Hungry and Bored Games

Well friends, here at our house Kindergarten Kiddo is on Spring Break, which means that there are a lot of hours in the day to fill.  As an only child, Kiddo has had plenty of practice in the art of occupying herself, but as the days at home stretch on, she inevitably turns to one of the grown-ups in the house for entertainment.

Being that we live in the Pacific Northwest, naturally the weather has been perfectly miserable: cold, wet, and unrelenting rain has been falling all day and shows no signs of letting up for the remainder of the week.  We’re starting to run out of ideas.  I’m wondering if you are too, so I thought that in today’s post I’d share with you some of the board games we’ve been playing this week.  

Side note: Kiddo has outgrown the likes of "Chutes and Ladders", and "Candyland", but these are good to start with if your Kiddo is new to board games.

First up:  "Sorry" by Hasbro

This classic board game is perfect for young players because it requires only basic counting skills (the highest number card is 12) and minimal reading.  The rules of Sorry are about as easy as they come - they are almost intuitive.  Even if your Kiddo isn’t reading yet, if she has played the game enough she will likely have memorized that the 4 card means move 4 spots backward, or that the sorry card means you get to bump your opponent back to start. 

Bonus Points: Depending on your Kiddo’s level and interest, you can play the game with only one pawn per player or all four, thus making the game easier (and shorter) or more challenging.  Besides, it’s a fun game for grown-ups and Kiddos alike.

Next up: "Sum Swamp" by Learning Resource

This is probably Kindergarten Kiddo’s favorite board game right now.  This game comes with a game board, two six-sided die numbered 1-6, a four-sided operations die (+ and -) and four figurines.   I cannot tell you how much fun Kiddo is having with this simple little game.  Seriously, I keep thinking: why didn’t I come up with this sooner?

Bonus Points: This game reinforces not only simple addition and subtraction, but also the concepts of zero, even, and odd.