Take 10! Count Em Up Family Fun

Take 10! Count em Up Family Fun



Mom

Learning Resources has several Take 10! games, designed to be portable games that can be played anywhere in 10 minutes or less.

The figures in this container are flexible plastic and can stand alone (see above). There are six characters (mom, dad, brother, sister, baby, cat) in six colors (purple, blue, red, orange, green, yellow). Each specific character has one of each color.

The number cube is numbered 1-6 with the actual numbers, not dots like dice. The color cube has one of the six colors on each side. The cubes are made of a very light foam and are oversized. Lots of options for playing simple games using one or both cubes to count and sort by color or shape. There are instructions for these three games included:

• Game 1 - Pile the people on the table. Take turns throwing the color cube and taking a family member of that color. Try to collect each family member in a different color. 
• Game 2 - Pile the people on the table. Take turns throwing the number cube and take that many family members. The first player to collect 10 family members first wins.
• Game 3 - Pile the people on the table. Take turns throwing both the number cube and the color cube and take that many family members. The first player to collect 10 family members wins.

The container is smaller than what is pictured.

 

Try this:

• Sort into piles or into a cupcake tin by shape.
• Sort into piles or into a cupcake tin by color.
• Play games 2 and 3 (above) until all the family members have been collected, not just until someone has collected 10. Each player counts his characters and the one with the most wins.
• Cup the non-dominant hand and add the family members to the hand one at a time. How many can you hold? Now switch hands and try again. Count as you go.
• Place the characters one at a time in the players hand. Make sure some are upside-down and/or backward. Ask the player to manipulate each character in-hand and stand it on the table top.
• Place the characters in a pile on the table and ask the individual to pick them up one at a time and manipulate them in-hand before standing them on the table top.
• Ask the individual to stand all the characters on the table top in a large grouping, grouping each color together. Talk about the importance of staying with your group when you are in a public place in a crowded area.
• Stand all the characters on the table top. Throw one of the cubes and put them back into the container in the order of the color or number that you throw.
• Work on visual discrimination, figure ground, counting, sorting, sequencing, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, palmar arch development, coordinated use of both hands, grasp, social skills, play and leisure exploration and participation  

In the container: 36 plastic figures, 2 large foam cubes (1 number, 1 color)

Ages 3+, 1+ players

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

Self-Calming Cards

A versatile self calming, relaxation teaching tool.

Work on self-calming strategies, coping strategies, relaxation techniques

In the box: 24 self-calming tools, 12 activity cards

An awesome tool that I have used in planning and during many sessions when teaching self-calming strategies, coping strategies, and relaxation techniques. The cards fall into 6 categories and at the top of each card there is a colored bar with the category name. The categories are

• Physical tools
• Auditory/verbal tools
• Humor tools
• Creative tools
• Self-nurturing tools
• Visual tools

There is an illustrated picture on the front of each card that depicts one specific strategy/technique for that category. For instance, one of the visual tools cards depicts Watch an Aquarium.  On the back of the card there is a two-three sentence explanation for using the strategy that you might paraphrase for the individual. Then there is a short story example and two to four activities for teaching the strategy. Since it is important that the strategies practiced are also strategies that the individual would feel comfortable using, I feel it is important to pick the strategies together with the individual, not for them. When working with older kids, I allow each individual to go through the deck and pick out cards that he feels would be effective strategies for him and that he can see himself doing. Then we explore those cards. The 12 activity cards can be used to introduce the subject and why we would use self-calming tools and include goals to

• Become familiar with the self-calming activities
• Help kids realize that when people are upset or angry, they have choices to calm themselves
• Practice using self-calming tools in pretend situations

I thought this set of cards was a little pricey when I bought them, but they have turned out to be a very valuable tool for me.

Try this:

• Lay the cards out in front of the individual. Give them a scenario of when a self-calming technique could be used. Then ask him to pick all the cards that would be appropriate strategies for that particular time and place.
• Choose one strategy to work on per session. Use the activities suggested on the back of the card and/or make up your own.
• Brainstorm with the individual different ways that each card they choose can be adapted to different settings. For instance, if he finds that watching fish swim in an aquarium is calming to him, would a screensaver of fish swimming on his computer at school have the same effect, or would listening to ocean sounds on his iPod help?
• Give assignments to use the strategies in the upcoming week and follow up the next week with questions. What situation brought you to use a strategy, what strategy did you use, what happened after you used it, do you feel it worked for you?
•  Talk with the parents/caregivers and let them know what strategies the child is practicing so that they can model that behavior for the child and guide him into using the strategy when it is needed during the week.

For more information, click on the image below.

The Great Feelings Chase

Work on recognizing and understanding feelings 

In the box: Game board, 6 dog markers,6 sheets of feelings cards, 1 die

This is an older game from the Center for Applied Psychology that was designed to teach children about feelings. The object of the game is to advance around the game board and collect all 10 feeling cards, one from each dog, to complete a simple puzzle. The picture of each dog on the board matches the feeling associated with him. Each time you land on or pass a different dog on your turn, you must give an example of a time when you experienced that particular feeling. The 10 feelings are calm, loving, ashamed, angry, happy, proud, sad, excited, afraid, and smart. Below is a picture of the board.
 

As you travel along the path you may land on certain squares with instructions to follow. Some examples of these instructions are:

• Pretend that you are a watch dog.
• Act like a dog who is scared of taking a bath.
• Act like a dog who is meeting a stranger.
• Act like a dog who is lonely.

Try this:

• Play a cooperative game. Use only one dog marker for the group and take turns rolling the die and moving. Each person relates their experiences on each turn and all players follow instructions on squares.
• Ask for ideas why a dog may be feeling a certain way, such as what may have happened to the dog before you arrived to elicit a feeling of loneliness (owners just left on vacation) or happiness (just got a new chew toy). 

Don't Let the Bugs Fall

In the box: stacking pieces, die

I used to have this game but did not use it. The pieces are very lightweight and slick. They don't have enough weight to hold them in place (like wooden pieces in Jenga), and while you are removing one piece, you often can not stop nearby pieces from moving and making the tower unstable prematurely. If I remember correctly, the die is larger than a standard die. Just didn't like it.