The games we play - Top 15!

Joy of Play

Yash is now all of 8 years. With each passing year, I'm trying new games that can keep him engaged. Being a working mom, I know that it is a bit of a challenge and I usually don't have time for much preparation and planning for materials. I've taken inspiration from various sources over the years and created some of my own. Here are some very popular games with Yash, that we both enjoyed growing up with.

1. I spy with my little eye - Right from when Yash was one and could point with his little finger, we started playing this. I would find something in the surroundings that was easy to locate for a toddler. I would then close my eyes and say 'I spy with my little eye.... A duck' (or whatever is the thing I chose) My little excited toddler would look around, make an effort and point! This was a great game for doctor's waiting rooms, at home, in the car, basically anywhere that we went. And the best part, we continued to play this game for years. As he grew older, my clues became more complex.

2. I hear with my little ear - As Yash turned two, the I spy game changed a bit to take in another of the senses, hearing. Being an educator before being a mom has helped me understand the process of brain development and what impetus I need to provide as a mother. Adding the hearing dimension made sure that his listening skills were getting honed. We would explore sounds and songs, voices and noises!



3. Homework Games - When Yash started getting 'homeplay' as his preschool called it, the first few days were an absolute battle at home to get him to sit and complete his work. With a great deal of effort to keep the educator in me at the forefront and push back the homework monster in me, I would come up with games to make it more fun for him. Yash used to hate repetitive work. If the homework was to write the alphabet 3 times, he lost interest after the first time. I would then time him, keeping the stop watch right next to him. The race was against his own previous performance. The best way to compete, right? Some days, we would challenge him to see if he can complete his work without using an eraser. His reward for completing his homework would be getting to eat dinner with the family. This way I made sure that eating dinner together as a family was something that he aspires for. (clever, eh!). The idea was to keep homework as much fun as possible.

4. Finding letters - When Yash was learning his alphabet, I had to find ways to reinforce his learning. In the mornings, when I would sit with the newspaper, Yash would sit next to me sometimes to look at the pictures. I would ask him to find letters in a particular page. We would estimate how many of those letters he can find. and he would be surprised that he found more than he thought he would! I believe his ability to recognise letters may have been instrumental in being an early reader. He was able to read the headlines by the age of 4. Reading various books with him also helped in this I'd like to think.

5. Travelling Counting - We love our long drives! As a family, we would take off on road trips quite often. During these drives, we played the counting game. For every five autos that we find, a Hi Fi. For every ten trucks, a Hi Ten and so on.

6. Household races - We would race to see if I can get food on the table faster or if he could set the table faster. For many of the everyday activities like brushing teeth, or taking bath, it was always a game to see if he can beat his previous record or compete with me. It was great to see him working around the house, taking responsibility.

7. Quiz Time - This is an all time favourite. From when Yash was about 5, we would have quizzes. Initially, it was just him that I would quiz. It slowly became a group activity with all his friends getting involved too. They divide up into teams and we have two or three rounds depending on what the kids prefer. From this, I was surprised to understand that Yash's knowledge was beyond his age. His concepts are strong, woohoo!

8. Rock Paper Scissors - Yash taught us this game. He had learnt it from his cousins. We use this for making decisions sometimes, 'Who goes first?' is decided by who wins in rock paper scissors. If we don't agree on how much time he has to spend on the IPad, we use Rock paper scissors to decide who chooses. This makes him feel that he has the say in decisions and makes him feel empowered. The best part, he is reasonable in his demands so we have no problem giving in once in a while.

9. Tic Tac Toe and Lines & Dots - We've used up old papers and books in the pursuit of these games. Initially Yash would lose at Tic Tac Toe and would get upset. I could've let him win, but then he would never learn like that. Slowly, he learnt to strategise and win a few rounds. In the dot game, we make a grid of dots 10 * 10 for example. The idea is to take turns and draw horizontal or vertical lines connecting two adjacent dots in each turn. Here's a link to how this is played http://www.grandparents.com/grandkids/activities-games-and-crafts/dots

10. Ball games - We've played all sorts of ball games, from throwing and catching, cricket, football, et all! Most often, it's my husband Vickram who is the partner for these. When I'm getting dinner ready, it gives father and son the time to play these.

11. Spelling Game, Hangman - What better way to reinforce spellings than a game of Hangman! Yash enjoys the game. He makes good guesses and it shows his mastery of spellings. Once we realised that he had an interest in spellings, we use the lists off the internet to ask him to spell during drives and waiting rooms now.

12. Atlas / Name Place Animal Thing - As Yash grew older, the games changed too. His cousins introduced him to Atlas which is word building but with only names of places around the world. Name Place Animal Thing was also learnt from his cousins. We've been part of the game with all of them.

13. Uno Junior Cards, Monopoly / Board Games, Beyblade matches - Sometimes being able to pick games that are off the shelf is a blessing. These are go to games when energy levels for making up games are low. Monopoly can go on for hours! Yash was first introduced to the Uno Junior Cards when he was four. He used to take them all around with him. It helped teach him about taking turns, strategising, and learning about losing too. Beyblades are his latest craze. He has a whole slew of them and the stadium too. Father and son have battles to see whose Bey wins. Fun!

14.  Writing, Directing and Enacting - Yash and his friends are now old enough to come up with a story, plan and put up a play or shoot a video. We give situations or spark a story and let them run with it from there. It is absolute pleasure to watch the process of them selecting the main lead (cos' everyone wants to be one), write a story that everyone likes. Sometimes, we've even seen that after a few fights, these kids drop the whole thing because they are unable to agree upon one thing. Fights may ensue, but they are able to make up and move along. Gotta love childhood where no fight lasts longer than a few minutes!

15. Sword fights / Action Play - You cannot keep superheroes out. Yash and Vickram are often seen duelling. Yash makes up rules, decides who gets which weapon, who the bad guy is, and more. The process of making all this up is wonderful to watch. Even more wonderful, is to see his dad playing along to all of it!

Play is the work of childhood and for us parents, adulthood too! I'm happy that we are able to play with our son and keep the child inside of us alive. I wonder for how many more years Yash will continue to play with us.....

Have fun and play hard!