Orchard Games are the famed (and rightly so) publishers of puzzles and games for young children. With teacher-tested products, you can be assured of both fun and educational games. Many of their games cater to a variety of ages, so as your child grows, which games should you look to purchase and help their development into childhood?
This blog will uncover fundamental areas like colours, matching games, counting, shapes, and memory games, to name a few. In this blog, I will suggest one game for each category for the youngest age group, two-year-olds.
Matching - Old MacDonald Lotto:
Old MacDonald had a farm… and so the song goes. But there is something about farm animals that intrigues us all. Common yet wondrous at the same time. This game is great for learning the names of animals, identifying and placing them on the board.
At its heart, this is a memory and matching game. Each turn, players flip over a tile and try to match it to the correct picture on their little farm. From farmers to geese to quad bikes and scarecrows, the whole farm is covered here. In fact, with my daughter, we love repeating the names of the different tiles as she learns to say them correctly.
The artwork is wonderful with each farm featuring each of the elements needed to match in a background image. Winner of the Mother and Baby award in 2021, this game really has been tested out in the “wild” with real children.
Colours – Post Box Game:
Posting letters to Santa or even taking a stroll to the local post box might not be the most 21st century activity but there is something quintessential that children grab hold of. Maybe it’s the tactile nature of watching the letter disappear ready for its journey. Well, the Post Box Game is fantastic example of real life in your living room.
Featuring four different coloured post boxes you’ll be meeting Malcolm Monkey or Freya Fish who live in Apethrope and Finsbury Park. Each letter has it’s own colour which needs to be correctly posted. With 3 different ways to play to grow with the child with age, at older ages they will be enhancing their memory muscles as they flip and post the chunky tiles.
Not only for colours but this game is great for coordination skills too this game features more than meets the eye. A game that is both help a child observe and categorise the world around them better and distinguish between colours and their names too. Plus “They are using the same skills they need to recognise the differences between letters and numerals”. What a colourful package!
Social Skills – Smelly Wellies:
The title of this one is enough to make you smile and be intrigued. Meet the cutesy monsters who need to lace up their boots, ready to jump in some puddles. A matching game where you must recognise and place wellies on the right monster. With multiple boards this game has a variation within its gameplay.
Through taking turns and communicating with parents you’ll be growing relationship and skills for life. And that is the beauty of board games they have the opportunities to improve skills that are transferable to real world situations. No more is this prevalent than in children’s games which first and foremost need to be educational.
Having rules and a clear way of playing is a great feature for what can be an emotional age at 2 years old. The monsters are lovable rouges who have their quirks and fussy warmth you’d expect, something to describe and talk about.
Hand Eye Coordination – Jungle Heads & Tails:
From the farmlands of normality to the jungles of afar. This isn’t a coin flipping game but a matching card game. Each animal is split into two with the children having to correctly identify the head and tail. This game is aged from 18 months old and is a great gateway option for younger children too.
With the classic thick cards these are indescribable even for those of younger years. It is a fun little game that can become imaginative as you combine parrots with tiger tails. I like that despite its simplistic first look this game provides opportunities for later years with the creative aspect of the game.
A great way to learn new animals that they might not be familiar with. Orchard Games have a great roster of games to choose from outside of board games with puzzle another option to. While they are simple they have great artwork, colourful and bold and easy to understand which is perfect for the smallest members of the gaming family.
