All in Good Fun

It has become obvious lately that Cara has gained some new fine motor and cognitive skills. The notes that come home from her therapists are so encouraging...matching, playing games, imitating sounds and learning new signs.

So, when a box of goodies for the girls (and I) from my life-long best friend included two age-appropriate games for Cara, I was excited to see if she could play along.

The first game is a shape & color matching game based off of Candy Land. It's called Candy Land Castle and kiddos get a little gingerbread child with shapes on it and they have to match the shapes on the gingerbread with shapes that come out of the castle. The game teaches color & shape recognition as well as turn-taking. Cara had previously played this game in a small group setting with her therapist, so she was familiar with the game. What completely surprised me was how well Cara could play! She knew that she had to chose one gingerbread kid, pull down on the handle and then, when the piece came out, determine whether or not she had a match. She also did really well with taking turns with me. We played probably 6 rounds that day and we both truly enjoyed ourselves!




Cara also received Hi Ho Cherry-O! With some instruction throughout the game, Cara & I were able to play and have a lot of fun. She tried to vocalize with me when we were counting her fruit and quickly figured out that the goal was to put all of her fruit in the little bucket. I think, with more practice, Cara will become a whiz at playing this game too.

It is so nice that Cara has developed the skills necessary to play some structured games. Even 3 months ago, this wasn't really a possibility for us. I love when I can plainly see the results that all the therapy is having on Cara!