Hey, guys-- I haven’t been around in a while, because I’ve been busy, and haven’t been online much at all. But I need some advice, and I can’t think of a better place.
I’m being asked to start a “specials” program for the pre-school where I work. It will have the kids doing different activities each day that in some way stretch there thinking skills with open-ended problems, creative activities, critical thinking exercises, and other things that give them a break from textbook curriculum, and their classroom teachers a break so they get lunch.
The oldest group is 4 & 5-year-olds, and for them, I thought I’d collect some board games, and other kinds of table-top games, that don’t require reading. Also, trying to avoid games like Jenga and Kerplunk that focus on manual dexterity, although luck games that requires skills like matching, and involve suspense and anticipation like Candyland are OK.
Vintage games are fine-- games you liked as a child that I may have to go to eBay for are great because they are less likely to have them at home. Number matching is fine, but requiring counting past 10 isn’t a good idea.
Here’s my list so far:
Checkers
Candyland
Chutes and Ladders
Hi-Ho Cherrio!
Diggin’ Dogs
Connect 4
Dominoes
Memory Match
Go Fish
Colorama
Tic-Tac-Toe (I have a board version)
Sequence for kids
Spot It, Jr.
I know that’s a lot, but I’m not going to use them all. I want a long list, so I can choose the best-- and greatest variety, and this will probably be a weekly activity.
New games, games from your childhood, and classic like checkers-- all are welcome.