I loved playing board games as a kid. We had a cupboard in our front hallway that held all sorts of goodies. Extra plastic grocery bags, newspapers waiting to be recycled, Mom’s purse, and on the very top shelf, our family photo albums and board games. The cupboard had some built-in shelves and I figured out pretty early on which shelf to put my foot on so I could pull myself up to reach the games. I would then kind of toss them over my shoulder onto the living room floor which would then, of course, make a sound that would alert my mother who was usually working in the kitchen part of the house. 🙂 Ah, memories.
We live in a time when you don’t need an entire cupboard shelf for games, just a tablet or phone and an app store. But, to me, there is still something fun about opening a box, handling the pieces, and putting the board together (remember “Mouse Trap”, anyone?) I have rediscovered some games that I enjoyed as a kid, and I’m happy to report that my kids are also liking them. Not only that, it gives them some built-in learning opportunities in turn-taking, patience, matching, reading simple words, counting when you have to move a game piece, even some occupational therapy. An example, is the game pictured above, “Perfection.” In order to move the pieces you have to grab them by a little post, totally giving kiddos a chance to work on their pincer grasp. For my two boys who are not that interested in coloring and writing, it’s a great way for them to work out those little hand muscles. A bonus is you don’t have to set the timer if you want to just use it as a spatial reasoning exercise. Once they are familiar with the pieces, adding the timer in could be a fun way to challenge them.
“Operation” is another good one for fine-motor, turn-taking, and matching. Each player has to use a tweezers to try to grasp tiny “body parts” and remove them without touching the metal sides or a buzzer goes off.
Even something as simple as using playing cards to match and count. A simple round of “Go Fish” has always been a childhood favorite. Or for older kids, “War” always brings some laughter.
Any games from your childhood that bring back some good memories? Or some favorites that you’ve already shared with your kids? Have a great weekend!