Free Family Fun

Good Morning!  Well, I am feeling a little blue this morning as the kids head back to school today.  I told my daughter that it was going to be boring to play Yahtzee by myself today-ha!  You see, for the past three days we have been playing just about every game in the game closet.  The timing has been perfect; I have been able to rest my aching body and check book (the check book hurts almost as bad as my hips!) and it has been a wonderful way to wrap up the kids' Christmas break!
I come from a long line of game players, it's true, but it is such a great way to spend time with your family.  We played games a lot when we were growing up and one of my fondest memories from visiting Iowa as a child was all of the poker playing we did.  It was a great family event that I will remember forever and love passing those types of memories down to my kids.  I know that my poor Dad will never forget us girls all playing Spoons as we travelled across the country.  I don't think we could have chosen a noisier game to play after he had been driving for days, but that thought never occurred to us at the time!
Games really bring out the best (and sometimes the worst-ha!) in your kids.  I have found that games are a great way to bring out the strong suit in each of my kids, and really let the spotlight shine on that child's specific talents (for instance the math whiz can be the banker, and the great organizer can hold all of the properties, etc).  No matter what game we play we can introduce some sort of math, and most games include strategy, which really gets their minds moving. 
Even the experts that I usually disagree with say that when the kids are involved with another activity, they are more likely to open up to talking about their lives in general, which I have found to be true.  The stuff that I learn around the game table and while I'm preparing dinner are the snippets of information every parent searches for!  So, haul out that old game of Monopoly and let the family miracles commence!!!