Kid Made Game and a Discussion on Children's Learning

The other day, my husband and four year old made a game together.  My husband is a bit of a board game geek, as you'll remember.

The game that they came up with warms my heart on so many levels.  For one, it is something that they did together.  Second, my daughter initiated the game making and had all of the ideas, she was just supported a bit with the execution.  Finally, this game is right on for her developmentally. 

Do you want to learn how to play?

It's called The Grocery Shopping Game Where You Buy Stuff.

The object of the game is collect all of your grocery items and write them down on a list.  You also need to collect a paper and pen to write your list down on.

To start, you need three wooden block for dice. 

One is the letter block with the following letters: M, F, B, O, P and "two words." 

Another block is the grocery item dice with the following words and pictures: money, flower, bag, orange, puzzle, and trade. 

The last block is the list dice with the following words and pictures: pen (shown twice), paper (shown twice), choice, and two items shown. 

To play, you take turns rolling all three dice.  Once your dice is rolled, you pick one of the three and do that action.  You can choose to take an item, or if you have the item, and both a paper and pen, you can write your item down on the list.  You can collect more than one of the same item.  If you roll "trade", you can trade one of your extra items with another player.  If you roll "choice" you can collect an item of your choice, and if you roll "two items" you get to do both of the actions shown on the other two dice.  Sometimes you won't be able to do anything on your turn, in which case, you miss a turn.

The first person to collect one of each item, and write it down on their list, wins!

My daughter loves playing the game because she made it.  It has been a great way for her to practice writing letters and words.  She is still working on word spacing and some of the letters, but that's okay, because she's four.

Games are a great way to practice and reinforce literacy skills.  When I first saw this game, I was so impressed with how well this game worked for my daughter developmentally.  However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that kids are quite aware of what they can and can't do.  Children are naturally curious and excited about learning.  Especially when a child's environment is supportive and inspiring, children can learn so much without being forced or explicitly taught.  Especially in my home, I try to let the day be as child-directed as possible, because I know that is how my daughters learn best.

What are some of the things that your children have made or learned on their own?