Let’s Play Christmas Tree I Spy
I remember playing I Spy as a child. My sister and I played it while we were riding in the car. Our parents played along with us when we were going on long car trips. Back then, we just had to “spy” things out the window or in the house or wherever we were playing. Now, though, so many people have printers and, therefore, the ability to download and print out fun I Spy games. In fact, you can even laminate your printed game so your kiddos can play it over and over again!
This game is great for playing when your little ones are not so patiently waiting for the cookies to bake, for time to open Christmas gifts, or even for lunch to be ready. Sometimes we need an activity to do with little ones that takes just the right amount of time–not too long and not too short!
This printable can be used for a variety of fun lessons too! Use it to work on one-to-one ratio by having your child practice pointing to each object and counting it just once. (I remember when my youngest child was small and didn’t yet understand one-to-one ratio. Sometimes she counted each object two or three times!)
Another easy use for this printable is, of course, working on counting skills. You can do this a variety of ways. Use the key at the bottom of the printable and, for example, have your child count the blue striped candy canes or the purple stars and write the number of each kind of object in the box above that object. Or you can mix it up a little and have your child count all of the candy canes or all of the stars regardless of color.
You could, for more advanced or older children, have your child count all of the objects on the tree and then turn your discussion into a lesson on addition or subtraction. In other words, ask your child how many ornaments would be on the tree if you took off all of the gold-colored ornaments. How many would there be if you took off all of the round ornaments? How many ornaments would be on the tree if you added six blue stars?
No matter how you use this printable, be sure to take a few minutes to slow down from the busyness that can sometimes overtake the holidays and make us feel rushed and stressed instead of blessed.
Merry Christmas!