Classic Bingo

B-I-N-G-O - Bingo was his name-O!  Hasn't everyone sang that song?  Add the clap substitution for the letters and the simple song can go on forever.  But this song was about a dog - not a game.  Bingo is a great game that can be played by kids young and old.  It is simple, easy, quick and a lot of fun.  So many versions are available, but take a look at the Classic Bingo game of eeBoo.  It has won the Gold Seal Best Toy Award from Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.  The illustrations and designs are beautiful.  The game boards and tiles are made of sturdy cardboard and they all fit nicely in a box to be stored away neatly for future use.  The tiles have pictures and words of vehicles, animals, clothing, colors, market and they all fit nicely in a drawstring bag.It promotes vocabulary enrichment, hones perceptual skills and develops word & picture recognition.

The game is meant to play the traditional way with calling out the tiles drawn and having the players cover their board until they get a row covered.  However there are other game extensions:

Encourage storytelling by asking the winner of each round to tell a brief story that includes all the pictures on his or her card.  Prompt a reluctant storyteller by using the theme of a card and asking when he or she has seen or used the items.

How about making an auditory rebus story?  Ask young children to look at the tiles they have on their cards as you tell a story using them.  Pause when the items are named in the story and ask the child to point to the tile that fits in the space.  For example:  Our family sure gets around!  When grandma came to visit us last year, she rode something that went up in the air to get here.  She took an (airplane).  Dad hates to find a place to park downtown, so he usually takes the {Bus) to work.  Mom's job is closer, and she sometimes rides her 2 wheeled (Bicycle) to work.  Cousin Rita has a 2-wheeled way to get to work too, but hers has a motor; she rides a (motorcycle).

Check out eeBoo's Classic Bingo game.  It is meant for 2 to 6 players ages 3 years and older.  

http://www.cowandlizard.com/classic-bingo/