B a r b a r a s h e r I l L u s t r a t I o n s b y r a L p h

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Attention Games
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Shadow Games
Shadows make instant fun. The next time you are outside with your dar-
ling child when the sun is low on the horizon, have good fun romping with
these games.
T
Y P E O F
A
T T E N T I O N
E
N C O U R A G E D
Focused
M
A T E R I A L S
None
D
I R E C T I O N S
⽧ Don’t Step on My Shadow. Telling your child not to do something that
she knows is really okay to do makes this game silly fun. You say, “Don’t
step on my shadow” and keep scurrying away as she tries to put a foot on
your shadow. Take turns with this one, letting her tell you what not to do!
⽧ Can You Make My Shape? Take a position, such as arms out to the
side, and ask your child to make her shadow look exactly like yours.
Keep changing shapes as well as imitating the shapes she makes.
V
A R I A T I O N S
Create shadows on the wall in a dark room with
only one light on. Take a pose and have the child
imitate that pose by looking only at your
shadow and not at you. Take turns creating
the shadows. Give the poses names if you
want.
W
H A T
’
S
B
E I N G
L
E A R N E D
Children’s attention is captured by the situa-
tion and then sustained through imitation
and challenge.
Games for 3- to 6-Year-Olds
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Deck of Cards
Don’t underestimate the fascination of a deck of cards to a child just get-
ting interested in recognizing numbers and sorting colors and shapes. I had
one little friend who was so enamored of his card deck that he spent hours
sorting the suits and putting the cards in order according to number. He
even insisted that the cards lay beside him at night. (His parents started to
get concerned, but after a week he was on to something else.) I noted what
a great learning tool and attention grabber a deck of cards could be.