Top Ten Games for Ages Five and Under

Board games teach a variety of skills such as turn taking, academic concepts, and the dynamics of winning and losing.  Some of my very best memories from childhood were made around a board game.  I could hardly wait for E to be old enough to join in the fun so here are several that we have already started playing together.  These are our top ten board game suggestions for kids under the age of five.

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1. Hi Ho Cherry-O  This was the first board game E ever played.  It has the staying power to remain a favorite!  As we race to be the first to fill our cherry buckets, she is practicing one to one counting, simple addition and subtraction concepts, and fine motor skills.  (My little perfectionist insists that our cherries all have their stems straight up!)

2. Candy Land  At the top of E's wish list this year is a fresh version of this delicious classic!  With its super easy game play involving only color matching, this will be one of the first family games that D can join us in playing.

3. Chip-O!  A favorite from my kindergarten classroom, Chip-O! uses real life pictures to strengthen rhyming skills. The ability to adapt the game play to the players' current skill level makes it a challenge that grows with the children. 

4. Peanut Butter and Jelly Card Game   It sounds like lunch time at our house, but the object is to race to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in this adorably easy sequencing and strategy card game.  E laughs every time someone moves the (included) toy fly to another player's sandwich freezing their game play temporarily!

5. The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game  A friend let us borrow this fine motor practice game for research purposes and it's a keeper!  I added it to E's wish list immediately!  She needs to work the same muscles she used to correct her pencil grasp by pinching so the squirrel tongs are the perfect fun tool for the job!

6. Hoot Owl Hoot!  Collaborative games are a new trend in children's board games.  In this one we  play together to complete a goal (getting all the owls back to the nest before morning) instead of competing against each other.  We love the adorable illustrations and the cooperation!

7. UNO MOO  If you love Uno, this version is just a bit easier for your youngest players.  Game play involves color and animal matching (instead of numbers) and there are no awkward cards accumulating for little hands to hold.  E's favorite part was the colored cows, of course!

8. Chutes and Ladders  Another childhood classic, this game probably brings back memories for most of us!  Create new ones with your children as you introduce number recognition.

9. Richard Scarry Busy Town  Confession time: I must admit that we haven't played this search and find game, but our  friends rave about it.  The Amazon reviews back this up as the most popular collaborative game available right now. 

10. Sequence Letters  Letter identification, beginning sounds, and strategy!  Be still my literacy game loving heart!  We love the many available versions of the game Sequence, but this is too packed with early reading skills for us to resist!

Will you buy one of these games as a gift this year? Did I miss one of your family's favorite games for kids under the age of five?  Were any of these games you hadn't heard of before this post?  Please let me know in the comments below! 

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