Don't they look like they're having a blast?! This is fun people. Fun! On this, the very first morning of the very first day of Spring Break, this is what my people choose to do...play the shapes game. I swear under oath that I in no way made any leading remarks or suggestions to do this. They put their collective heads together and came up with it All. By. Them. Selves. And they even asked me if I wanted to play. A prouder Mom moment, I could not have. This is the way to use you noggin kiddos!
We have been playing this particular game for years. We all sit with our backs to one another facing the outside of the circle. We each have the exact same type of pieces as well as the same number. Then one of us is the narrator, if you will. That person has to use words only to explain how to make the shape picture that they created. We all have to follow the directions without looking at the narrator's picture - thus the reason we all sit anti-socially with our backs to one another. Then when the narrator has decided he/she is done with his descriptive narrative, he/she reveals the image. Ours are all supposed to look like his/hers. If they do...the narrator did a good job. If they don't...the narrator needs a remedial course in public speaking and explanation giving.
And yes, we find this fun. You can do it with blocks as well. It's awesome practice in learning how to get your point across and explain things in a way people will understand. It's rather comical to see how we can easily screw up such a simple exercise. Some of the other images end up looking nothing like the original. It's a great way to show the kids how easy it is for people to misinterpret what we say and how we all see and hear things differently. It's not that person's fault for misunderstanding the narrator, it's the narrator who needs to better work on the communication.
