I don't think there is anything better for family bonding and fun than playing games together. Well, maybe read-alouds - they are tied at the top of my list.
Unfortunately, though, Carbon seems to have inherited my extreme tendency to be a bad-loser. I have trouble not having a little hissy-fit if I lose a game, but I don't stress when I'm playing kiddie games with children, so the kids haven't seen me be a bad loser. So maybe there is a bad-loser gene in my DNA, but regardless my son gets very mad if he loses and he stalks off from the table declaring that it was "no fun at all".
Cooperative games are best for us. There are some truly cooperative games out there, but we also find that we can play many of the Ravensberger games semi-cooperatively. "Rivers, Road, and Rails" is Carbon's favorite, with it's cooperative puzzle building a crazy twisting road system.
Even very young children can play this game, so it is perfect for families and mixed-age groups. But you need a big table!
Yes! Of course I agree - playing games and snuggling to read together are the top two on my list as well.
ReplyDeleteKarateKid loved Rivers, Roads and Rails when he was in his biggest construction trucks & trains phase. We haven't pulled it out in a while, but I think we'll get it out this week!