todays activities

 Today we made cardboard Christmas trees, answered riddles from G and G and then played Christmas questions from here. Someone pulled a word from a cup and then the rest of us had to ask yes and no questions until we got the word. We played it during lunch and the best part was that Daddy got to play too. One of the blessing that has come out of Covid- we get to see Daddy so much more!

library finale

 

We attended one of the libraries we frequent, summer reading finale party. There was this guy there with all these wild games for the kids to play. Harkin was so super excited about all of it. Issabelle did a great job with a little help from her big brother. Landon was there as a volunteer but was keeping a watchful eye out for his little siblings.
A fun afternoon to keep us cool and happy.

play play play

Our days with Grammy and Grampy were spent at the house playing game after game. Although Issabelle had some play dough sneak in. It was such fun and there was learning going on all the time. We found this new game- 20 questions for the older group and it kept us laughing throughout the evening.

With nothing on the agenda our days seem to last forever and it was so relaxing. I am trying to take that into account for the new year. I want more relaxing, less stress, days at home, with lots of games thrown in.

serious play at the library

The boys have been part of a chess club since the middle of December, Each week they go and play about three games each against other kids. This week the top chess player from Vermont came to play all the kids at once. He would make a move and then move onto the next kid so then each kid had a bit if time to think about their move and then move when Dave came back to them.

I was very impressed with my boys. I think each of them surprised themselves a bit. Landon stayed in for a good long while. He came in 11th out of about 25 kids. William was the last one standing. He didn't beat Dave, but no one was going to do that. It was to challenge yourself and to see how long you could stay in the game.

I was never exposed to chess growing up so I think this is pretty awesome that they can play. Eric plays with them on occasion and I have been trying to learn, but too often forget the rules of play. It needs some serious concentration and right now I am a bit short on that. One day perhaps.  For now I will leave it to the boys.

The two little ones spend their time reading books and playing games with Mama while their big brothers play chess.

early morning games

With Harkin waking up at 5:00am and then wanting to fall back to sleep snuggled close to Mama, we tend to stay in bed a bit later than the average person.  The boys are pretty early risers, as they must say their goodbyes to Daddy every day.

So in order to keep some sort of order and quiet they find themselves playing lots of games. They have a great time together and are learning to compromise with one another about which games to play.

I shared a room with my sister growing up and I have fond memories of early morning games of War going on for hours- oh, and jumping from bed to bed- which I will deny if asked.

Happy Friday and on a side note we currently have about 3  inches of new snow on the ground with more falling rapidly!

inventing games

I guess my passion for creating our own entertainment has seriously paid off. One morning while on our walk Will decided to make his own hopscotch game. It was a very detailed game. Grammy spent about an hour that afternoon with him while they drew and wrote all the things they had to do.  I love how he is learning that he can create anything he puts his mind to.

Rummikub

A game that has been waiting it's unveiling in the attic ever since I bought it at a tag sale for 1.00. Brand new.  I was just waiting for the perfect time. It was a huge hit and everyone can play it very easily. Landon needs a bit of help for the first part, making sure he has a total of 30 points, but otherwise strategies are in our heads.

 It is kinda like Rummy but you can play off of one another and move things around. Very fun indeed.

game that Fits

I have been reading quite a few blog posts lately about games and how helpful they are in learning. (Ordinary Life Magic, One Sweet World, The Forest Room) I know this. 

We have a ton of games and yet we still don't use them as often as I would like.  I am trying harder to make it a priority. There are just way too many benefits to playing. Not to mention fun!  

Our newest game, Fits, is quite the brain challenge. You have to fit the small pieces onto a grid so there are no spaces. (Similar to Tetrus) You keep score after each round. There are positive and negative points. 

So we were learning to add positives and negatives, which I had to think about for a moment, since it had been awhile.  I showed them how to use a number line to try it out. All the while William is kinda like "Mom, just get on with it already", but then I find just the two of them playing and Will has used the number line to help keep score.  
Ah, the joy of natural learning:)

They both have beaten their Mama by the landslide, by the way.

Thursday's Moments

Created our own dot to dot book for the boys' cousin.

 Headed outside to enjoy the Spring weather!

 Skate park!

 Our game of the week. We have played it every day at least 3 times since opening it on Monday.

A good day indeed.

games: Battleship

I don't think this game needs much introduction. It's been around forever. But it is a great time to see the two of them having day long battles.  William is learning patience as Landon becomes better acquainted with his numbers and letters and then learning how to say them as a coordinate.

I even taught them to say "You sunk my battleship!"  Remember the commercials???

games: Postcards from North America

One of the many new games we received for Christmas. We are loving it. You travel across North America by following a colored path or flying by airplane. The goal of the game is to be the first one to turn over 10 postcards. In order to turn over a postcard you must reach a certain destination. Either a  major city or a popular landmark.  It's a great way to become familiar where major cities and famous landmarks are. William already has told us about a dozen places he is ready to visit. I had fun playing which is always a plus.

our newest game

We picked this up yesterday at the consignment shop and have been having fun playing it. We even got Daddy to play this afternoon.  It creates lots of giggles as everyone keeps getting stuck or becomes the ghost.

The object of the game is to escape the castle before the ghost catches you and you become the ghost.  There is some strategy to the game but sometimes it is just pure luck.

It was a fun afternoon of game time.