Friday: Play!—“I See” Game

March 27th, 2009 in Friday: Play!

Amazing Amber from Because Babies Grow Up is here as my guest today sharing a fun activity to do with the kidddos! We are happy to have her!

Our favorite game we named “I see…” It’s a lot like I spy… but without the guessing. I love this game because we can play it anywhere, inside or out, and it has helped to avert many tantrums! It started when I was pushing Sammi in the swings at the park. We were swinging in silence. To break the silence I said to my barely two-year old daughter “I see trees” and she responded “I see trees, too!” We proceeded to name all the things in the park.

The next day when we played it she didn’t copy what I said, she found her own things to see! Now, six months later, whenever we are driving in the car and it’s silent she pipes up “I see …” We were driving home the other day and as we came around the corner onto our street Sammi said, “I see our mailbox!” I’m always impressed with the details she spots out the window that I miss because I’m looking at the road.

While this game is a lot of fun and helps time pass more pleasantly, it has some benefits to development as well. “I see…” is a great way to build a young child’s vocabulary. You are naming familiar objects for your little one and, in many cases, the child is repeating and thus learning the names of these objects. This game also develops little ones’ awareness of the world around them. Developmentally toddlers are fairly self-centered in their awareness. Through this game they start to broaden their view of their world by looking beyond what is within their reach or what is affecting their immediate situation.

What do you see?

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