Thomas

Thursday 21 November 2013

Some of our quiet games

Do you ever play games with your children? I don't mean video games, I'm talking about board games or other games away from the screen.

I try to make sure there is quiet time every day, whether we read some stories, listen to music or just sit around and talk as a family. Sometimes it doesn't happen, but I also try to make sure we play a game as a family (or as a portion of the family) at least a couple of times a month.

While my oldest child, who will soon be 13, enjoys playing chess, and the middle child can now sit still long enough to play a co-operative game such as Harvest Time or Scrabble jr., the youngest can't yet sit still long enough to play any games yet, unless they involve a lot of movement which sometimes involves some creativity.
One sit down game he did enjoy was "Feed the Penguin", and even that got a little rough near the end.
The latest games we like to play are matching up games. My youngest, being 2 and obsessed with Thomas the train, loves to play a railway matching game I bought when my oldest was only about his age (so 10 years ago now).

There are a few "official" ways to play, but most of the time right now I just lay out the cards, give him a board and let him try to find and match the cards to the pictures on the boards. There are times I will call out an engine or other vehicle name and let him search, other times we just see how fast we can find the matching pieces and fill up the boards. As he learns to sit still and listen to direction I will add more games to his play.
Until then he enjoys trying to play the other games alongside as a "team" or just doing his own thing while the older ones and I play. I can't wait until he can join in and play with the rest of us.

Happy Playtime!



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