Let the Games Begin

We've had the game Don't Break the Ice for a long time. The children love it. They never actually played the game mind you. I would spend three minutes carefully setting it up and they'd spend 5 seconds frantically pounding out all the pieces of ice in a fury of excitement. They simply couldn't grasp that the concept of the game was to prevent the bear from falling down.

This weekend Michael asked to play Don't Break the Ice. I pulled it from the shelf and set it up and in a rather pessimistic way told him, "Now, you lose the game if you make the bear fall. You win if the other person makes him fall." He got it. He loved it. I even loved it. Now that we were actually taking turns and using strategy to try to keep the bear from falling, each "game" lasted longer and I had an opportunity to play too. So far, he's a good sport no matter who wins. Game playing finally became fun.

I got really ambitious and pulled out the Candy Land game I bought ages and ages ago when Michael learned his colors and I overly optimistically assumed that meant he was ready for Candy Land. Turns out he's also ready for Candy Land. We played 4-5 games in a row. He wanted to discuss every character and really wants to build a real Candy Castle. I have rediscovered the fact that I personally find Candy Land to be a little boring and I think I'll search out some other games that might be fun. Any suggestions?

Oh, and Happy Father's Day. Enjoy it everyone.

And to my husband: Happy 7th Anniversary! I love you. (And Happy Father's Day - You are an amazing Daddy.)