Wednesday, November 08, 2006

WFMW - What's Your City Like? Game



Here's a fun little game I made up that's really easy to play. We played it while we were sitting around eating lunch but you could easily play it in the car to ease the time it takes you to get wherever you may be going. It's really simple and even my 14 year old played along.

Yesterday at lunch, my 4 year old son, Shorty, and I were talking about the United States and their capitals. (Shorty knows more US geography than a lot of adults I know, It's just a thing he likes. Some guys like trucks or dinosaurs. Shorty likes geography. I know - it's a little freaky to me too.) So out of the blue I just asked him what Shorty-ville would look like? For starters, he re-named it Shorty City. We started with things like what colors the houses would be and went on to discuss what types of stores and restaurants would be in "his" city. And how they would be placed - the playground would be right next to the church. Then we asked his older brother, #1 Son (He's 9 and is not a geography whiz.) what his city would be like. He jumped right in and had lots of ideas. Sweetanlo (14) helped by making suggestions of things or places that they hadn't thought of including. For the record, he'd place Shorty City in the great state of Texas. (His favorite state since his best friend moved there last winter.) Shorty had so much fun with this that he was still talking about it tonight at bedtime. Tonight he said that tomorrow we'd have to talk about our dog's city, which he cleverly named, Lucy Land, all on his own.

It was easy. It encouraged creativity and imagination. No small pieces to lose. Nothing to clean up or put away. It's portable and expandable. It didn't end in bickering or tears. This kind of game works-for-me!

Over at Rocks in My Dryeryou'll find tons of great ideas for making your life easier and more enjoyable. Stop by and check them out and don't forget to tell Shannon that you like her new look!

6 comments:

Shalee said...

That is brilliant! I think I'll start a round of that at dinner tonight.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful idea! I bet he loved that and I think my little ones might enjoy it too!

Blessings,
Tracy

Julie Q. said...

I like the way you describe this -- especially the no messes part. Sounds like my kind of game.

Pieces said...

What a fun thing to do! I'll have to do this with my kids in the car.

Ms. Kathleen said...

I agree, brilliant. Now, package it up and sell it. What do you have to lose? Ha!

Michelle said...

that is such a neat idea to get those creative juices flowing!