On Sun, December 18, 2005 5:49 pm, Laurie Menke said: > Sounds like you're doing a great job, Chris! And I'm > sure your daughter is having a wonderful time. :o) Gee, thanks! I was kinda shooting from the hip and the games came out better than I expected. And yep, we are having a blast. > As for other games to try with her, I would think > Aquarius might be the best for now. There's almost no > reading (she should be able to memorize the few cards > that do require reading), and there is some strategy > involved, as well as spatial skills, which are > important to foster at that age. Q-Turns may be > another possibility. Yeah, I thought about Aquarius, too. I have been searching the house trying to find 2 lost dominoes and was thinking about getting Aquarius instead of yet another box. I will also check out Q-turns. > > Outside of the Looney Labs games, she might enjoy the > paper-and-pencil game Dots. Or Buzz (or Buzz Fizz if > you want to make it harder). Or there's lots of good > card games--War, Crazy 8's, Rummy, I Doubt It... The > Cranium people also have several good games for young > people, though I'm not sure how much strategy or logic > they involve. Another possibility would be the games > in the kindergarten version of Everyday Math (see > everydaymath.uchicago.edu). Yeah, I almost bought a tin box of those classic games (old maid, etc.) that I saw at the drugstore the other day, but decided against it until after the holidays. I have no idea what the relatives are getting us. We always get that kindof brick-a-brack in the stockings from the in-laws. :) > > Logic is also developed through vocabulary > development, especially categorization and seeing the > connections between ideas. How about "I Spy" or the > chanting version of Concentration (not Memory) in > which you have to keep the rhythm while naming items > in a category. Players create a rhythm by slapping > knees twice, then clapping twice and repeating while > chanting: "Con-cen-tra-tion, concen-tration now > be-ginning. Keep the rhy-thm, keep the beat. > Category: _______ (maybe types of toys, or boys' > names, or animals)" Play then moves from person to > person, each one calling out a name on the claps. If > they can't think of one fast enough, they're out. > We bought one of the Scholastic I-Spy games and she burned through it after about 2 times. You know your child has out-grown a game when she is alread solving the puzzles while you are getting the stuff out of the box to setup a game :) She has played... Conga (I think that's the name?) with some of the neighbors. Which is a Cranium game, and my wife was raving about it and wanting to get it. I generally dislike those "mass produced" games that you can get at the local mega-mart, but I am pretty open minded. So I may be checking that stuff out before too long. My big problem has been figuring out what "fits." She does exceptionally well with memory and logic games so far, but we run into weird scenarios like this: We are playing "Go Fish." I ask her if she has any Dolphins. She says, "Yep." (as she smiles devilishly.) I say, "Well hand 'em over, then." She then says, "Um... I can't find them. (as she looks under the table or behind her back)" Which is cute as all-get-out the first 17 times, then gets old :) But kids will be kids, I guess.. hehe... Thanks again for the ideas! :) -- Chris Palmer scp-fluxx <at> cryptical <dot> net