for Christmas. Since we're outside a fair amount, it looked like a fun way to bring the outside inside our house. It also looked like a developmentally appropriate game (in about 6 months) for him and the family.
The game is very simple and the box only contains the logs with colored holes where you put the acorns, squirrel tongs, a spinner, directions, and lots of colorful acorns. At first, I thought, "This is all there is?", but then found that I liked the simplicity and enjoyed the game. I pulled out another long set of tongues as we had competition for the tongs. The tongs were a little awkward to get used to at first; however, after a few turns they were much easier to use. I actually liked this aspect of it as well. The game works on a few preschool skills, such as colors, counting, taking turns, and fine motor skills. Figuring out how to best use the tongs added to fine motor skill development and being aware of how our bodies work.
Our older two boys came up and it was a fun game that our 2-10 year old boys could enjoy together. They just started playing on their own and asked if we could play again today. My oldest isn't great at hand writing so I liked the additional fine motor practice for him. They could all play it together without any help from mom. The box seems sturdy. I like the outdoors theme.
I'm looking forward to using it for an Animals in Winter preschool group we have coming up soon. I thought we could add some "snow" (cotton balls, white pom poms, shredded white paper) to add to the challenge and make it seem a little more like winter. Many of the acorns might be near the roots of the tree or hidden in a hole in a tree as well.
While playing this game, it's a perfect time to talk about dreys (squirrel nests--those big leaf climbs you see in barren trees in winter), squirrels from our area, habits of squirrels, etc.). We might even have to do some squirrel observations outside!
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