My 7-year-old, who loves games of all kinds but particularly mathematical and word-based games (she kills it at chess and Junior Scrabble), was given a plastic grid junior Sudoku set last Christmas (that is, Christmas 2009, not the Christmas just gone). She played it quite a bit for a month or two, but lost interest in it as she started to find most of the layouts either too easy or much too hard - the game really doesn't seem to have any intermediate-level challenges. So, it was packed away in the games cupboard, awaiting my second daughter's possible future interest.
In raiding the games cupboard for wooden puzzles last week, my 22-month-old came across the Sudoku set. Attracted, I'm sure, by the colourful and illustrated box, she pulled it out to have a look.
Soon after, wondering in some trepidation exactly what my toddler was finding so engrossing that I had not heard a peep for her in at least twenty minutes, I came into the lounge-room to find her completely absorbed in playing her very own version of Sudoku.
She did very well, I reckon, matching up almost all the picture tiles to their corresponding square, and making a neat pile of her leftovers.
It just goes to show that there is *always* more than one way to play with anything, and that no way that inspires creativity, shape awareness, and fun is wrong!
Posts
that is the best type of game... that can be played and enjoyed by all ages in many different ways!
ReplyDeleteChildren are so good at finding that one more way to play!
ReplyDelete