Oh, the Games People Play

Today is bright and beautiful. The sun is shining and there's a cool breeze. But Tuesday was nasty - it rained all day long. All. Day. Long. So what do you do when you're stuck inside with a toddler? I'm thinking of this more and more, because the weather will turn soon, and we'll have a little guy who won't be so mobile.

There's always Play-Doh and painting and coloring and books (Pinkalicious, over and over,) and mindless cartoons. But on Tuesday, we played games. Evie loves to play games, although she's not yet competitive enough to get "winning." I thought I'd let you know a couple we've discovered. You know, since Evie is a trendsetter and all.

Our first favorite game is an oldie-but-goodie. I bought Hi Ho Cherry-O! about six months ago, and we've been playing it ever since. In case you've forgotten, the object of the game is to get all the cherries (or oranges or blueberries or apples, in the new version) from the tree into your basket. You spin a little spinner-thing and "pick" the appropriate number of pieces from your tree. Watch out for the dog or bird, who eat the fruit right out of your basket! (Evie always says "The dog must like my blueberries!) It's helped us with counting and learning to take turns. And it's fun to see her throw her hands in the air and yell "Hi Ho Cherry-O!" when her basket is full!

We also love Disney DVD Bingo. A neighbor gave it to us as a hand-me-down and it has been Evie's favorite game of the summer. You choose a card and pop in the DVD. The great thing is that each space on the card corresponds to a number, color, and Disney character. So B12 is Peter Pan on the red space, and a big picture of Peter Pan comes up on the screen. Evie can easily identify the correct spot and put the marker over the space. (Her confidence at this game also makes her bossy, and she watches our cards, too.) This game is fun for her, but also for us! And it was great to take along with our portable DVD player to my mom's cancer treatments and hospital stays. All the nurses smiled at Evie and my mom propped up in bed playing Bingo.

The newest game to enter our household has been Zimbbos! and this is what we're currently "stuck" on. I love the game because the pieces are wooden and durable, and it teaches spacial relationships and motor skills. Evie loves it because it's fun! The rules are simple - you roll a die to determine how many elephants to stack, or if you should stack another piece like a clown or a balance bar. Whoever puts the last elephant on the pyramid (and wouldn't you know it, it's PINK) wins! We have made some fantastic pyramids, and I'm amazed at how creative Evie is!

So now it's your turn to share with me. What do you when the weather turns foul and you spend the day inside? And do you have any favorite games in your household?