This is one of our favorite card games. We don't do a lot of card games because Hannah can get very competitive which leads to tears and tempers flaring and general pouting. And that's just me. Her behavior can get hairy also. So we add certain options that make for more cooperative play (like sharing a card that you don't need but you know someone else needs).
The game is called Garbage and it's a game that is easy to learn and fun to play. We use really big cards, seven inches tall, that I got on clearance years ago. They're made by
Fundex. They're easy for the young ones to hold and see.
Players: 1 - 4. This is a good solitaire type game for kids. If you want to play with more than four people, use two decks. Ages 3 + (depending on how much you're willing to help).
Setup: Dealer deals eight cards to each player. Remaining cards form a pile between all players. Players do not look at their cards but place them face-down in front of them in two rows of four. Players mentally number each card beginning with '1' and ending with '8'. (We use numbers written on little pieces of paper above each card until the child is able to remember what number she's assigned to each card.)
Play: First player draws from the top of the extra card pile. If the card drawn is any number from 1-8, the player places it face-up in the correct place and looks at the card it replaced. If that card can be used to replace any of the other numbers, use it (and keep going until you get a card you can't use) - if not, place it on the discard pile. (For example, player draws a '2' card and puts it down in the '2' spot. They then look at the card that was face-down in that spot, which is a '7'. They put it in the '7' spot and look at the card they replaced from that spot. It is a '10', so they put that in the discard pile.) The next player can use the discarded card or pick a new card.
When a player has replaced all eight cards, the round ends. All players turn in their cards and the next round starts. In this round, the player who won the last round only has seven cards to replace while everyone else does eight cards again (this is obviously another place where we bend the rules a bit - when we play, all players go down a number instead of just the winner of the last round). After this round is over, it goes down to six cards and so on until there's only one card left - the first player in that round to get an 'ace' wins the game.
I've mentioned before that math, as a subject, is a difficult one for me to feel confident helping my children with. Games like this really help the child learn number concepts but keep math from being separated from life (and into a subject) and help keep me relaxed about something that is far too easy for me to get wound up about.
If you're not quiet, you'll get this.
One of 'em's a coward.
They are *so* close to leaving the nest (compare this picture to the same birds last week) that I sat down to try to get some good pictures. My goal was to get a picture of their parents feeding them, but I had a bit too much help for that to happen.
I was able to get this ...
and this ...
and this.
When I came back out by myself a few hours later, the nest was empty. And so it goes.
froze them ...
and then went to find Daddy in the fields.
It was a welcome treat on a hot day.
Everybody tried everyone else's flavors.
And then Hannah enjoyed some Daddy time.
She's a child who needs to connect.
Ainsley was too busy connecting with her ice cream.
And then it was too hot in the middle of the field, and we were done.
So home we went, with a stop on the way at Hannah's favorite birding spot.
Nothing but seagulls there today.
then friendly ...
then playful ...
and, finally, the best of friends.
For my social butterfly eldest, it was a very, very good day.
Doesn't she remind you of someone?
Fitting, since her favorite movie right now is My Fair Lady.
She's still a bit too young for Breakfast at Tiffany's.
'Hello Pony' play.
Tea party set-up.
Then the tea party.
Girls taking a Reading Eggs break to play with fairy-ballerina-mermaids.
Flower petal sandwiches.
Yoga.
Setting up a butterfly.
Checking the work.
Drop off huge box of items at the thrift store.
Go to the WalMarts to pick up a kitty litter box. Hope I don't regret this.
Putting the goats back in their pasture, fixing the hole in the fence.
Watching Garfield now as we wind down.
Complete with a 'written' invitation, complete cobbled together tea service, and chocolate chip cookies she asked me to make for it. She's a surprisingly gracious hostess for a two-year-old.
I wish I could do that when I was sick. Curl up and get comfort from someone I trust completely.
while Hannah explored JumpStart, Seymour Skinless, and Reading Eggs.
There's also been a lot of reading, cuddling, plays, pretend, and a game Hannah made up in the car today where she starts a story and we take turns adding to it (when it was Ainsley's turn, she had the main character boiling cheese, flowers, and grapes for lunch - she almost got herself kicked out of the storytelling, but saved herself by giggling so hysterically that Hannah didn't have the heart).
Their chests are starting to turn brownish today - they were gray yesterday. It's startling how fast these little creatures grow up.
So we're staying busy, and our summer's flying by.
