AlphaFind / SquigglePix   Fun and Games

Word and Story Games It's great to share some activities sent in by creative parents who have visited CreativeParents.com. Send in any activities you would like to pass along. Heidi C. from Montgomery, Vermont wrote in with the activity we paraphrased in the last update. Here it is in her own words: The misunderstanding game, as we call it, has actually been prohibited by my four-year-old daughter.  She takes take great pride in using precisely the right words--perhaps the game has become an affront to her.  However, it has given us a lot of laughs over the last few years, and I hope that the ban will be lifted at some point.   The trick is in responding to the original statement as if you really misunderstood what s/he said.  e.g.,"I'm a little tired" gets the response, "What kind of a little tiger are you?" or "A little bicycle tire or a little car tire?"  Then,"No, I'm tired!" could then lead to "Well, how does a little tiger get so tired?"   Sometimes she will really play along with the game, and other times she just gives me straight lines.  It can bring a little lightness and absurdity to driving, standing in line, or running errands.   I enjoy the site, and it has encouraged my thinking about who I am in addition to the resident mommy.   Christina W. from Seattle writes about a game that involves changing the first letter of words to create new and silly songs such as "Bwinkle, bwinkle, bwittle, star." Of course this can be tried with different letters. Playing with sound combinations helps develop an appreciation for language -- an enthusiasm that motivates later writing and reading. Alliteration rules. Denise Moore from San Antonio, our contributing editor writes: While reading your car activities, I'm reminded of one my kids love. It's been dubbed Song Jokes... and can be done with any old, traditional, or pop rock song. It goes like this. You tell a story (usually far-fetched) and somehow work a well-known song lyric into the punch line. Here are two of our favorites. Please keep in mind, my 8 year old is "into" the latest pop music and is indulged occassionally (between NPR moments, story tapes and other activities!). The Song: Feliz Navidad - living in San Antonio - this is heard quite a bit during the Christmas season. The story: A woman was walking her dog. Every few steps the dog stops in the middle of the side walk and scratches for at LEAST 15 minutes. An man, watches the dog stop and scratch, scratch, scratch, and walk. Then, stop and scratch, scratch, scratch again. Finally, he walks over to the woman and says "Lady, what's wrong with that dog?" To which she responds "I've got Feliz (FLEAS) on My Dog!" Corny, but funny. One last song: "I Get Knocked Down" by Chumba Wumba, an English band. The Story: I had the strangest thing happen last week. I went bowling. I had a really good time. As I bowled I heard the strangest thing. I thought I heard the pins actually talking. It was very soft, but they were whispering every time I bowled. Do you know what they were saying? "I GET KNOCKED DOWN, BUT I GET UP AGAIN!" (the refrain) The stories can be as long and as silly as the car ride. The above two are the most requested by guest car pool passengers. In Texas, we spend a LOT of time in the car and I'm constantly struggling with ways of making it more than just "wasted time."

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