Playing Games with a Five-Year-Old

… is so much fun.  Gage has been sick this week; battling a cough, gooky throat and a fever, so we’ve been taking it easy during ‘school’ time.  Puzzles, stories and games have filled our time rather than thinking hard about the work we normally do.  I know how hard it is to concentrate when not feeling well, so I wasn’t going to push it with this little guy. He happily agreed to this arrangement. Surprise surprise. 

Anyway, we played the Thomas math game… which he won.  And was clearly excited about… And we played Sequence For Kids… the game Sequence brings back great memories for me, of playing it with family and with Brian and Melissa before we had our kiddos. Now, the Kid Version is  my favorite game to play with Gager. For those who don’t know, the object is to get 4 chips in a row.  When we draw a card we have to say the animal, the letter it starts with and emphasize the sound that letter makes.  He, not surprisingly, knows the name that goes with almost every animal… like, “Polly the Penguin” and “Wiley the Whale”. 

This boy used to be SO competitive when playing games, but now he’s showing a softer side.  When he picked the dragon card which allowed him to remove any chip he wanted, he removed one of HIS so that he could help me try to win.  THAT shocked me. 

Then, he only needed “Gloria the Gorilla” to win in THREE directions at once and he got it!

…and he got to flick his fingers in triumph over his win.  This celebratory gesture was started long ago between me and my mom, and now Gage loves to bust it out when he wins, too.  I love it.

And this is how much I love this little guy… sharing the last piece of Mint Brownie with him.  Maybe not the best thing to eat while fighting an illness but… oh well.  

Then I suggested we play this game… I will not disclose whether I may or may not have learned a similar game in college… involving a quarter and a little bitty glass…

… this version was MUCH more fun. 

He won this one, too.  I love game days. 

I’m finishing typing this as I’m listening to Gage coughing miserably in my bed… please pray he gets well, soon!