Go Fish!

My kids and I went to a birthday party and in the goody bags they gave us we found a Go Fish card set. I loved Go Fish. It brings fond memories of my brother and I playing on our family room rug. My 5 year old and I played with his new set on our family room rug. This was his first time playing the game. It's so funny how a simple game can be so complex when trying to explain it. I had to teach him about pairs, about picking from the pot, about how to hold a deck of cards, and about what to say. But out of all that teaching, what I REALLY wanted him to get out of it, was not the actual rules of the game, but the language that is required to play the game..."Do you have a_____?" "No, go fish!" It's so simple but yet complex. Children at this stage have trouble distinguishing between a question and a statement. Haven't you had a time where your child would say "give me this?", and you weren't quite sure if he was asking a question or telling you something? I know I find myself often rephrasing statements into questions for my sons. A game like Go Fish helps distinguish between the two and helps children practice the differences. A question, then a statement, that's what the game is about. What a great way to teach our kids proper grammatical structure....which is what they will often find in the books they will read. Why not prepare our children for the types of language they will encounter when they begin reading. Grab yourself a deck of cards and...Go Fish!