The Oregon Trail helps kids practice and improve the following skills:

Planning: Developing a systematic approach for setting and achieving goals.

Everything in The Oregon Trail is in scarcity. The amount of money, food, supplies, and medicine the party has is always in flux. Players need to use their planning skills to determine what items are the most important to purchase and when it is best to use them. Players also need to know how to set the pace and food consumption of the party to ensure that supplies don’t run out but that the party also doesn’t become too exhausted due to lack of nourishment. When hunting, the player cannot shoot more food than the wagon can carry or they will waste precious bullets. For players who struggle with planning, they may want to start the game on the easiest level so that they can practice with how much planning is required by the game. 

Organization: Arranging and coordinating materials in order to complete a task.

Players also need to be organized and know how much equipment they have and stock up as soon as they run out. For example, if everyone in your party gets cholera, you will need medicine for all four members. The player will need to mentally keep track of what has been used or refer back to the wagon inventory. They will then need to remember what items they need to repurchase when they arrive in settlements or trade with other travelers to get what they need. For players who struggle with organization, referring back to the wagon inventory often and staying at a settlement until they are sure they have everything they need will help practice this skill.