Finger twister!

This week my husband invented a brilliant game for the boys which is fun and educational and can be played anywhere (as long as you have a pen and paper and some fingers)

It's called finger twister - and both boys play. 

It's pretty simple - draw lots of circles and put numbers in them, then call out numbers and the kids have to touch them and see how many they can do without lifting any of their fingers off! 

Midget Gem plays just by touching the numbers - he's only little after all! Jellybean plays by keeping his fingers on and twisting his little hands all around, and we're doing simple sums with him like find two numbers that make up four - and he'll do the sums. 

It's way more fun and amusing than it looks - try it with your preschoolers!

A family game

We got a lot of new games for Christmas, and realised that the boys - particularly Jellybean - are getting big enough to play games properly now. I dug out some other games that we'd had in a cupboard since earlier birthdays and Christmases and we now tend to have a game every night as a family between bath time and beg time. 

It's a great part of our day because we all enjoy the chance to play together and relax, and I think playing games teaches the children some important lessons about sharing, winning and losing and playing fair. 

Taking turns, being happy for someone else if they win and following instructions are all also important parts of the fun. 

So far Midget Gem is a little young for many of the games, so we play as a three and he plays his own version alongside so he's involved but not struggling to keep up with what we're doing. 

Always keen to use any games as educational I'm a big fan of this game from Orchard Toys. Just to be clear, I haven't been asked to write a review of this game, and it was bought for Jellybean as a gift for his third birthday. I just wanted to post about it because it's one we play with most days and we love it. 

Shape snap is great for both children - Jellybean can play properly, and is learning to stop throwing a tantrum if someone else shouts 'SNAP' before he does, and to congratulate them. He's great at the shapes, knows the difference between a hexagon and a pentagon, explains them all to Midget Gem and loves the quick competition of the game. 

Midget Gem likes to match the cards and tell us what shape they are (though most are still 'square') and to talk about the insects and animals on each card, and the colours of the shapes. 

This game is just seven fifty from Orchard Toys and honestly worth every penny - the cards are sturdy, made from recycled materials, and the kids have yet to destroy any which is something of a miracle. 

This is Jellybean's 'Daddy said snap first' face - he is laughing, despite looking traumatised!