Take it from this mom/kindergarten teacher/dog mom/chicken mom...this game is a real HOOT! Brian Calhoun's original CHICKAPIG game is geared towards 8+ year-olds. This new game CHICKAPIGLETS was created for a little bit younger crowd...4+ year-olds (although older kiddos, including myself, enjoy this silly fun also!) It was the perfect game for my little "summertime fun day" with this tribe of cuties! Just check out this pic... they are all so focused. And the older kiddos loved teaching & helping the little guys play!
Okay so here's the scoop on this game. Yes! it is fun...loads of silly fun BUT... as a mom & a teacher I'm also looking for those hidden perks like "Is it developmentally appropriate? Does it build social skills? Is there just one way to play? Does this game reinforce early learning skills?" and on and on and on.... And the answer is hands down YES! YES! YES! to all of those questions. Here are just a few of the things I love about Brian Calhoun's new CHICKAPIGLETS game:
- It's FUN! Yes I know I already mentioned that but as a teacher I know that you can have a wonderful lesson planned but if its not fun & engaging for the students they really don't pay attention. Well this game holds their attention... especially when a COW POOP card gets turned over... oh my do they giggle!!!
- It's a COOPERATIVE game! Yep no winners, no losers! I know kids need to learn healthy competition skills however, for this age group, many are just not ready for that skill. The objective is to work together to help Little Joe Chickapig race the cow around the game board. Yep! they are building those social skills! They take turns but everyone is moving the same game token. However each player does get their own Animal Hybrid card & they work to match the 2 animals to make new silly animals.
- It reinforces EARLY LEARNING SKILLS! This game is similar to the Memory game that we all remember playing. On your turn, you turn over 2 tokens to try to match them to the animals to the ones your Animal Hybrid card. (Warning: here comes a little "teacher talk"!) Research has proven that memory-type games and activities have many benefits: improves concentration, increases attention span, improves cognitive skills, reinforces visual tracking skills, improves ability to distinguish similarities and differences and the list goes on. All of these early skills are crucial to building a foundation for academic success. So YES!...this game is good for the brain!!!
- There's MORE THAN ONE WAY to play! If racing that cow around the gameboard is too slow for you, there are "Advanced Play" rules/directions included. After finishing our first game, the cuties that I played with yesterday actually started playing a basic memory game with the Animal Tokens. They were also trying to come up with some new Animal Hybrids for Little Joe Chickapig's farm...loved seeing those creative imaginations at work!
Y'all I could go on and on but I think you get the idea... this game is AWESOME! A big thank you Brian Calhoun & the Chickapig gang for creating another fabulous game! Head on over to their Facebook page to read more about it. {Click HERE for Chickapig Facebook page}
Now it's time for a Target run.... go grab one for yourself! I promise your kiddos will love it! And if you haven't already grabbed a copy of Brian Calhoun's book Little Joe Chickapig, be sure to throw that in your cart also! {Click HERE to read my post about the book!}
Here's a few more pics of our "Summertime Fun Day" with Little Joe Chickapig & CHICKAPIGLETS,.. just look at those faces!!! <3
