"Go Fish"

An oldie but a goody!

"Grammy, do you have 'Tightrope Walker'?

I have been teaching my 3 year old granddaughter to play "Go Fish". Teaching a young child to play  is very easy. I begin by taking a few of the matches and showing them to the child- "this is the "Jolly Juggler, can you find another Jolly Juggler?" and so on. Then we move on to matching some cards while they lay face up. After they get the hang of "matching" you are ready to practice "playing". To do this you may use 1/2 the deck or even fewer cards.  Shuffle out the cards into three piles- theirs, yours, and the "Go Fish" pile. The number of cards you deal out depends on the child's ability to play. Eventually they will be able to play with a full deck. We use a vintage card deck from the 50's much like I used when I played with my Grandma,  I love the old pictures, they bring back such wonderful memories! The deck we play with is actually the "Old Maid" deck, (she is not ready for "Old Maid" yet). 

Here is a link to the set I have!

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/children-s-card-games/213259268.html?listingId=99674866&scid=pla_google_AreYouGame&adid=18184&gclid=CjgKEAjw-6WcBRCsgNjFy-2OuGYSJADf4R2sO4MEfu_u1CzD5MxkkJSJcpIZzmw2scBYRXg2eraphfD_BwE

Isn't this funny, don't think you could print cards like this today!

The first few attempts at playing, place their cards face up in a line and talk through how to play, when ready, you can set up a large book for the child's cards to hide behind. Play begins by pairing up the matches in your hand and putting them off to the side. You or the child may begin by asking the other person- "Do you have the Thin Man?" at that point you either hand over the "Thin Man" card or say no- Go Fish. The opponent selects one card out of the "pond" of cards between the two of you. Then the play reverts to the other person. Theoretically if you get a card by asking, or draw the card you have asked for, you may continue play. But with little ones you be the judge of how you want to play. My Granddaughter, three years old, is a pro, and beats me every-time!

She has all the characters on the cards memorized. For example, "Grammy do you have Agile Acrobats?" or "Grammy do you have the Laughing Lion?"

I dare say, she has beats my by a landslide on most of the occasions that we play! How is this possible? Maybe because she always goes first!

P.S.- I like to use small cards as opposed to using large cards. My grandkids do not like using big cards at all and the smaller size fits easily in their hands.

Helping in the Grandkids Classes

As a young mother I always felt it was my duty to help in my children's classrooms. Teachers can always use a helping hand and I was glad to spend time supporting them and my little learners. As a "Grammy" I started helping out in my Grandson's kindergarden class, and my Granddaughters 2nd grade class. One way I was able to help my grandson's teacher was to make him a costume for his class play. But, I am getting a little ahead of my story.

Each year the Kindergarden classes prepare plays of favorite children's books and present them to the whole school and their families. His group selected the book "The Rainbow Fish" by Marcus Pfister. If you don't have this book in your library it is a wonderful addition. It teaches children about sharing, being kind, and that by giving of ourselves to others, we gain so much in return. Here is a link to the book and a review if you are interested.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/766020.The_Rainbow_Fish

The girls in the group were given the assignment to be "the fish" in the story, and the two boys were assigned the parts of the "octopus", and the "starfish". My grandson was assigned the role of the starfish and I was excited to figure out how to make a fun, easy costume whose texture and dimension could be seen from the stage. The first thing I did was google "starfish" and copied some of the pictures to my phone and reviewed them with him. Who knew that he definitely had an idea of what type of starfish he wanted to be! Here is the one he had in mind and selected.

Next we discussed our options over lunch and then went to the fabric/craft store together. (They might as well help plan any costume- or they may not be excited to wear it!). We looked at all of the possible fabric choices- it had to be an "orangish" or "tanish" color and slightly stiff. Finally we agreed on a "tanish" colored felt. The next dilemma was how to give it dimension for the stage. We went into the craft area scanning for possibilities. Finally we agreed upon a bag of wooden beads of various sizes in brown/tan tones. I also bought some "super fabric adhesive" to glue the beads on the felt and a sea sponge.

Before we had left his school that morning we made a trip down to the "teacher's workroom" where he was fascinated with the rack holding various colors of butcher paper. We tore off two (in case I messed up the first one) pieces of white paper, approximately as tall as his body, rolled them up and carefully placed them in the back of the car.

With supplies in hand we raced back home to get started on our project. First I laid a piece of butcher paper on the floor and had him lay on his back with arms outstretched and legs about 6" apart. I then drew a star shape around his arms, two points straddling his legs and for the top point, I fashioned a "hat" for his head. Once the drawing was was configured to my liking, I cut it out of the felt, putting the fold on the top of the arms.

I sewed the front and back together beginning under the arms, leaving openings for his hands to stick out, then down the sides a ways, but leaving the bottom completely open so he could easily walk. Then I cut an oblong hole in the middle for the neck and a slit halfway down the back so he could step into the costume. I sewed 6 inches of bias tape to each side of the neck-opening (in the back) to tie it together and then just sewed around the sides and top of the "hat", leaving the bottom open.

Taking a "sea sponge" I purchased at the craft store, I dipped it in white paint and patted a lacy design all over the front of the costume. Once dry, the fun part began as we randomly scattered the wooden beads across the front and glued them in place where ever they happened to be. We let it dry overnight and..... What do you think?

The Rainbow Fish says- "I really am beautiful. Why doesn't anybody like me?"
The Starfish answers- "I can't answer that for you, but if you go beyond the coral reef to a deep cave you will find the wise octopus. Maybe he can help you."

A pretty good looking starfish if I do say so myself!

Welcome!

Summer is the perfect time to get creative with your children and grandchildren! We started out with Memorial Day remembering my father who passed away last June. This was our first experience visiting a cemetary on this special day, and what a treat! Our cemetery was a patchwork of flowers, and people everywhere!

We started out by taking flowers to Papa Quent's grave, and then walked over to the wonderful display of white crosses toped with American flags memorializing those who have served our country. The beautiful flags fluttered in the breeze and we were so surprised to see Papa's name on one of the carefully placed markers! (Thanks to the American Legion!) We also enjoyed a wonderful program organized by our city to honor our past Veterans. Our hearts were full of pride for Dad's service in the Army, and for our grandchildren who said the "Pledge of Allegiance" and stood at attention with their hands over their hearts while the flag was lowered and replaced with a new one. The grandkids were especially thrilled with the flyover of two vintage planes, one red and one blue, flying in perfect formation!

Love of Country is such an important quality to instill in your grandchildren, and this was a meaningful moment for them and us. Seeing service men in uniform, listening to the High School bad play the anthem for each branch of the service, an watching the BYU Air Force ROTC award winning drill team!

Afterwords we all enjoyed breakfast on the patio at the Riverside Country Club, basking in the perfect weather overlooking the beautiful green corse!

We had plans to hike, golf and swim but gave in to the excited grandkids pleas to "just go swimming!". Who can resist swimming on the first day of the season after a long Utah winter? So we did just that! It was a thrill to whiteness the interaction of the grandkids, one year older, swimming, helping, and loving each other!