Think-Ets Game Review

Review of Think-ets by Think-a-lot Toys
  www.think-a-lot.com

Not going out to face the bustle of Black Friday Shopping?

You won't find me out there either!

I want to stay home and play a family game, I might even do some online shopping. I will be looking at my list of naughty and nice and deciding who will be getting a good lump of coal and who a shiny wrapped parcel. Well, I have a sleigh but no reindeer so maybe the Santa routine is not for me.

I have been playing with Think-ets with various age groups and want to share with you that we have had a lot of fun! With multiple game choices and the easy convenience of a small bag to carry with me this Deluxe Set is  a big hit from grade school to senior citizens. Mixed ages is stimulating because everyone brings their imagination and the stories take some fun turns.  Embedded in the game are teachable moments, a famous quote, a reference to another place and time. Twice without prompt student groups came up with Romeo and Juliet story versions.

                                                                             
Playing concentration by laying the pieces out and removing one was a favorite. I could see how sharp the kids were as they studied the array of items and tried different techniques to keep the mental list.

                                                                              
Think-ets will be on my list of things to order so that the fun and stories continue. I am appreciative of the students who happily volunteered to play games and  let me watch the play proceed. This was the perfect way to spend the last few minutes of class today. Now I will be looking forward to the next time I'm in a groups setting and we can play Think-ets from Think-a-lot Toys in Boulder, Colorado.

                                                                                     

                                                                Go Ahead, it's your turn!

other blogs that reviewed gift ideas:

StoryPlay Cards
www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.blogspot.com/2011/11/story-play-cards-game-review.html

Mike Lockett the Normal Storyteller CD from www.cdbaby.com
www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.blogspot.com/2011/11/mike-lockett-tales-and-fables-east.html

Rory's Story Cubes
www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.blogspot.com/2011/09/education-in-cubes-not-just-childs-play.html


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Story Play Cards; Game Review

Five Stars for the StoryPlay Cards  by Think-a-lot Toys!!   

www.think-a-lot.com   (while you are visiting their site sign up for the  free newsletter you might win a Think-ets game.

                                                                              
I opened the box with such anticipation for the fun it held inside. I was not to be disappointed. I took out the double deck of cards and began to flip through the images with associated word at the bottom. I could envision the story games we would have.

  My first play was a set of cards dealt to a group of  students in a high school. We created  the decks inaugural story as a group. The tale wound through mystical and imaginative places with an athlete as the main character. The group was reserved about the  possibilities at the outset but begged for a second round on  closing the first story out. We had a good time, our second play with an assigned curriculum based topic from World Civilisations class. The story was creative with references to the ages being studied in different classes. It was a great way to make the material more lively and give them a chance for recall practice.

I moved on to another group of students and  here we tried a game similar to Go Fish using the color borders and the full deck.  There was a great deal of cheerful banter when a prized color was discarded.  The next group we played a memory concentration game with a part of the deck that were 14 pairs by association. For example one card was a tree its pair was roots. The star card was paired to Cosmic explosion. There was word association along with the memory component. The same game was enjoyed by grade school aged children.

                                                                                       
My third adventure with the Storyplay cards was a  Storytelling Course in the English Dept. at Eastern CT. State University. My visit to the college class as a guest speaker was a prime time to take 20 minutes mid class and see how story games were received by the college set. I had five different games going in the room and they were well received. I was listening in on the team playing StoryPlay Cards and found they were creating a dynamic  tale with laughs and a very creative process.

There are so many possibilities with the StoryPlay cards in the classroom setting , but I can see wonderful opportunities with family games and in senior settings. 

Another game review:
 www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.blogspot.com/2011/09/education-in-cubes-not-just-childs-play.html

Robin's Alive - Game & Story from Ages Past

Game and a Story to Share

Children's Games Played in Streets, School Yards and Camps for Centuries, often were related to events and stories of our history and peoples.
Here is  an adaptation to Robin's Alive to be played by a group of children or youth. There is also a story to correspond with the game. This would be particularly well suited at a horse camp, or a storytelling with a  activity to accompany it.

         ( free clip art image from www.pdclipart.com artwork in the Public Domain )                          

Originally the game can be found in "Games and Songs of American Children" by William Wells Newell, second edition 1903 and reprinted by Dover Publications 1963.

Evening Campfire time is a special gathering at any camp. Here is the perfect game for fun and laughter at  your next camp fire. This could be done in schools and libraries as well.

The Game:
  In it's original form  the players all sit in a circle. A stick from the campfire is withdrawn with the end burning. It is passed from player to player each reciting the verse;

 "The bird is alive, and alive like to be, If it dies in my hand you may back- saddle me."

   The game may go back to the history of torch bearers from Athens who lit a torch at the alter of Prometheus and passed the torch along runner to runner. There is an English version with riders going to Whitehall. One version had the loser ( whoever held the stick when  the light went out to have the furniture stacked upon them.

    Here are my two adaptations:
1.) The firestick is passed around the campfire with each person reciting the line above. When the flame goes out the person holding the stick chooses another player and has to give them a "piggy-back" ride around the campfire area. 

                                                                             

2.) version 2 for small children and indoor games. A baton or other item is passed around the circle if a player drops the baton that player needs to get up and "gallop" around the circle and make neigh sounds. Once back in place the game resumes.

The Story to go along with the Game is:

How The Robin's Breast Became Red; I like the version in  the Baldwin Project collection, collected from Cook's "Nature Myths"  you can read it from the link below:

www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=bailey&book=hour&story=breast