Even though my son is almost 6 years old he still naps almost every day.  I am a very luck mommy.  My daughter napped until first grade also.  Every day before nap time Eli picks out a few books for us to read. 

The book “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” has been chosen by Eli to be read for quite a few days in a row now.  If you do not have this book, it is definitely one that I recommend.  Reading about the town of Chewandswallow and the fantastical things that happen really draw my son into the book.  He constantly has me wait before I turn the page because there is so much in the pictures to check out.  This book really gets the imagination going.

Eli gives “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” two thumbs up!

The answer to yesterday’s Thursday Thinker can be tricky if you are not paying attention.

Neither Eight and Five are Twelve or Eight and Five is Twelve is correct because

8 + 5 = 13

Which is correct?

Eight and Five are Twelve

or

Eight and Five is Twelve

Last month I started my monthly felt giveaway. I am so excited by all of the entries for that contest that I decided to make this month’s giveaway much, much bigger.  Leave a comment below to be entered to win this prize.

This month’s prize is this Rainforest Felt Board Set.  The set includes a 23″ x 31″ rainforest background, 73 figures including animals, insects, foliage, and people, poems, a play, 18 lesson ideas and lessons to tell 3 Anansi tales, The Jungle Book, and The Great Kapok Tree!

With all that you get with this set it is a great value at $34.99 and will be on sale in April for $29.99!!  Rainforest felt board

This is a huge set that I am sure you will get years and years of use from.

Enter today by leaving a comment and a valid e-mail so that I can contact you if you win! 
I will announce the winner on Friday, April 4th so be sure to enter before then.

We have been playing a  lot of games lately, so I thought I would tell you about another one that you may have never hear of before.  Enchanted Forest is a fun game of strategy and memory building.

We have had some very fun nights playing this game.  It is very different from any game that we have played before and is challenging.  You have to be paying attention or the game could go on for a very long time.  This game was a hit in our family, so I will be looking into more Ravensburger games in the future.

KazooToys does carry several Ravensburger games and currently has a coupon code for 10% off an order of $50 – CJ10
Also, a code for 15% off $75 – CJ15

Here is the aswer to yesterday’s Thursday Thinker.

TTTTTT3 represents the number 63.  The six T’s make up the sound for 60 and then the three making it 63.

This is a fun one to do with younger children.  It may be interesting to see how they think and what they come up with.

Here is a quick one today!  What number does this represent?

TTTTTT3

Yesterday’s Wordless Wednesday picture was a picture of my kids checking out the Lego display in front of the Lego Store in Downtown Disney.  We are HUGE Lego fans, so the kids really had fun checking this place out.  As you can see in the second picture, my son had fun talking to the “dogs.”

The little guy and big guy get on well with games together. It wasn’t always the case and isn’t always the case. But we work hard at playing games together and allowing for modifications because of his age.

Patience- Big guy  loves to play this game and with his photographic memory- watch out everyone else he’ll wipe the floor with you. After watching for a minute or two, little guy thinks he can do this too so starts flipping all the cards over and flipping them back. Which leads to wailing from the big guy who takes his games seriously. After everyone is calmed down, disuaded from flipping and the game reset we try it differently. I choose a card to flip and little guy chooses the other one. We become partners. Sometimes I go first, sometimes he goes first. His brother will even help him ( not me) out with “No, try this one” and when he gets a set he’s very happy. They rarely play this on on their own as the little guy is still very impulsive but when we play together patience is a lot of fun.

Dominos
We have various sizes and types. We don’t hide the pieces but lay them out in front to help us match up. The little guy likes the picture one and will match those really quickly.

Bingo
We played this so much at Christmas that the little guy has his own board. No one is allowed his board.  He’s learnt the routine. The caller calls the name and shows the picture.  If you have it you say :” I have it”. He says ” Me” and reaches for it or shakes his head if it’s not his. I was surprised at how quickly he got the idea and this game they’ll play together without us for a long time.

Turn taking and showing siblings how to play together is something that is often caught and not taught.  If you start them helping each other, being tolerant, giving chances just like how we do when we start to play they learn from us how to play and well. Modify the game so everyone can be involved. Encourage celebration when one wins, thank them for the game. You modelling good behaviour will help them in their game playing.
Don’t be afraid to try turn taking games with toddlers and preschoolers it’s a great learning experience.

**************************************************************

Melitsa Avila is our guest contribututor here at Educational Toy Factory.  You can find her her wonderful contrabutions under Preschool Play Activities.

She is a former teacher having fun with play-activities with her two smiley active boys. She produces a free weekly email of educational play-activities for the under 5s that uses common materials found at home. Melitsa also encourages talk and comment about play at her blog.