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If you have a 2 year old, you may be wondering if they are ready for board games. The short answer is YES! Check out these 10 awesome board games for 2 year olds that are simple, fun and interactive. From social skills to motor coordination these games are guaranteed to challenge and engage your 2 year old in play.
1) Monkey Around is an interactive board game that will encourage social skills, communication, and gross motor development, while engaging and bonding with you. It has a variety of challenges that range from making a silly face to catching the banana bean bag.
2) Bunny Bedtime is a simple board game that introduces kids to the concept of rolling a dice and moving a pawn across a board. It focuses on different activities that the bunny has to complete before bedtime. While playing kids work on helping the bunny make decisions about his routine.
3) First Orchard is a cooperative game, which means that players work as a team instead of competing against each other to win. The goal of the game is to collect all the fruits into the basket before the bird walks across the path and reaches it. Kids practice turn-taking, following directions, matching colors, patience, and persistence while working together.
4) 1-2-3 Froggies is a fun fast-paced game that requires counting and color matching. See who can find a card with the same number of frogs as on the dice. Aside from the cognitive benefits, it’s also a good way to encourage group play and attention.
5) Acorn Soup is a super creative game that teaches kids to follow a “recipe.” It’s also a cooperative game so kids can play along with you to win the game. To play, study a recipe card, count the number of ingredients needed then place them into the soup with a spoon, and stir. Acorn Soup teaches counting, following directions, matching, and more. Love this game!
6) Little Observation teaches color recognition and encourages a quick reaction time. To play: roll the two dice, and see who can find a butterfly with the two matching colors first.
7) Petting Zoo is a tactile matching game. To play: spin the spinner and feel the texture the spinner lands on, then reach into the barn to find the animal with the matching texture. This game works on matching, turn-taking, following directions, and stereognosis, which is the ability to perceive and recognize an object through senses other than vision (think, reaching in your pocket and knowing a coin is a quarter and not a dime).
8) My First Animal Tower is one of my longtime favorite games. It introduces kids to turn-taking, matching pictures, and balance as they try to stack the animal pieces on top of one another. Stacking the pieces also helps develop fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination.
9) Where’s Bear comes with 6 nesting blocks and a wooden bear. Each block represents a different rooms in the house. Hide Bear in one of the rooms, and ask your child to find him. There are also hidden pictures at the top of each block. Searching for hidden pictures encourages attention, visual perception, and communication.
10) Stack A Cake is a simple but clever game with multiple ways to play. It incorporates a social-emotional, motor, and cognitive skills that young kids need to learn. The idea is to stack Bear’s birthday cake before he gets home by following directions on the dice. Learn more about Stack A Cake.