Using Apples to Apples Junior to Build Language Skills

Vocabulary Building Fun!

If you’re looking for a new game to try, look no further than Apples to Apples Junior! This fast-paced card game is not only a ton of fun, it’s also a wonderful way to expand vocabulary!

One of the most appealing things about Apples to Apples is its simplicity. Unlike some games that require a thorough briefing before play begins, this one is easy to explain in just a few sentences.

You’ll need at least three people to play, but it is even more fun with a larger group. The suggested age range is nine and up, but younger children should have no problem successfully playing this game in a family setting with help from Mom and Dad! Gameplay lasts 30-60 minutes.

How to Play

Players take turns being the judge of each round. Let’s say your friend is the judge of the first round. She deals five red cards to each player. You look at your cards, but you don’t show them to anyone else.

Now the judge lays down one green adjective card. See how there are two synonyms on the card? It can be fun to consider the shades of meaning between the synonyms.

Look at your cards and decide which one is the most sporty.

• Pancakes? — Not a chance. Your friend doesn’t even like pancakes!
• Losing your backpack? — Hmm, that might be something she’d do on your camping trips, and camping trips are sporty.
• Vacuum cleaner? — Well, your friend does love to do chores. Can vacuuming be a sport?
• Sporty underwear? — Ahhh … that could appeal to her silly sense of humor! And she is the judge of this round.
• Gymnastics? — Possibly. After all, gymnastics is a sport.

Now you make your final selection and lay it face down on the table alongside the cards selected by the other players.

The judge shuffles the red cards so she doesn’t know who tossed in which card. Now her job is to decide which card best fits the word sporty. There’s a bit of friendly banter as players try to encourage her to pick a particular card—either their own or the one they think is best. Spirited discussion is allowed, and the judge doesn’t even have to pick the card that makes the most sense. The judge might just like the creativity (or humor!) of a particular card.

The judge picked your card! I guess underwear is sporty, after all! That’s one point for you, and the first player to earn five points wins the game!

5 Ways to Build Language Skills with Apples to Apples

1. Learn nouns (including some gerunds) and adjectives. As you play the game, help kids understand what nouns and adjectives are and how they are used. The noun cards may also include gerunds (words formed with verbs ending in ing that act as nouns, like surfing and shopping). To find a gerund, look for ing.
2. Build vocabulary. Noun cards include a short definition or description, giving your child the opportunity to build his vocabulary as he plays.
3. Encourage creative word play. The game encourages children to think outside the box and find new ways to describe both familiar words and new additions to their vocabulary. It’s fun for kids (and adults, too!) to explain why they chose a particular card during game play.
4. Play with words and their meanings. The descriptions on some cards are meant to be funny. For example, the description on the hamburger card asks, Do you want fries with that? These fun descriptions provide great opportunities for discussion about the words and their meanings!
5. Play with synonyms. Adjective cards feature words like talented, interesting, and goofy. Each adjective card also lists two synonyms for the featured word, introducing kids to shades of meaning and expanding their descriptive vocabulary.

Notes from Our Game Testers

• This review is for the Junior version, but there are other versions available, too. We liked the original Apples to Apples Party Box version but didn’t enjoy the current version nearly as much because there were a lot more pop culture references that many of the players in our group didn’t know or understand. But your group may love it!
• If a player has difficulty holding the cards, try using a card holder such as the Gamewright Little Hands Playing Card Holder. It also helps people who are bothered by sharp edges and corners on cards.
• With over 500 cards, there are virtually infinite combinations of nouns and adjectives, guaranteeing a unique game every time—no matter how often you play!
• https://blog.allaboutlearningpress.com/apples-to-apples/?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=85271166&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--oEWQ5KPBViThNRxE3-uGOnVOkBDtmw_vwLIT5Q_9_Y_YC09CB2l7OQ3gGc_qRZTP-eBc03yFmeFpJKGI8lAzy0h0r5Q&utm_content=85271166&utm_source=hs_automation

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Спікерка: Anastasiia Martynenko - голова ГО О.ЗЕРО та Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine, співзасновниця zero waste компанії OZERO, керівниця напрямку Екоосвіти та Консалтингу. Розбиралися у причинах кліматичних змін, проблемі відходів, знайомилися з Zero waste та циркулярною економікою.
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Дякую Лані Сушко за корисні ресурси!

8 Ways to Use Refrigerator Magnets

by Marie Rippel

Here are eight fantastic ways to develop pre-reading skills using alphabet refrigerator magnets (with no mess or fuss)! And if magnets don’t stick to your fridge, you can do these same activities using a metal baking sheet or the front of your dishwasher.

1. Alphabet Soup

   Pour all your letters into a sauce pan or soup pot. Have your little one give the soup a stir and dish up some “Alphabet Soup”! Hold out your bowl while your young chef serves you up some “G Soup” or “Q Soup” (or whatever variety is the special of the day!).

Alphabet Train

Mix up the letters in random order. Show your child how she can make a “train” by placing the letters in alphabetical order, singing the Alphabet Song as she goes.

Letter Lookout

Help your child recognize that there are letters everywhere! Pick out a few picture books or boxes of food. Have your child choose a magnetic letter from the fridge and try to find that same letter in the book or on a box.

Mix-n-Match ‘Em

Arrange the letters right side up and have your child organize the letters in matching sets. For example, can she find all the letters that have long sticks? How about short sticks? Can she find letters with circles? How about letters with dots? Sort out all the red letters. Can she find the letters in her name? How about the letters in a friend’s name?

Hide-n-Go Letter Seek

Scatter your letters around your school room or living room. Give your child a basket and encourage her to say the name of the letters as she collects each one. You can use this activity to increase phonological awareness by calling out the sound of each letter instead of the name of the letter. Download our free Letter Sounds app if you need to refresh your memory on the sounds of the 26 alphabet letters.

Dig for Buried Letters

Bury your letters in a large bowl filled with dried lentils, rice, or cracked wheat. Have your child dig for the letters with a magnetic wand. As she finds each letter, have her shout out the letter’s name and the sound it makes.

Go Fish

You can use your magnetic wand for this activity too! Make a fishing pole by tying a string to the end of a yard stick and then tying the magnetic wand to the end of the string. Spread your refrigerator magnets on the floor, and it’s time to go fishing! Have your child dangle the magnet wand to catch “fish.” Have her say the name and/or sound of each “fish” she catches.

Word Wranglers

This activity is perfect for beginning readers. It will help your child learn that you can manipulate sounds to create new words. Build a three-letter word on the fridge. See how many new words you can make by changing the beginning and/or ending sounds. Here’s one using beginning sounds: Start with cat. Change the beginning sound to make fat, pat, and hat. Now create new words by changing the ending sound.

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