Tuesday, January 1

AP Moment of the day ~ The games people play..

Well... I must have played I don't know HOW many board games today! :D Jack and I played Ants in the Pants, Jessie, Jack and I played Cookin' Cookies and Trouble, Jessie and I played Happily Ever After ( a card game... ) and Uno and Jessie, Jack and I played Uno again after dinner. They also both played computer games at PBS Kids online and they really did have a great time with them. They both really enjoy Word Girl games and even I think they are fun. Jack also likes to play Curious George games online too. After lunch Jessie and Jack played at being chefs with the play food. They made soup, spaghetti, eggs, you name it! Jack's speciality is "Wewwy Hot Chewwy Pie" which you are warned to "Fwow on" and Jessie concocted a stove under the chairs and heated up a nice big turkey.......!!! Sounds like fun, but when you think about it, kids learn so much through playing games. Today they have learned color recognition, number recognition, physics (force) geometry (direction), computer skills, turn taking, die recognition, counting, skip counting, multiplication, sequencing and good sportsmanship, not to mention how much good imaginative play does for brain development, how playing with your brother builds upon bonding skills. For Jack, playing with Jessie increases his vocabulary and communication skills and Jessie in turn gets to practice patience, compassion and understanding (sometimes!)

So next time they ask me to play with them and I am tempted to come up with any excuse on earth to avoid it, I'm going to do what I did today, sit down, smile, and see what they can learn without even trying!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Board games are wonderful! What great playful parenting to spend that time with your kids - that is the kind of memory they will have always. Can't wait till my little one is old enough!

Gorgeous. said...

LOL!!! I couldn't wait either!! I had big dreams of us all playing Clue around the table.... but my kids were faaar too little!! ;D One of the first games we got and enjoyed was Snail's Pace Race..! It is honestly a game that a young child can play and enjoy and isn't tedium ad nauseum such as Candyland and Chutes and Ladders...!!