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Tag Archives: games

Thanksgiving Play and Games Roundup

Posted by melissa.t on November 17, 2011 4 comments

In the U.S., Thanksgiving brings hustle and bustle — preparing for family time, food celebrations, and often travel.

But, there’s also many possibilities for fun and games! So, I’ve gathered the best Thanksgiving ideas from around the web to make sure you have ways to keep play in your celebration with kids.

Thanksgiving Games

Crazy Turkey Game from Hobby Farm

Eat or Be Eaten Turkey Toss from Dinosaur and Octopus

 

Don’t Eat Tom Turkey from Happy Home Fairy

Go HERE for this game’s printable turkeys.

  • Cover each of the turkeys with a small snack or treat (cereal, candy corn, M&M’s, etc – One of my Happy Home Friend’s even used frozen peas – haha!)
  • One person in the group goes out of the room.
  • One of the Turkeys on the game board is chosen by the group to be the “Tom Turkey.”
  • The person comes back in the room and chooses a snack and eats it from off of each turkey. They keep eating the snacks until they get to “the Tom Turkey” that was chosen by the group.  When they reach for that snack, everyone else yells, “Don’t eat Tom Turkey!!”
  • That person’s turn is over and a new person goes out of the room to repeat the game.
  • You can play as many rounds as you like, or print off multiple boards if you have a big group.

TURKEY STRUT from Kid Activities

1. Use pieces of masking tape to make turkey footprints all over the floor.
2. Start playing music.
3. Have children pretend to be turkeys and strut around the room.
4.When you stop the music, have the turkeys find footprints to stand on (one turkey to a footprint).
5. When you start the music again, have the turkeys continue strutting around the room.

Thanksgiving Memory Game from 365 Kid Games

  • The players sit in a circle.
  • The first player starts by saying, “At Thanksgiving dinner I ate turkey.”
  • The next player must repeat this and add another dish, “At my Thanksgiving dinner I ate turkey and cranberry.”
  • The third player must repeat it and add yet another dish, “At Thanksgiving dinner I ate turkey, cranberry, and stuffing.”
  • The game continues with each player adding an item to the menu after first listing all the previous items in the exact order they were first said.
  • If a player makes a mistake he drops out and the game continues until there is just one person left.

The First Thanksgiving Wampanoag Game from Scholastic

The Wampanoag played a game called the Pin Game. A Ring was attached to a stick, and you had to flip the ring up over tte stick, or pin.

Thanksgiving Play

(+ imagination of course!)

Simple Mayflower Boat Craft from I Can Teach My Child 

 Pilgrim Hat from Teach Preschool


Thanksgiving Pinecone Turkeys from What I Live For

Coffee Filter Turkeys from Critters and Crayons

Another Coffee Filter Turkey Idea from The Chocolate Muffin Tree

Turkey Mask from The Outlaw Mom

Pilgrim Ship Vegetable Platter from National Geographic (very cute!)

VIDEO: Mayflower: Kids Play from History.com

Thanksgiving Books 

 

Sneak In Learning with Fun Games

Posted by melissa.t on October 27, 2011 1 comments

The Sneaky Chef and Jessica Seinfeld (Deceptively Delicious) sneak vegetables into kids’ food.

So can’t we sneak learning into fun (“educational”) games? 

Of course! :)

In fact, consider all the different kinds of learning and educational games available– board games, active games, electronic games, computer games, video games, and phone and iPad games. That means lots of learning opportunities for your children! (Hint: Holidays are coming soon, this might be a gift idea.)

Board Games

Board games give kids rich learning opportunities and, as Scholastic writes, reinforce skills like:

  • number and shape recognition, grouping, and counting
  • letter recognition and reading
  • visual perception and color recognition
  • eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity
Educational board and strategy games:

Active Games

Active games are gross-motor games like the Play and Score Ball Throwing Game which also reinforces counting.

