When the weather turns cold and rainy, I like to encourage my kids to play board games.  It's a nice option to shoving each other off the furniture or jumping on the sofa.  And it beats getting hit in the face by yet another paper airplane (Alec's current obessession - build it bigger, better, etc.)

Recently, I have spent several fun evenings playing Yahtzee.  Yahztee is, to me, a fabulous learning game.  Counting, patience, risk taking, calculating - I learned so much from this game as a kid.  This past week, I played two nights in a row with Carmen who, now at 7, can play much better than before.  I remember when she could first hold a pencil and scribble, we would give her the back of a filled-in score sheet and she would pretend to play along side us as we played.  She also had fun with the chips that come with the game but no one seems to know what they are for.  Or why they are different colors. 

Anyway, the second night we played, I actually scored a Yahtzee!  I was thrilled.  And then ... I scored another.  And another.  And another.  Four Yahtzees!  Can you believe it?  This could be some kind of record somewhere in the world.  It's definitely a record in my family, extended family and probably the neighborhood.  I put the score sheet on the fridge for all to see.  Not that I deserve any credit - I was at the mercy of the roll of the dice.  It's just not something that happens every day, does it? 

O.k, now that I've revealed that my life is so, um, mild, that four Yahtzees denotes all this hoopla - I'll get to my point.  Games are a great way to bond with your family and the learning that takes place is amazing.  On the third night, I asked my husband to play with us.  And on the fourth night, I asked the boys to play as well.  All five of us around the dinner table, playing Yahtzee!  The hard part about this game is waiting for your turn.  It got a little out of hand, as the boys kept getting rowdy while the rest of us were rolling the dice.  So, lessons in manners and patience were conducted (shouted actually but it worked).  All in all, it was fun and I lost, which is the best way for the game to go (if anyone has to lose, I'd rather it be me - I don't care!)  Carmen actually beat her father by 1 point!  Then it was Alec, Chad and me.  Chad was bummed because he didn't win.  I reminded him that he beat me and if we had played a twosome (which is what he wanted in the first place) he would have won.  He smiled and headed out into the living room to jump on the furniture some more.

FYI:  Chad told me that Yahtzee was first played on a yacht.  If that is true, they were either trying to be cute with the name or they needed a dictionary.

So, HS moms, when the school work gets a little mind-numbing - pull out a game.  It will definitely be worth your time and you might just enjoy yourself!  And let me know if you've ever gotten four Yahtzees.  We'll form a club or something.