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What you need to know: Balancing Barnyard is a stacking game for toddlers (and preschoolers) with a twist. The idea is to balance as many animals as possible on top of the wobbly barn.

What else you need to know: This game is a ton of fun but not at all easy! Figuring out how to balance the animals so that they don’t topple over requires a lot of precision and problem-solving.

This game also doesn’t come with any rules, so you (and your kids) are free to make up your own.

You can make this a a turn taking game by seeing who can balance the most animals or encourage kids to stack the pieces on their own. Both play options are incredibly valuable.

While playing ,remember to ask questions like “do you think that bunny will stay up there or will it fall over along with the other pieces?”

Skills this works on: SO MANY!

First, this is great for working on hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and teaching cognitive skills like colors, counting, and numbers (bigger/smaller). It also helps develop social-emotional skills as it requires precision, patience, and cooperation to play. Executive skills will come into play as well as children figure out and make decisions about how to position the animals so that they remain on top of the barn without falling or knocking down other animals.

Tip: The animal pieces can also be used in play on their own. Play pretend, teach animal names sound, etc. Also, see if kids can stack the animals without the barn. Will it be easier or harder to do that?

Conclusion: So much fun and learning from one simple game.

You can learn more and/or purchase Balancing Barnyard here.