But, the classic recess games such as Capture the Flag or H-O-R-S-E are great active games as well and require minimal equipment. Some games, such as Capture the Flag, teach social skills and cooperation. The same goes for indoor active games like Indoor Foot Volleyball.

Electronic Games

Electronic Games are games which require a battery.


Computer Games

I’ve looked and there aren’t many computer games available on a disc. You can go online and play games or buy a gaming console like a Wii. For online games, try website Kids.gov which offers parents and educators a long list of educational online games or Kidz Pages which lists many online learning games.

Video Games

The Gates Foundation believes video games can enhance learning and recently donated $15 million to fund learning based video games. Interesting, isn’t it? Games can count as learning, even video games.

iPad and iPhone Games

We use the iPad for educational games, here are a few favorites.

There are so many fun ways that games make learning possible. 
Which games listed or not are your favorites?

Grocery Shopping Game for Preschoolers

Posted by melissa.t on October 20, 2011 None comments

Does a preschool game get any better than Shopping Cart Dash? It's the perfect game – pretend play, categorizing, matching, and tons of fun! Kids get their own shopping cart, coins to spend, a shopping list, and a store where they can shop. 

Get your money, shopping cart, and shopping list. It's time to play Shopping Cart Dash!

Roll the dice. The sections of the grocery store are categorized by color. Whatever color you land on, is the color section you can shop in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first person to successfully buy the items on his or her list wins the game. Here is a shopping list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that you have your shopping list, you need to go to the store.

If you buy something from the dairy section which is color coded yellow, you must insert a coin below the yellow section in the slot. Drinks are blue and treats are purple. Turn the grocery store to the other side and you'll see meats, fruits and veggies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first person to buy everything on their list wins the game!

But, if you ask me, everyone wins because each child learns about reading, following directions, types of food, categories of food, and counting.

I just love this game. (So do my kids.)

 

Math Slam Better Than Flashcards

Posted by melissa.t on September 15, 2011 1 comments

I don't know about your kids but mine hate flashcards. And, I can't say that I blame them – they're kind of boring, right? After all, learning your math facts is pretty much memorization and lots of practice.

This summer, my kids were saved from the dreaded flashcards with Math Slam. What's more, it worked for both my 6-year old and my 9-year old.

So, Math Slam is an electronic Educational Insights product which tests kids on their math facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in three different skill levels. Kids see and hear the math questions which I like. Then, the child must hit the correct answer on the corresponding colored circle. 

So, my first grader could practice some easy addition and subtraction while my fourth grader could practice the levels of multiplication and division. It helped keep both kids practicing math and made it really fun and active, which my kids need. Don't all kids?

Now that school's back in session, my fourth grader needs to keep practicing her multiplication and division facts every night. I let her choose and she almost always chooses to practice with Math Slam. Other choices include flashcards, iPad math apps, multiplication rap music, and practice quizzes. 

How do your kids practice their math facts?

 

A Thinking Game for One Player

Posted by melissa.t on August 18, 2011 4 comments

I wanted a game my (then) eight-year old daughter could play by herself, that didn’t require me to play. You know what I’m talking about, right? And, I only buy educational games, something that isn’t just fluff. So, I started searching for the perfect one-person game.

A friend recommended Rush Hour Jr. which became a Christmas gift for my daughter last year.

She let it sit for a month.

So, I did what any normal mom would do. I started playing it myself. In front of her.

And, just because she couldn’t help herself, she started watching. Then she began telling me where to move. And soon, she demanded  a turn.

Success!

Of course, she loved it and I never got a turn ever again.

Basically, Rush Hour Jr. is a strategy game. You can select from four levels of difficulty – beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert – shown by ice cream scoops. The cards give you how the game grid should look. You set it up and then try to get the white ice cream truck out of the traffic jam to the exit on the right side of the grid.

I’m telling you, it’s so nice to have a game my daughter can play by herself. And, since it makes her think, even better. Maybe even perfect.