Rainy Day Games

It's been stormy here today (I love this kind of weather!), and the Little One is sick. So, we've been having a low-key kind of day. While Anna took her nap, I pulled out the File Folder Games box and we had a little fun!

This top game is Monster Manners. All the monsters say either a well-mannered sentence or a bad-mannered one. The good ones go in the closet, while the bad ones go under the bed. As well as being a fun character-building activity, this was also good reading practice for Mary.

This game above is Flap, Flap, & Fly! from Mama Jenn. This is great for early math concepts, moving so many spaces forward and backward, and so on. The Education Cube you see here is amazing! These are just photo blocks that roll like dice, and you can put pictures or flashcards in them. There are just so many uses for these handy things! I ordered mine on Amazon, and then I bought the membership to the site for $12 (one-time fee) where I can download and print out premade cards (ABC's, phonics, numbers, games, etc.). We've really gotten our money's worth and the school year is just beginning! (By the way, do you see those little animals that we were using as place-markers for the game? They're called Pedestal Pets. They come on top of pencils and are just the sweetest little happies! Our local teacher store has them in stock, and I let Mary get one whenever we go. Here they are, just in case you're looking for some super-cute little things for your super-cute little ones.)

I have an Art degree (so, yes, I was a highly-educated waitress for a long time! But anyway...) I've created lots of stuff, but absolutely nothing as cute as this kitty cat can! I got the game and ideas from Spell Outloud, which has tons of other pictures, directions, and GREAT printables for a whole birthday/cupcake unit. We read the story and then used the Education Cube as our die. Whatever number it landed on, that's how many cupcakes Mary fed the kitty (it's really a can all dolled-up). Then we worked on making patterns with the cupcakes. If I had planned better, we would have actually made some cupcakes. We'll just have to do that another day when Anna is feeling better.

Overall, these games are quick, fun, and painless learning/review. My kind of stuff! ;)