Monopoly

I have always been a big board game fan. As an adult I haven't played games much but just the idea of the family and friends huddled around a game board on a Friday night or around the campfire is kind of neat to me. I remember playing Monopoly and Mancala with my cousins. I remember playing Gin Rummy the one or two times we went camping with my dad. On one or two holidays we played Monopoly with mom, Chas and Sissy. My brother and I used to play Checkers and War. Hubby and I have played poker twice with friends. So, about a year or two ago I established malt and game night at our house. The kids were pretty young so the games were Candyland, Shoots and Ladders and Bingo (family favorite). But as life went on and the family grew and the schedule got a little busier it kind of went by the way side (to soon be reestablished :) Now that Nature Girl and Little Mama are a little older I have been able to teach them War and Mancala and they play those games on their own. Sometimes I have included game playing in school. Well, yesterday was a horrible rainy and cold day. I had just gotten home from having my hair done and Daddy and Boop were napping. The girls were bored and wanted to play Monopoly which is one of my favorite games. They had never played before and I was afraid the concepts of buying, selling, rent and bankruptcy might be a little hard for a 7 and 5 year old to grasp. Heck, they are difficult concepts for me to grasp!! Well, I got out the Micky Mouse Monopoly game that we got a couple Christmas ago and unwrapped all the pieces and parts. I tried to give a brief overview but it is one of those games you just have to learn as you go. I think we played for over an hour. And believe me they got the concepts. They went from timid players asking me what to do to basically listening to my advice and then doing what they wanted! To me, one of the great things about playing games with them is watching each girl develop her own strategy. As each girl thinks their own thoughts and concentrate on their own ideas and approaches to the game, each girl develops their own totally different strategy. Once I got the hang of not getting involved it has been AMAZING to me to watch their brains function. Their thought processes are so very different but equally successful in what they are trying to accomplish. No one girl wins all the time. I love watching their faces as they think and ponder and strategize (not sure if that is a word). Anyway, we finally had to put the game away because we had plans for the night. But, as Nature Girl was putting her head on her pillow last night, her last request was "Can we play Monopoly tomorrow?" . . .