Category: internet finds

There are some things about childhood that you don’t forget–learning how to ride a bike, maybe playing a particular game, and attending certain events. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus at Madison Square Garden, NYC circa the late 70’s is one of those events for me. My family went with our good friends, rode the subway and sat in box seats for the Greatest Show On Earth. The lights, the music, the stunts–pure magic! 

 
Grand Rapids, MI – Sept. 18-21, 2008 
Denver, CO – Oct. 2-13, 2008 
Boston, MA – Oct. 8-13, 2008
Cleveland, OH – Oct. 24 – Nov. 2 
Chicago, IL – Nov. 6 – 30, 2008 
St. Louis, MO – Nov. 6-9, 2008 
Auburn Hills, MI – Nov. 12 – 16, 2008 
Highland Heights, KY – Feb 27 – Mar. 1, 2009 

Rumor has it that in the early 80’s, a favorite brother-in-law was rather infamous for one thing–flipping the Monopoly board over and screaming, “the electric company!” (think 70’s PBS show) whenever things weren’t going his way. The story makes everyone laugh whenever it comes up, but really, can you blame the little guy? Board games are a fun to play, but for younger children, only when you win!!

Enter a new set of games from Hasbro, featuring “the Noodleboro Gang”. Each game comes with an actual game to play, a story to read and an audio CD. Concepts such as sharing, listening and good manners. The games are fun, appropriate and reinforce concepts that are a goal for every parent of a preschooler.

I was sent a sample of the Noodleboro Fun Park Sharing Game, appropriate for ages 4-6. My daughter, who is 3, has just started to take an interest in games, and ever since I opened the box, we’ve played every.single.day. Every. Day. I kid you not!

Actually, our first exposure was to the audio CD. We were headed out for a long ride to a friend’s house, and I popped the CD in. The CD is mostly a reading of the book, but it’s dramatized like an old-time radio show. MAM loved the sound effects, and really followed the story. When I showed her the book, she could follow along with the pictures because she’d listened to the story a few times in the car.

The game itself is a lot of fun, and it’s a cooperative game, so that in the end, there’s no winner-takes-all sort of ending (and no pieces flying with the loser upset). The game, as the name implies, takes place in a fun park, and with the roll of a die, you play the different carnival style games. There’s a wheel to spin, a star to drop and catch, a “log flume” to guide a raft through and a find-the-object sort of moving cups game. What’s great is that even at three, my daughter quickly mastered the spinning wheel and the cup game. Whenever she had the opportunity to choose which game to play, she picked the one she’d have the most success with, which I thought was clever. Over the past few days though, she’s also gotten pretty good at the star drop and catch, and the log flume game. Her challenges though, demonstrate how the very young could play with older children–they’d just have their niche in what prizes they’d collect (and then share, which you know, is the whole point!).

As a preschool teacher, I can see these games appealing to young children. I plan on getting a second game for my classroom (I don’t think MAM will part with hers) for rainy day recess– it will be a great addition to our board game round robin.

Mom Central is giving away 200 of these games– win one for the preschooler in your life by clicking on this link and taking a quick survey. They’d make a great birthday or holiday gift for any little person developing social skills.

This post is part of a blog tour brought to you by Mom Central.