One Hungry Mama

January 27th, 2011

{food & learning} Play with Your Food: Haba “Orchard” Game

The last few weeks have been brutal. The Hungry Boys and I have been trading sickness — each falling, one after the other — and it just won’t stop snowing. The combination of the two have kept us indoors more than we’ve been outdoors for a good three weeks. We’re all going a little NUTS!

We’ve baked, read all of our books, watched movies, mastered Dora Wii Fit (yea, we went there), crafted up the wazoo, made snow ice cream, had play dates, built cities, sorted beads, opened small business a plenty and have become obsessed with board games.

The big Hungry Boy just turned 4-years-old and is suddenly and completely engrossed by board games. It started with the standards, Chutes and Ladders and Candy Land, but he’s so into them that we’ve added a bunch of new ones. Our latest favorite — that’s also been getting the Hungry Boy excited about fruit — is Haba’s “Orchard“.

I cannot say enough about this game. It’s so fun and manages to be competetive without undermining collaboration and team spirit. All of the players work together to gather fruit from around the board before the crow in the center eats it all up. There’s peril, excitement and a strong sense of working together. What more could a 4-year-old want?

How about the cutest little baskets in which you collect pears, apples, plums and cherries? Okay, that might be more about what Mama wants! But look at how adorable these game pieces are:

This game also totally satisfies the Hungry Boy’s interest in collecting and sorting. Each time we play, he comes up with a different way to sort the fruit in the baskets. And — this is the best — while collecting cherries, the Hungry Boy said, “Cherries are my favorite in season.”

Yes, son, I’ve taught you well.

If you have a preschooler, you should definitely consider picking this up. It’s tons of fun.

“Orchard” by Haba