board. Content: 1 game board consisting of 2 puzzle pieces • 18 recycle cards • 1 control card • 1 dice with 6 coloured factories • Instructions For 2 players Made from FSC certified paper

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Rolf Basics – Save us

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The children play a game with plastic waste or marine animals involving 2 cards which belong together. On the game board, the same marine animals are entangled in plastic. The children place the freed marine animals on the same animal on the game board. The ocean is cleaned of plastic and filled with colourful marine animals. Content: 1 game board consisting of 4 puzzle pieces • 32 cards (semicircles): - Front: half plastic waste - Back: half colourful marine animals • 1 dice with six colours • Instructions For 2 players Made from FSC certified paper

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Rolf Basics – Collecting waste

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Children discover and think about what we all throw away in our daily life. Because we throw away so much waste everywhere, in vast quantities, our world is in danger. If we all free our space from clutter and waste, we will reveal a much greener world with plants and flowers and more room foranimals and people.Content:In a cardboard box:- 1 game board consisting of 4 parts (30 x 30 cm)- 2 waste collection cards (9.5 x 21 cm)- 35 cards with waste (3 x 3 cm)- 1 factory card (24 x 20 cm)- 1 check card (12 x 12 cm)- 1 wooden pawn- 1 wooden dice from 1-3- InstructionsAge: 4+ , 2-4 players

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Rolf Originals – Recycled animals

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Children learn that they can recycle waste, by making animals from it. During the game, the children collect waste cards for the animal on their collection card. The children choose 1 recycled animal collection card. They admire the handiwork and find out what waste the animal is made of. They then look for the waste cards that show this waste and place it on the collection card until the card is full. They then choose another recycled animal collection card. Content: - 1 game board consisting of 4 puzzle pieces - 6 recycled animals collection cards: owl, octopus, crocodile, bee, butterfly, fish - 48 round waste cards –Front: waste –Back: animal which the waste belongs to - 6 coloured pawns - 2 spotted dice (1-3) - Instructions For 2-6 players

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Rolf Originals – Save us

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Plastic Soup, plastic pollution in the ocean… Children learn that this is a (global) problem. With the game “Save us” children have to remove the plastic from the sea, so that fish can live safely again. Content:- 1 game board consisting of 4 pieces with an image of the ocean- 20 round cards: with on the front: grayscale images of fish caught in plastic and on the back: beautiful colourful fish in freedom- 28 square puzzle cards that from an image per 4 cards: on the front: plastic objects (bottle, plastic bag, etc.) on the back: coloured coral- 1 colour wheel- manualAge: 4+ , 2-4 players

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Rolf Originals – Eco twister

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Children become waste-conscious. They also discover the possibilities and advantages of a circular economy compared with a linear economy. In a linear economy, we take raw materials, make something and throw it away. In a circular economy, we recycle existing materials, make something new with it and use it.Content:In a wooden box with a lid: 2 gamesCollecting waste:- 1 waste game board (30 x 30 cm)- 35 waste cards (3 x 3 cm)- 1 factories card (24 x 20 cm)- 1 check factories card (12 x 12 cm)- 1 wooden yellow pawn- 1 wooden dice- manualEco twist:- 1 recycle game board, with pointer (30 x 30 cm)- 24 recycle cards with dot (2,5 x 3,5 cm)- 24 recycle cards without dot (2,5 x 3,5 cm)- 1 check factories card (12 x 12 cm)(also used with ‘Collecting waste’)- 8 check recycle cards (19 x 4,5 cm)- manualAge: 4+, 2-4 players

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Rolf More – Tree growing game

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With the Rolf More - Tree growing game children build their own tree in the right order from trunk to crown. They collect the blocks by turning the rotating pointer on the disc. In turn, they move the pointer on the disc. The arrow determines the action: Tree -> the player’s tree grows by 1 block. Sun and rain -> all the player’s trees grow by 1 block. Storm -> all the players take a block for their tree. Who can build their tree right to the top? Content: • 56 big and small coloured building blocks for 8 trees: oak (light green), apple tree (red), beech (dark green), pear tree (orange), fir (light brown), baobab (yellow), palm tree (blue), Japanese cherry tree (white). • 1 cotton bag • 1 disc with rotating pointer • Instructions For 1-8 children aged 3 and over. The building blocks are made of eco-friendly, bio-based materials.

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