Family Game Time

I mentioned recently that we have been playing lots of games in our home. A couple of months ago we started teaching Eva a few easy board games and then she built up her collection at her birthday party.Games are awesome for a lot of reasons. They teach skills like matching, counting, number and letter recognition, colors, sharing, taking turns, and listening. They also allow for lots of conversation between family members.

1. Candy Land: This is a great first game! It reinforces colors and taking turns. Some versions have cards, ours has a spinner. This was the first game we taught Eva after Christmas last year. Honestly the hardest part was teaching her to be still enough not to knock over the board!

 

2. Memory: A great game to learn in steps. About 6 months ago we used this to practice matching up a few cards at a time. I would lay out 3 sets at a time and Eva would find the ones that were the same. After she got the hang of deciding which ones were the same or different we would flip them over and try to make matches. A lot of times I still let her see where I put each card before flipping them over and interestingly, she still doesn't always realize that the same card will be there when she turns it over. We do 6-8 cards at a time for now. Upside, this game comes with a ton of cards, so you can have lots of variety. Downside, this game comes with a ton of cards and it is a hassle when your child accidentally drops the box and spills them everywhere.

3. Cupcake Party: I will be honest, I am not thrilled with the "game" part of this. The game comes with 3 sets of cards and then you are supposed to time how long it takes you to get each piece to make a complete cupcake, or something like that. Eva has much more fun just building the cupcakes that match each card. We went through a couple of weeks where Eva would literally spend HOURS a day building these little cupcakes. Warning, there are many tiny pieces in this game, so it would NOT be safe for a child who still puts pieces in their mouth, especially pieces that look like food.

 

4. Go Fish: This game works really well for us when Ryan and I (or another adult) can be on Eva's "team" to help her remember what to do each turn. She LOVES asking for cards and LOVES yelling "Go Fish!"
5. Crazy Eights: We haven't played this one much. I think we need to practice what to do a bunch more. I didn't really remember playing this as a kid so I had to learn it first.
6. Old Maid: Eva is so intrigued by the old maid. I like this game and I am wondering if it would be easier if I take out a few sets of cards. When we play with 2 or 3 of us there are too many cards for her little hands to hold and I think it makes looking for a pair too difficult. But she LOVES finding the Old Maid. Technically whoever has the Old Maid at the end is the loser for the game, but Eva has it in her mind that she wants the Old Maid. She is so happy when she gets that card.

 

7. Hungry Hungry Hippos: I remember my parents saying this game was too noisy when I was a kid. They were right, it is a bit noisy but it is also very fun! It's good for working on counting and I really do like playing this with Eva. It does have tiny pieces so keep this away from little kids.

8. Let's Go Fishin': Okay, is it just me or is this game tricky? I figured it would be an easy one but I struggle as much as Eva to catch a fish on those silly fishing poles! Ryan is amazing at it, so maybe it's just my hand eye coordination. Eva still really likes it and I guess it's good for her to see that some games are tricky even for me. We just laugh about it being hard and try our best.

9. Twister: When my mom told me she wanted to give this to Eva I was excited. Reinforcing colors, being silly, falling over - sounds great. I didn't consider that my pregnant body might not be able to keep up with this one very well! Eva likes that it has the huge game board. She can't tell her right and left foot, so she kind of just hops around the board like a happy little frog. We make up our own rules. When Ryan is home I get to be the spinner and that is much easier. I think this game is targeted for kids that are a bit older, but when played as a family there is still a lot of fun and learning involved.

 

10. Hi, Ho Cherry-O: This one is a HUGE hit. Great for counting, number recognition, taking turns, and fine motor grasping. We play it every single day. It also has very tiny pieces, so be careful with young kids.

 

11. Chutes and Ladders: I'm throwing this one in my list, even though we don't own it. I've played this with Eva at my mom's and it is still too hard for her. I remember liking this a lot as a kid, so I'm sure Eva will enjoy it eventurally. Right now I think the bigger numbers and direction of the game board is just too confusing. She likes to get out the board and look at it but she isn't really ready for this one quite yet.

 

12. Kinetic Sand: Okay so this isn't actually a game, but Eva got lots of it for her birthday and it is a huge hit. Ryan and I first saw this product out at Brookstone way back in February and I can't believe we never bought it for her. It is awesome! It molds like sand, but has a more magnetic property so it doesn't make a big mess. We have ours in a huge box with some sand molds so that Eva can smush it all out and build with it however she likes. I do make her use it at the table instead of on the living room floor because it doesn't clean up quite as easily from carpet, although you can vacuum it up. When its on the table or tile it will stick to a bigger clump so it doesn't get messy. We used this for home school last week to practice letters and numbers. Eva gets this out several times a day. This is a PERFECT gift idea for preschoolers, and probably older kids too! 

That's my list of game reviews! What games would YOU recommend for playing with a little one? Our family is big on competitive games so I am so excited for Eva to join the fun!