Time and Money Game Board Book

Yesterday was . . . well, it was a day. You know, one of those days. Not necessarily a bad day, just one full of many frustrations and challenges - most of them related to not being able to make things go my way. The high point (by a clear mile) was hitting the road with some girlfriends to shop for bellydance costumes in Gainesville. Sequins make everything better!

This, of course, is my long-winded way of telling you that I missed Teaching Tool Tuesday yet again. I've missed it so often that I should just rename it. But I won't. Instead, I know you'll look the other way and let me share a really great tool with you (no matter what day it is).

We've had our Time and Money Board Book for about a year now, and it's been a fun way for Noah to learn to count money and tell time. When you open the book, a pocket on the right holds three double-sided game boards and an envelope on the left holds all the game pieces and spinners - six games in one handy "book".
Math games include:

• Sherlock Hog's Coin Mysteries: This one is for basic coin recognition. Noah already knew those when we got this, but we both really enjoy this game anyway. Put your marker on the board in a spot that correlates with the coin pictured on the spinner. Four markers in a row wins the game.

• Coin Cleanup: Hmmm . . . don't think we've actually played this one. It's the intermediate level math game and focuses on adding coin values.
  

• Sidewalk Sale: Use the spinner to earn money, then advance to the finish line by "buying" items on the board (each space has a different item and price). I love this one for adding and subtracting with money as well as for experimenting with different combinations of coins.

Time games include:

• Telling Time Tales: This "level 1" time game gets kids familiar with the concept of hours and the movement of a clock. Place your marker on the clock face and use the spinner to see how many hours ahead to move it. First player to "tomorrow" wins!

• Watch Dog: Practice reading clock faces as you move to the finish line. When your marker lands on one of four colors, move to the next clock of that color.
  

• Time Flies: Associate "clock times" with analog / digital times to line up four game pieces in a row and win the game.

Pulling this out to write about it has been a great reminder that Noah would love brushing up on these skills - and that the two "level 1" games would be perfect for Ava.