Build-A-House Blocks

Create six different buildings with nine colorful blocks.

I like block puzzles and use them to work on in-hand manipulation and/or two-handed activities. These Build-A-House Blocks are probably too big for in-hand for most kids, but for two handed they work fine. 

There are two different Build-A-House sets available and this one includes six different buildings - barn, fire station, train depot, castle, typical house and robot factory. There are nine blocks total and they measure about 2 3/8" square. They are covered with paper but seem to be glued very well. 

The six different buildings are pictured on the back of the box and the images are quite small, 1 3/8" square. Depending on how good your eyes are, you may be able to use these as a guide. It would have been nice if these had been printed larger, on paper inside the box, but that is the OT in me talking. In fact, the game manufacturers encourage you to design your own structures by mixing features from the different buildings. The front of the box says that you can create 10,077,696 unique buildings from these nine blocks. I have to figure that was a mathematical equation, not someone's personal experience ;)

Hint: All of the homes have grass on the bottom three blocks, sky up the left side of the three blocks that will go on the left, sky on the right of the three blocks that will go on the right, and sky on all the top three blocks. The middle picture will have no grass or sky. This could help you narrow it down real fast. 

Here are a couple of other block puzzles I have blogged about:

Animal Friends Cube Puzzle - Includes 3D animals to guide you as you build.

Ravensburger Block Puzzle - Smaller pieces with pictures to guide.

Try this:

• Place the nine blocks mixed, but with the correct side up, on the table. Allow the individual to assemble the puzzle to see what is expected before turning pieces to incorrect sides.
• Encourage the individual to hold the block in two hands while turning and looking for what they want instead of just flipping it on the table top.
• Keep the finished picture of the image nearby for beginners to consult as they build.
• Make up your own buildings and stories to go with them. Why is there hay in the middle of the train depot or a dragon at the robot factory, etc.
• Build a house as the individual watches, talking through the process as you go. Say things like I can see this piece goes on the bottom because there is grass, or this piece must go on the top because there is sky above it.
• Put the puzzle together one row or column at a time.
• Flip all the pieces so that you have a complete building showing. Then give the individual one piece at a time, not in any particular order, and ask them to guess in which of the nine positions it will go. Adjust as necessary as other pieces are added.You will have to be careful of the order if you are stacking, obviously you can't hand them a top piece with nothing below it to stack on. Or assemble the puzzle flat against the table instead of vertical.
• Cue the person what to look for if they are confused while they look over the six sides of the cube. Putting the fire station together you can say look for pictures that have to do with a fire. Or the typical house with blue with animals on every block but one, that has s sun. So cue them to look for an animal with a blue background, etc.
• Turn all the blocks to the correct side for the puzzle you are assembling and then assemble the puzzle, instead of going back and forth between the two tasks, which might get confusing.
• Work on visual discrimination, spatial relations, visual closure, manual dexterity, coordinated use of two hands, in-hand manipulation, creative play, process skills, executive functioning skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 9 blocks

 

If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, click on the image below.

Merry Merry Christmas BINGO

Get into the Christmas spirit with a Christmas-themed BINGO game.

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling too... Christmas carols playing in the background, Merry Merry Christmas Bingo cards and small prizes on the table, maybe a cup of hot chocolate with a peppermint stick... I can't wait. 

Merry Merry Christmas Bingo includes everything you need to play bingo - bingo cards, calling cards and markers. It celebrates Christmas with festive images and also includes a quick, fun fact for each. 

The bingo cards measure 8.5" x 11" and are a 5 x 5 grid with a free spot in the middle. The cards are closer to paper weight than card stock, but you could laminate them if you want. Note that there are only 6 bingo cards in this game. JINGO is a similar type of bingo game but from a different company and they have 30 cards to a box. I don't have the JINGO Christmas game, but I have blogged about other JINGO bingo games if you would like to check them out and see what they are about. You can check them out by clicking here.

The calling cards each have one image on the front and a quick fun fact about that image on the back. These cards measure 2.25" x 3.5" . Here are some examples:

• Holly - Holly is an evergreen shrub with shiny leaves and red berries. It keeps its red berries throughout the winter. Throughout the ages, from Europe to America, holly has become a part of many Christmas decorations.
• Gingerbread House - A gingerbread house is created with gingerbread, candies, icing and all sorts of edible sweets. For many families it is a Christmas tradition to make a gingerbread house.
• Caroling - Caroling is a way of giving to your neighbors and friends during Christmas. A group will gather and go from door to door singing Christmas carols. Some of the favorite Christmas carols are: Silent Night, We Three Kings of Orient Are, Away in a Monger and Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

The game does include small red squares for tokens. You could use all kinds of small items you may have around the house for markers like dried beans, pennies, Christmas candy kisses or Christmas M&Ms. I like to practice in-hand manipulation skills with bingo markers so I usually go for something more three dimensional. Use regular bingo chips if you have them from another game.

The calling cards and tokens are in large perforated sheets and will have to separated before play.  

Object:
Be the first to cover 5 in a row diagonally, vertically or horizontally. Or cover another pattern decided on before the game starts, such as the border or making a single letter of the alphabet.

Set up:
Give each player a card and a handful of markers. Choose one person to be the caller. Mix the clue calling cards and give them to the caller. The caller can play along with a bingo card or not.

Play:
The caller picks a card off the deck and announces it to the group. While the players search for the picture, the caller can read the fact on the back. If a player finds an image, they cover it with a marker. If a player cannot find an image, they wait for the next image. Not all items will be found on each card.

If you would like to see a list of other Christmas games I have blogged about, click here.

Try this:

• Hold several tokens in the hand, bringing them to the fingertips one at a time to cover the squares.
• 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 they are proficient at spotting the winning pattern.
• If the player has trouble seeing a bingo, check the card with them, using your finger in the air to draw a line in the direction you want them to check for each column or row. 
• 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 calling card next to the player's bingo card if they need to see it for comparison. 
• Use other things that you have a lot of for markers like paper clips, dried beans, pennies, or small candies. Ask the players to hold a small stack of the pieces in-hand as they play, pushing them off and to the fingertips, one at a time, to place.
• Use letters as your patterns. You can play for O (border), X, N, L, P, C, E, F, G, H, I, S, T, U, Y and Z.
• 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 card after each game, squirreling them in the palm. How many can you hold without dropping any? 
• 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.
• Work on visual discrimination, visual closure, spatial relations, figure ground, visual scanning, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, fine motor control, socialization skills, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
• Display a black and white image with the BINGO pattern for each game so the players can remember the pattern they are looking for (see below).

In the box: 6 Bingo cards, 42 calling cards, markers

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.