Go Fish!

So, the big thing at our house right now is "Go Fish". It has become so popular, in fact, that Penelope thinks that a funny response to questions is "Go Fish" (ex. "Penelope, do you have your shoes on?" "GO FISH") 

I love playing these basic games with kids and realizing how many different skills they are strengthening while not even knowing it! Yes, while in the classroom I made many versions of Go Fish, all with the main focus of a different standard or skill. The students knew perfectly well that while they played "Sight Word Go Fish" they were working on their sight words or while they played "Numbers Go Fish" they would be working on connecting numbers and often times equations. When I say that they don't know they are strengthening skills, I mean the often times overlooked skills. For example, think about how many children need help talking to others. How many children have trouble interacting with other children? How many children need to find their voice? How many children need hands on learning? How many children need to be out of a seat and laying on the floor? How many children shut down to conventional learning and need to be exposed to games in order to be drawn in?

I started thinking about all of this because my own little Penelope has just shown a great interest in this fun game. I tried to introduce Go Fish while I was pregnant. I cut the deck down to only numbers 1-8 and tried to play with P. While she liked playing with the cards, looking back, it was too early to master this game for her. But not now! A friend gave us a bag of great art supplies and in it we found a deck of Go Fish cards. The game is not numbers or letters or shapes but it is different sea animals. She was quickly drawn to the cute cartoon like drawings on each card. The cards don't only have a drawing but they also have the name of the animal. Something so simple, but yet so helpful to young children. I learned not only through my courses in Graduate School but also through my experience in the classroom: Label EVERYTHING! So, while Penelope is only 3 1/2 and reading is years away, seeing words and connecting them with pictures and ideas is so fantastic!

I love playing this with her. I started teaching her the way I did with my First Graders. We place our cards face up in front of us. We are not playing to win but just to have fun. In the classroom our slogan for games was "This is not a winning game, it is a learning game". That always seemed to cool the competitive jets in the classroom and allow students to enjoy the game rather than feel like they weren't smart or fast or the best if they didn't win. 

When we finish the game, we both count out our pairs. Pair being an important concept to grasp and counting out the pairs is another important skill. Honestly, having to deal with the fact that Mama doesn't let her win, so she doesn't always have the most pairs has been another great lesson. :)