Guessing Game: Good and Bad

What You Need:

• Pencil and paper (optional)
• 2 or more players

What You Do:

1. Explain to your child that you are thinking of something good. Try to pick something she thinks positively about, such as swimming, ice cream, slumber parties, or movies.
2. Tell her that you're going to give hints to help her figure out what the mystery "good" thing is. However, you are not going to describe what is good about the mystery thing, but instead what is bad about it.
3. Begin with one statement of something bad about something good. For example, if you picked swimming, you could say, "You usually get cold."
4. Encourage her or another child to guess the mystery good thing. Then, give another clue, saying another statement that's bad about something good.
5. Keep providing clues and allowing children to guess until a child guesses the mystery good thing correctly.
6. Then, the child can have a turn coming up with a mystery good thing of her own. Note that, for some children, coming up with a succession of clues poses a challenge that might be overwhelming. Encourage her to take a moment to jot down notes to keep track of clues, or invite a couple of children to work together as a team (depending on the size of the group).
7. Once kids get the hang of the game, you can also play the reverse version, Something Good About Something Bad.