Memory Game

I came home from work today to find out that Tristan was being naughty today. He and the little girl he plays with we both being mean to each other. I'm not sure what is up with Tristan because I haven't heard of this from his previous daycare. Although, I'm sure it may be that he isn't getting near as much education and interaction that he used to get. He was used to a class of five or six other kids his age. Now he only has one playmate and she is a year younger, so she can't talk near as much with him nor can she do most of the things that he can do. And he's only with his playmate from after his nap until I get home (about four to five hours). The mornings he is with Daddy. And honestly, I'm not sure what he does with Tristan.

Well, since we were out of milk, I figure it was a good time to go to the store. I picked up some snacks (crackers and such) and the next two night's dinner (burrito/taco night and hamburger roll-up - I know two nights in a row but beef was on sale 91/9 lean and I had most of the other ingredients for both. Darn, I just remembered that I forgot the pizza dough! I guess I'll do a mac'n'cheese concoction with the ground beef, bacon, and onion. Hmmph! Now I'm bummed.

Anyway, while Tristan and I were at the store I was trying to think of crafty things he can do at home - either with Daddy, his sitter, or me. I found in a small toy section this game by Milton Bradley. It is a really old game, just newer pictures and a newer box. The game is called Original Memory Game.
The box states it is for 3+ years old (preschool). It comes with a tray to store the cards (preventing nicks and marks) and several sheets of die-cut cards. You punch out all 72 cards and proceed to play. Instructions included. It recommends for beginners to use only half the cards instead.

The premise is simple: have all cards facing down, flip two cards. If it is a match remove them. If it isn't a match, turn them back over. They had a version of this on the XBox game, Fable. I got obsessed with it and found the perfect technique. It was just a mini-game within the game, but I enjoyed it. It was good brain exercise. Well, for Tristan, I thought that this might be a good way to test his memory skills, vocabulary (there is range of images on the cards), and patience to sit for a game (his first "board" game - although I'm not sure if they did games like this at his old daycare). Even though Tristan isn't three yet, the recommended age for the game, I figured we could give it a whirl. I'll start with less than the 36 cards (18 pairs) that it reccomends for beginners. I'm thinking 20 cards should suffice.

Unfortunately, we got home so late and still had dinner and our evening routine. The game will have to wait until tomorrow. Perhaps I can convince Scott to play with him - although, he'll have to keep the camera handy so I can see his progress and have something to post!

So, tonight I made a cheeseburger for Tristan and I. Of course, he mostly ate the bun, but at least he ate something. While we were eating, he all of sudden remembered what we read the night before and wanted it right then and there. It caught his attention yesterday on the big bookcase (mostly our books and board games, but not Tristan's - he's got his own shelf in his room). I read the first chapter to him last night and I guess it stuck, because in the middle of dinner, he gets up and says, "I want Pooh". He ran to his room, grabbed the book and brought it to me. I told him that we will read it when we are in his bed. "Uh-huh", he nodded. So, promptly after brushing his teeth we hopped into bed, eagerly. So, I proceeded to read chapter two (Pooh gets stuck in Rabbits front door from eating too much honey). I didn't think Tristan would be into a chapter book, but he sat there listening to me read.

The best part of this book is that it has original Winnie the Pooh artwork (classic Pooh). There are illustrations on every page, but not too much to distract from the text. I had received this as a gift seven years ago from a good friend. He bought it in the UK during a week visit. I adored the artwork and the classic nature of the book. It has sat on my bookshelf since before my son was born. I am glad that I have someone to enjoy the stories that I once did. So, I guess tomorrow we'll be reading Chapter 3. What do I do once we run out of chapters? Start over? Or maybe I can expand his library of chapter books (this is the only one and technically it is part of my library). Tristan has plenty of books (full length stories - geared towards young readers, picture books, and more). He just hasn't had a chapter book before. I'm glad that he's taken to it well. In case you were wondering which copy of Winnie the Pooh we have, here's a picture of it below: