Do you have some favorite games that you played as a kid that could be fun to share with your children? Here are three games that my brothers and I loved to play.
The Alphabet Game: My two brothers and I had a favorite game on the 3-hour car ride to our yearly vacation at the beach which was 'the alphabet game'. Each of us would start at the beginning of the alphabet and find a sign that had the word starting with the letter 'A'. When someone called out that word it could not be used again; the other two players had to find a different word starting with 'A'. We would each try to go through the entire alphabet in order, calling out our words as we found them. The game could get quite animated, especially when we were looking for words that started with 'Q', 'X', and 'Z'. The signs could be traffic signs or those on stores and restaurants. This game works best when driving on back roads, as there aren't many signs when driving along highways.
The License Plate Game: Another favorite was the 'license plate game'. It's one that you can introduce your children to if you haven't already. When riding in a car or walking through a large parking lot, try to find license plates from as many of the 50 states as possible. This can lead to a discussion of where do you think a particular state is relative to where we are? How long would it take us to drive to that state? Can you think of any cities that are in that state? Does that state have any major rivers, lakes, or mountains? Is it near the ocean? You've just launched into a fun geography learning adventure without being in a classroom.
The Dictionary Game: As we got older another one of our favorite games was the 'dictionary game'. The person who was 'the master' picked a tough word from the dictionary that they thought no one would know its meaning. They would take a couple minutes to write down 3 meanings, only one was the correct meaning, the other two were made up. Then all the other players had to write down on a piece of paper which of the 3 meanings they thought was the correct one. Whoever picked the correct meaning would get 5 points and would take a turn at being 'the master'. We came up with some really preposterous and silly made-up definitions, but it was a lot of fun. Hearing new words was advantageous when we played Scrabble.
If these games weren't among your favorites, then what were yours? Remember to share them with your children, they will love experiencing what mom and dad did as kids.
And we'd love to hear your favorite games and how your children enjoyed playing or modifying them. Check out our website http://www.HappyFamilyGuide.com to find many more tips for making your home a nurturing environment for growing a happy family. We strive to provide ideas to families looking for ways to become more connected with each other and members of your community. We'd love to hear how you're growing a happy family.
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