Card Games
Our two years old grandson recently found a deck of cards in my home office. Being an inquisitive toddler, he proceeded to open the box and hand cards to everyone in the room. I wondered how he knew to give each person cards. We all received a different amount. He was sharing and that is important for toddlers and adults.
As I began calling out numbers and letters, I thought about cards being a great teaching tool. There are numbers and a few letters. Great for a toddler. I imagined teaching him each figure on the cards. He already counts past twenty five, so this would be another resource for teaching and reading.
Calling out the numbers and letters, reading and pointing to each one, I was impressed with his grasp of a card game. He has played with cards at his house or maybe he is familiar with memory cards at preschool.
I remember playing with cards as a youngster. Building card houses on the floor, hoping to make the tower taller and taller. Games of “Go Fish” and “Memory” sparked interest and I was learning without knowing I was being taught.
I recall special times of laying all the cards on the floor and making up games with my niece. She was about five years old then. She’s grown now and she and her husband have three children. They enjoy playing with cards, too.
A simple deck of cards can be a time for sharing conversation, teaching numbers, letters and even fine motor skills.
Even trading cards like baseball cards have numbers and statistics to read. Thinking more about card games, I recall fondly placing cards in my bicycle spokes to make a clicking sound. Those cards weren’t used for reading but they sure gave joy.
Do you have a deck or two of cards in your home? Have you played any card games lately? Find someone to share a game and enjoy the fun. If you have a toddler around, use the cards for teaching reading and number skills.
Be on the lookout. As soon as our grandson decided he was finished playing cards, he laughed and played a game of “52 Pickup”. Throwing the cards in the air, I laughed and recalled how I did the same thing to my parents.
Share how you have used cards to teach. What new ideas can you give?
Blessings,
Melissa Henderson