TOTT–Trick of the Trade Tuesday

#23 – Waiting Games

I’m part of a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group and our theme for last year was “games”. We try to give the moms a gift the first day of each semester, and we came up with this cute little idea to help the moms for those inevitable moments when you have to wait with young children. At a restaurant, in traffic, in a long line at the department store, waiting at the doctor’s office…the list goes ON AND ON. And without a game plan (sorry, bad pun), the waiting period leads to bad behavior. So, these ideas help moms create a game plan. They’re ideas we’ve all used, but often times when it’s crunch time, those great ideas flutter out the window. So this is a simple reminder you can toss in your purse for those very moments. We printed them out on cardstock, pasted them back to back, laminated them and put them on a cute ribbon.

Feel free to do the same. Enjoy!

Here’s a list of the “games” and a brief explanation, if needed.

#1: Show me your ________ face.

Use the listed emotions to practice showing emotion with your little one. Give them an example. Show me your sad face. Show me your excited face. Show me your silly face. Show me your angry face. You get the picture.

#2. What’s missing?

#3: Trace and match the objects.

#4. Sing songs, the sillier the better.

#5. I Spy!

#6. 20 Questions – with animals

#7. Name the clouds.

#8. Simon Says (classic!)

Again, these are all ideas we’ve used, but sometimes you try to play Simon Says and run out of ideas after touching your nose and patting your belly. So hopefully this print out keeps you going a bit longer. Here’s the cover, if you’d like to give it to a fellow mom as a Christmas gift. Print it out, cut it out and fold in half.

Happy waiting!

If you have a difficult time printing it out, don’t hesitate to email me and I’ll send you a copy. =)