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Deal Me In . . .

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I decided a long time ago that youโ€™re either born with the card-playing gene or you are not. ย While my family played boardgames, we weren’t much on playing with a deck of cards. ย So when I married into my husband’sย card-playingย family, I quickly was schooled in the finer strategies and rules of their favorite games.ย 
ย 
Fast forward ahead three little boys later, and I soon discover that not just one, but all three of them have inherited their fathers card gene.ย 

Yep! ย They’re all a bunch of little card sharks. ย They show no mercy, and we have quickly learned that when it comes to card games, they get no unfair advantages just because they’re ‘little and cute.’ ย I knew I was in trouble when MaGill was playing Garbage at 3 years old and handed me the card ย he was about to discard and said “here mom, you’re going to need this.” ย 

ย 



So, of course, asย family started arriving for the holidays, out came the cards. ย I know you’re thinking, “oh that’s nice, everyone was playing WAR or Crazy 8s or something simple like that, right?”ย 



While those are great card games, . . . no. ย Believe it or not, there are some really awesome card games out there that even your kinders can play to help with numberย sense, sequencing and value, along with addition, subtraction and just game strategy. ย And the best part . . . they are fun, cheap and, if they can be played at home, they can certainly be played at school.

Our family’s favorites areย ย GARBAGE . . . great for sequencing/ number order. ย It’s fast paced and one of the first games my own boys learned and one that I use in my classroom as well. ย 


They are also fans of Kings Corners.


Love your neighbor . . . (I looked for the ‘official rules for this one online but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Perhaps it’s one of those handed down from generation to generation things or called something different than what we call it. It’s basically a pass your cards to get the lowest possible card type of strategy game.)


and so many others such as baseball and golf.



If you interested in other card games for your classroom or your family, here’s are a couple of great sites that you can reference:

From About.com: Card Games for Kids
From Grandparents.com: ย The rules to all your favorite card games. ย 
Or there are a couple of books that you can check out as well:


I think next year, my entire class is going to get a deck cards for Christmas instead of playdoh and a cookie cutters. ย Should I deal you in?

I’d love to hear what your favorite family or classroom card game is.

ย 

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Marsha Moffit McGuire

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18 responses to “Deal Me In . . .”

  1. Marissa Prue Avatar
    Marissa Prue

    Marsha, this is awesome! It’s amazing how few of my students play games (board or card!), kind of baffles me as I, too, practically lived on both. I’m definitely going to look into these games – we’ve done Go Fish, War, and Uno in my classroom so far, but I’ve been looking for new uncomplicated games! ๐Ÿ™‚ AND cards for Christmas are a great idea! (Perhaps even Graduation this year!) Thanks again, and enjoy the rest of your break!

    Reply
    1. Marsha McGuire Avatar
      Marsha McGuire

      Marissa, cards for graduation! What a great idea. Thanks for sharing
      Marsha

      Reply
  2. Sylvia Parker Avatar
    Sylvia Parker

    My husband also comes from a card playing family. My little one just learned Polish poker but I prefer Cribbage. Cards do make a wonderful gift. Love your photography.

    Reply
    1. Marsha McGuire Avatar
      Marsha McGuire

      Sylvia, you made my day! Really! I’m working hard at taking better pictures with a new camera but I’m an old dog and these new tricks take time!
      Marsha

      Reply
  3. involveme Avatar
    involveme

    This looks like a lot of fun and pretty easy. I am not much of a game player but I will give this a try.

    Reply
    1. Marsha McGuire Avatar
      Marsha McGuire

      Let me know how it goes.
      Marsha

      Reply
  4. Mrs. Bartel's School Family (Alyce) Avatar
    Mrs. Bartel’s School Family (Alyce)

    I love card games. I grew up playing Pit and Nertz. Thank you for introducing me to Garbage. I’m looking forward to trying it out.

    Reply
    1. Marsha McGuire Avatar
      Marsha McGuire

      I’m gonna have to look up Pit and Nertz. I think a good old fashion ‘card playing day’ is one of the best rewards a class can earn.
      Thanks for sharing.
      Marsha

      Reply
  5. Shawna Avatar
    Shawna

    I definitely agree with your theory of the card carrying gene. My brother and I love cards we played all the time as kids and continue to play when we get together. My husband hates cards and I have one daughter with the gene and one without. Unfortunately my one daughter and I don’t at enough ๐Ÿ™ Great post!
    Shawna
    The Picture Book Teacher’s Edition

    Reply
    1. Marsha McGuire Avatar
      Marsha McGuire

      Thanks Shawna, I think I’ve grown to love these games despite my genetic disadvantage.
      Marsha

      Reply
  6. Luv My Kinders Avatar
    Luv My Kinders

    My 3 boys love cards too, especially Kings Corners. They also love Mexican Poker, although it is nothing like poker and it came from my husbands family who is 100% Portuguese…go figure. I think I will try out garbage with my kinders, I think they would really like it. Thanks for sharing.

    ~Laura

    Reply
    1. Marsha McGuire Avatar
      Marsha McGuire

      I’m going to have to check out Mexican Poker. If it’s a hit with your boys, I know mine will love it.
      thanks Laura
      Marsha

      Reply
  7. Kinderaffe Avatar
    Kinderaffe

    Yes! I so agree with you about playing cards. I am Midwest girl and we played cards all the time!!! I know so many! Clock is another good one. You have motivated me to make this year be a year of cards for my class. Cards are such a treasure-trove of math. Counting them (52) sorting them, putting each suit in order. I love the game spoons. Maybe rest time (which is a struggle with all boys to begin with…) may become “solitaire time.” Happy New Year.

    Reply
    1. Marsha McGuire Avatar
      Marsha McGuire

      We Midwesterner must need cards to keep us warm during the long winters. Marsha

      Reply
  8. Andrea Avatar
    Andrea

    I love the Hawkeye hooded sweatshirt I saw in the picture ๐Ÿ™‚ That is yet another reason to love your blog!

    Reply
  9. Lara Avatar
    Lara

    I love the Hawkeye hoodie also… Even before I saw the pics I was going to say the card playing gene has got to come from the mid-west, because all my family from Iowa LOVES to play cards!

    Reply
  10. Lara Avatar
    Lara

    I love the Hawkeye hoodie also… Even before I saw the pics I was going to say the card playing gene has got to come from the mid-west, because all my family from Iowa LOVES to play cards!

    Reply
  11. Game Play, Freebies and Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites Chapter 4

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