Peaceable Kingdom Friends and Neighbors —The Helping Game
(Peaceable Kingdom $15.99)
Of course, children learn about caring for others and being empathetic by example, but this little game does put some social situations on the front burner. The main playing board has nine illustrations of children in a dilemma of some sort, e.g., a girl who dropped the ice cream from her cone, a child who spilled milk from a cup, a boy who fell down and cut his knee. Examine the board with your child and talk about the problems the children on the board are having. Players reach into the helping bag and pull out something the children on the board need. If it’s a match the grown-up in the game can read the rhyme on the board and playing piece. If a non-match is pulled it’s placed on the red stop board. There are five spaces on the stop board and the game is over when either the stop board is filled or a matching help piece has been placed on all nine images. There are four game boards so the games vary somewhat, although the help cards are the same throughout. This cooperative game offers many opportunities to talk about how friends and neighbors help each other. It is also an easy early game for learning about taking turns and cooperative play giving new game players a friendly introduction to games. 3 & up.
Ages: Preschoolers
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award 2016
