Variations on “I spy” and such

One of my greatest thrills of parenting Vehd is that of playing with him, sometimes reliving my own childhood in the process. As he goes through various phases and stages, we have together invented games to support a particular phase. Here are some of our favorites:

I spy: The classic, "I spy" game of spotting things, especially great when the scenery keeps changing, like on a drive.

I wonder: Vehd can sometimes get heady, thinking, imagining and living in his head. This is fine for the most part but some days he works himself up with vivid imaginations. In an effort to bring him back to the "here and now", we play "I wonder". It is a riff on a game suggested by Richard Louv in The Last Child in the Woods. We wonder about things that are likely happening right now but that we cannot see. Examples: I wonder if an earthworm is digging in the ground right next to the green onions in our yard, I wonder if a mamma bird is feeding her chirping fledgling, I wonder who is going to bed right now even as we head to school.

I read: Vehd is getting increasingly curious about reading by himself. So, we are exploring print in all contexts of life, especially in store, road signs. As we drive by, Vehd says, " I read a white word on a red sign." I read it back to him. He is gradually beginning to read more familiar signs himself.

News report: I invented this game in a total pinch. If Vehd is ready to head to preschool and I am still getting dressed, he likes to join me in the dress-up process. While this is a lot of fun, it delays getting out the door. To redirect him, I ask Vehd to give me a newsreport of the on-goings outside the window. We live on a main drag around a lake and the scenery provides rich enough materials for the 3 year-olds report. He starts with a check on weather, birds flying, ducks in the water and then moves on to traffic, passerbys and neighbors leaving for work.

Market: When Vehd was about 2 years old, he loved playing with egg shells. One day, I asked him if we could trade egg shell pieces. In the process, we invented the game of "Market". Vehd has a set of wares (egg shell pieces!, playdough pieces, homemade vegetables made out of clay and so on) that he sells in return for coins. In the last year the game has evolved to using Crazy 8 cards that happen to have pictures of vegetables and fruits on them. The cards also double as currency — all denominations from 1-9, combined with coins. The trading goes back and forth, paused periodically to count the money made by the vendor.

I know many of these activities have underlying educational potential but that is not the primary goal of these activities. The goal is to connect, relate and see the world together. In the process several literacy, math, social, naturalistic learning goals get covered.

Please comment back with games you have invented with youngsters you care for and/or teach.