Toddler Activity: Do you have Rummikub?

Two to three days per week I try to have 3-4 toddler trays (I am hoping to do a post about them soon)  prepared for B when he awakes in the morning.  These activities help him to focus on something besides watching television and/or aimlessly walking around while whining.  Yes, at times I wish my child was better at independent play, but he's not, so I organize the trays to help facilitate play and to keep this momma from going nuts.

I have learned young children often enjoy playing with adult games.  For example, Monopoly money, Jenga blocks, dominos and Rummikub number tiles among others.

Do you have Rummikub?  Have you heard of Rummikub?  Well, its a game that I used to play, but since becoming a mom it has mostly been gathering dust until now.

Sorry to state the obvious, but DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CHILDREN UNATTENDED during this activity.  You know your child, so use common sense and do not give him/her small objects that he/she can not play with appropriately (i.e. put in mouth, throw, etc.).  I am fortunate that my 2.5 year old rarely puts objects in his mouth, up his nose,etc, but I realize some children are not safe with small objects until 3+.  You know what your child can and can not do, so don't complete this activity unless you know he/she is able to do so safely and under supervision.

Here are the activities we played with number tiles from the game Rummikub.

• He enjoyed lining the tiles up in the trays.  I tried to encourage him to place the numbers in order, but he didn't want to, so I just let him play.

• I made, printed, and laminated a page with the numbers 1 through 10.  I, then, placed several tiles in a bowl and shook them up.  I had B draw a tile and place it on the correct number.  He didn't enjoy this until I started using my "Game Show" host voice and proudly saying, "Ding, ding, ding, you got it!!!!"

• Rummikub has multiple tiles with the same number, so we also built number towers.

• Lastly, we used the bowls from our Counting with Bowls activity and placed the number tiles in the corresponding bowls.

This was a fun take on an old game that I hope to resume playing when my children are a little older and able to enjoy it with us.  

Here are links to other Click. Pray. Love activities:

Pre-Toddler Activities

Toddler Activity #1:  Flip Top Lid Fun
Toddler Activity #2:  Make Your Own Character Match Up Blocks
Toddler Activity #3:  Play Time in the SINK
Toddler Activity #4:  Make Your Own Bathtub Paint (a Pinterest idea)
Toddler Activity #5:  Counting with Bowls
Toddler Activity #6:  Paper Towel Roll Downhill Slide
Toddler Activity #7:  Colors and Sorting
Toddler Activity #8:  Sensory Play While Reading
Toddler Activity #9:  Play-Doh Creations