games people play
Filed Under Stuff, Tips & Tricks | January 22, 2010
We must admit that this wet weather has stretched our resources when it comes to thinking of ways to while away indoor time with our tots. Here are a few fun things we’ve come up with that we thought we’d share in case you’re experiencing a similar bout of cabin fever.
Babes and tiny tots alike will be endlessly entertained by this series of “In My” books from Sarah Gillingham and Lorena Siminovich. Whether you’re In My Den or In My Nest each story features a colourful felt finger puppet that accompanies kids on their journey as they peek at all the amazing things that make up each animal’s home. Every story ends on the same note – it’s your family that makes your home truly special. And the bright colours are a nice antidote to the winter gloom.
We’ve been playing a lot of Pengoloo of late. This variation of a classic memory game features cute wooden penguins perched atop coloured eggs. Your goal is to pick penguins with matching eggs and then bring ‘em over to your iceberg in order to collect the most penguins. It’s easy enough for little ones to play but fun enough that parents will enjoy it too. Although it’s recommended for kids of four and up, we suspect three-year-olds would enjoy it as well, especially since each game is just long enough (about 10 minutes) to hold your little one’s attention.
New from Quercetti, known for their colourful, innovative toys for kids (think Georello and Saxoflute), are their stencil sets. Each cunningly crafted set comes with four different stencil sheets made of durable BPA and phthalate-free plastic and 12 non-toxic felts packaged in a handy basket with a transparent lid that doubles as a pen holder. We were worried that prescribed pictures would stifle creativity but our tots (and to our surprise, ourselves) are discovering endless permutations and combinations with the farm set. (Note: these are hard to find, we tracked ours down at Pedagogy Toys in New West and you can find them online at Ape to Zebra Toys).
You can also tuck these ideas away and save them for when the Olympics are in full swing since it won’t be business (or play) as usual during those two weeks. And if you’ve been worrying about what to do when our town’s turned upside down, have no fear, we’ll have lots of ideas and info.
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