Tricky Fingers

I'm not sure why, but I am more enthusiastic about Tricky Fingers than the kids are. Hold the plastic box in your hands and put your fingertips in the holes on the bottom to push the marbles into the pattern you want. Move new marbles into place without disturbing the marbles that are already in place. 

The marbles are plastic and there are four each of four different colors - red, blue, yellow, and green. The whole box is plastic and cannot be opened. The 14 pattern cards can be turned in four different directions, increasing the puzzles you can do over time. The backs of the pattern cards are printed with the grid in black and all the holes are white. You can color them in, or copy them, and make up your own patterns. That can at least double the number of patterns for this game! 

Tricky Fingers

Try this:

• Start by just playing with the box. Practice holding with two hands and pushing marbles from the bottom. Let the individual make up his own design or try to get all of one color in one corner.
• Model for the individual, as many have trouble coordinating holding the box while pushing marbles from the bottom with the fingers.
• Cover all but one vertical or horizontal line at a time on the pattern card if the individual doesn't know where to start or how to proceed.
• Think about your strategy before you start to avoid getting marbles cornered in the wrong locations.
• Start slowly by making your own pattern cards and color in only one color at a time. This will cover only four holes. Make a card for the four marbles in a row vertically, then a row horizontally, then four of one color in a corner. Then move to four randomly placed around the box. Don't worry about the other colors. Then move to patterns with two colors. Work your way up to all four colors.
• Work on manual and finger dexterity, finger isolation, precise fine motor control, coordinated use of both hands, visual discrimination, visual closure, figure ground, spatial relations, eye-hand coordination, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box:2 puzzle boxes, 14 puzzle pattern cards
Ages 4+, 1-2 players

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

Horse Fair Card Game

Do you like games with small manipulatives?

I picked this up thinking it was a card game, so was tickled to open the box and find 10 small horses. For someone who loves small manipulatives in games, it was truly a serendipity.

Be the first to collect four of these miniature cuties and win the game. Each card in the deck pictures one of seven horses and a number (1-7). There are multiple identical cards for each horse and each card for a single horse will all have the same number. For instance, looking at the cards below, you will see that the horse named Rascal has a number 3 printed in the corners. All Rascal cards look exactly the same - all have the number 3. For the purpose of explanation, I will call all cards for a single horse a "set". Each set of horse cards also has one "thumbs down" card and one "second look" card.

Object: Be the first person to collect 4 horses.

Set up: Mix the cards and deal six, face-down, to each player. Place the rest of the deck face-down in the middle of the players. Place the horses nearby.

Play: In turn, each player will take one card out of his hand and place it face-up on the table in front of him. He will end his turn by picking a new card off the pile and adding it to his hand. All cards played will be visible at all times to all players. The number for a horse equals the number of that card that must be face-up on the table to earn a horse. Be the person to lay the last card for the set on the table and earn a horse. For instance, player one has two face-up cards for Snowflake, player two has three face-up cards. That is a total of five face-up cards for Snowflake, who has a number 6 on her card. If you play a Snowflake card, making the 6th card face-up on the table, you have completed a set. Remove the six Snowflake cards off the table and take one horse. Rascal, number three, will take fewer cards to make a set and earn a horse. Sundown, number seven, will require the most cards to be face-up to earn a horse. On your turn you may also play one of these cards:

• Thumbs Down - When this card is played, all horses that match the picture on this card are immediately removed from the table.
• Second Look - When this card is played it counts as two cards toward the set.

First person to collect four horses is the winner.

Try this:

• Stand all the horses nearby in the invisible corral instead of just piling them before starting the game. Place one at a time in the player's palm and ask him to move it to the fingertips, orienting it in-hand for placement. Or, ask him to pick up one or two horses and palm them himself before moving them one at a time to the fingertips for placement.
• Put the horses away at the end by picking them up, one at a time, and squirreling them into the palm. Can all 10 be held without dropping?
• Practice shuffling and fanning the cards in-hand.
• Deal the cards by holding the deck in the non-dominant hand and pushing the cards off the top, one at a time, with the thumb.
• Sort the cards into piles of matching horses. Place one of each horse face-up in front of the individual and practice shifting by holding the deck in the non-dominant hand and pushing the cards off the top with thumb.
• Sort the cards into piles of matching horses. Choose two horses and take all of those matching cards out of the deck. Set the remaining cards off to the side. Shuffle the cards for the two horses and place the deck face-up on the table. Place one card of one horse to the left of the deck and one card of the other horse to the right. Pick the cards off the deck, one at a time, without toppling the deck or sliding unwanted cards off and sort them into the two piles.
• Work on visual discrimination, figure ground, visual closure, in-hand manipulation, manual dexterity, coordinated use of both hands, palmar arch development, socialization skills, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
  
  In the box: 65 cards, 10 horses