Animal BINGO

Animal BINGO - An everyday game that covers a lot of skills

I learned about different types of animals by playing a game called lotto with my grandma when I was very young. I'm not sure what the difference is between lotto and bingo, because this game reminded me of her game. This is an animal-themed bingo game with a combination of domestic, farm and wild animals. The game card is a 4 X 4 grid with no free spot in the middle, and the cards measure 6 3/4" X 8 1/2". The bingo game cards show the animal picture only while the call out cards show the animal picture and the written name.

The call out cards and the markers are on perforated cards and will need to be separated before playing. Adding small prizes for winners is always a treat, but not necessary (we never used them as kids).

Object:
Be the first to get 4 in a row in any direction: horizontal, vertical or diagonal. Or use another pattern, such as fill in the border or make a letter X, etc.

Set up:
Give each person playing a BINGO card and several markers. Choose a person to be the caller. Mix the calling cards face-down and give them to him.

Play:
The caller will turn over one card and call it. All players will put a marker on that square if they have it on their card. The caller repeats this until someone matches the winning pattern on his card and yells BINGO. Check the player's card for accuracy and reward the prize if there is one. Play again.

Try this:

• Practice recognizing a winning pattern before playing. Cover a pattern with markers on a card so the individual can see what it will look like. Then set up several cards with multiple markers and a win embedded on each one and ask the player to find it. Work until he is proficient at spotting the winning pattern.
• Watch for only one BINGO direction at a time until they are used to watching for it (horizontal, diagonal, vertical). Then watch for two directions, then for three. Then try a bingo in any direction.
• Place the call out card next to the player's BINGO game card if they need it to compare to the animals on their card.
• Ask the player to repeat each animal name as they cover it with the marker.
• Ask player's to hold several marker pieces in their dominant hand as they play. Ask them to bring the pieces to the fingertips, one at a time, and place on the card as they play. Use a variety of things as markers to practice with different items, such as paper clips, coins or dried beans, etc.
• Use letters as your patterns. You can play for O (border), X, N, L, C, G, U, and Z.
• Display a black and white card with the BINGO pattern for each game highlighted in yellow so the players can remember the pattern they are looking for. You can just make them with a black marker on white paper or draw them on the board.
• Visualize the letter you are going for as a bingo and do not mark pictures that aren't part of the letter.
• Pick the pieces off the cards after each game, squirreling them in the palm as you go. How many can you hold without dropping?
• Stop occasionally and check the player's card. Ask them to point out places where they only need one more to win a bingo. Or point out possible bingos and ask how many more will be needed to win or which squares will need markers to win in that direction etc.
• Display a black and white card with the BINGO pattern for each game. You can just make them with a black marker on white paper or draw them on the board.

• Work on visual discrimination, figure ground, visual closure, eye-hand coordination, fine motor, in-hand manipulation, manual dexterity, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 32 BINGO game cards, 48 call out cards, 594 card markers

If you would like to purchase this game or just want more information, go to www.orientaltrading.com.

Learn Numbers Flat Fish

Learn Numbers Flat Fish - There are lots of play options here.

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish... they're all here. These colorful foam fish will help kids develop number skills through addition, subtraction, counting by 1's and 10's, comparing, matching and reading. Sort them by color, texture, number or symbol. Line them up in number order, pattern sequence by color or texture, or by an equation. It even comes with two yellow laces for stringing.

 When I looked this up on Amazon I see that you can buy the book and cards that you see above as a supplement, or it appears you can buy everything together as a kit. I have just the fish, and the books and cards are now out of print (School Specialty Publishing). Maybe I'll stumble onto them somewhere down the road.
 
The fish are all the same size, 4" across at the longest point and 3/8" thick. They all look the same with a hole for the mouth and a little bump at the other end of the tail. Connecting the bumps and the holes (tabs and blanks in jigsaw puzzle jargon) will give you a long line of fish. The fish come in six colors (red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple) and they are flat on one side and textured on the other. There are six different textures and all fish of one color have the same texture. On the flat side there will be printed either a number, a word for a number, a set of dots to count, or a mathematical symbol. The lace fits easily into the hole but will need to be pulled through, they do not just drop through. The laces are 33" long and the plastic lace tips are 5/8" long. Fish include:

• Orange - 10 fish with dots - (One through 10)
• Purple - 6 with symbols (2=, 2-, 2+) and one with the number 100
• Yellow -  6 with numbers spelled out (one through six)
• Red - 9 with numbers (One through nine)
• Blue - 20 with numbers (10-19)
• Green - 8 with numbers (20-90)

Try this:

• Flip the fish to the blank side and line them up in a pattern such as blue/green/blue/green or yellow/purple/red/yellow/purple/red, etc.
• Line up an equation such as 10 + 7 = and let the individual add the last fish.
• Line them up in numerical order forward or backward.
• Line them up skip counting by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, etc.
• Stack them. How high can you go without toppling them?
• Turn all the numbered fish face up, then ask a question such as choose all the fish that are divisible by 2.
• String all the fish with a certain pattern. How long will it take them to recognize that they are looking for a single fish color?
• Connect several fish to see how many you can hold up without touching the floor. Raise your arm up as high as you can.
•  Stack all the fish by color. Which stack has the most? How many are there?
• Turn the fish at different angles when playing with them so they will have to be recognized in different orientations.
• Put the fish back into the jar by stacks. If you just randomly throw them in, you will have a tough time fitting them all in and getting the lid back on.
• Work on visual discrimination,visual form constancy, figure ground, eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity, coordinated use of both hands, tactile awareness, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
  

In the jar: 50 fish, 2 laces