Apples to Apples

While we were at the beach early this summer, we sat down one night to play a game my sister had brought called Apples to Apples. I don't think I had laughed so hard in a long time. The game is simply about definitions. But in that simplicity there is so much more. What I loved most (sorry, the home educator in me is going to come out) was how it is a whole bunch of grammar lessons boxed up in a hilarious game. (We played the regular version that night. My sister later gave my son the junior version which is just as fantastic and fun.) As children play they will have to deal with nouns, verbs and adjectives. More subtly, they'll deal with irony, metaphors and sarcasm. Best of all, they'll never know it. On a more personal level it will also help people understand what makes people tick and really makes you get into other's heads to think about how they might define something. You will laugh as you see familiar traits in the people you love be totally expressed in how they answer. It also builds on inside jokes and things that may be particular and unique about your family and friends.
I highly recommend this game.