Jr. Gamers Starter Pack
Filed Under Stuff | September 28, 2011
We love learning through games. And we’re not even talking overtly educational games; games are just naturally packed, full-of-learning fun. Card, dice, and board games for 3-5 year-olds are generally about introducing basic skills: dice rolling; counting; colour, letter and number recognition; matching; turn taking; memory; concepts of luck vs. skill; and fine motor skills, for example. In short, they’re great for helping teach school readiness skills.
But there is a second reason why we like playing games with little kids; it establishes a tradition of a fun, family interaction that can continue right through adulthood. It’s something you can do together anywhere, that is cheap and not electronic. Here are some family game favourites to get little ones started (If you have older kids check out Monday’s recommendations):
3+
Bus Stop
Introduces turn taking, counting, and +/- as passengers get on and off your bus. Our 3-year-old found resemblances amongst the passengers to family, friends, and even President Obama – he was always very particular to only choose passengers he’d named for his bus.
Shopping List
A simple memory game that requires players to find tiles that match items on their pictorial shopping list to fill up their cart.
4 +
Hisss
Build a longer snake by matching colours, and complete a snake (with a head and tail) to claim it for your collection.
Camelot Jr
Use blocks and stairs to complete the challenges in the book and reunite the prince and princess. An introduction to logic and strategic planning, this game fuels the imagination as children have a tendency to invent their own variations – sometimes the princess chooses not to rescue the prince, and just builds herself a big castle instead!
5+
Gobblet Gobblers
Like tick-tack-toe (introductory strategy and logic) but with a memory component – kids love Gobbling the Gobblets.
Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel
Being the first to fill your log with acorns using the Squirrel Squeezers! This game develops fine motor skills and requires a bit of strategy as you can pick, steal, or lose acorns. Although it’s recommended for ages 3-5, we put it at the upper end because games where other players can “steal” from you can be more traumatic than fun for younger kids. While learning to shrug it off and move on (perhaps to take your revenge) is a valuable lesson, it might be wise not to introduce this one until your child is a more practiced game player who understands the fickleness of luck.
If you want to branch out, then we generally find games from Gamewright, Orchard Toys, and Blue Orange Games are good bets. These games are generally available at independent toy stores.
Yo Mama, if you’re looking for more games here are some past recommendations and reader’s favourites:
2 Responses to “Jr. Gamers Starter Pack”
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Let us know what you think or share your great finds with us so we can share them with other Vancouver mothers!
Drexoll Games on 4th @ MacDonald has open copies of many games, so you can try them out before you buy.
Westside Family Place has a copy of “Shopping List” in their toy lending library. We’ve borrowed it many times.
Thanks for these! Perfect timing. Going on the Christmas shopping list now. So hard to find appropriate games for the under 4 crowd.