Generally speaking, when our children learn a new game it becomes an obsession for a bit of time. Monopoly is one of those games to which Mommy and Daddy say "yeah I'll play" fairly often so it's gotten even more attention from the wee ones.
Our random snow day last Wednesday (apparently an inch of snow followed by tons of rain constitutes a snow day) we dealt Tristan in for his first ever Monopoly game. He was so stinkin' happy!! He was paying rapt attention during our other games and required very little direction. Of course, he can't add, subtract, or read yet so I don't know how much you can really credit to him as far as "playing" is concerned, but he counted those dots on the dice and moved along the corresponding number of spaces like a ninja warrior.
He was filled with pride for every purchase, regardless of not knowing the property names or their worth. He was ecstatic with any change he received from the bank, not realizing he really spent much more than he was handed in return. All he knew was he was actively participating in a grown-up game with us, and simply being able to play is like winning to a 5yr old. Eventually his fervor faded as his funds began to dwindle due to us collecting rent from him. He was no longer interested... in paying anyone for anything. So, he went bankrupt and we quickly finished. However, the promise of a new round of rolling and counting and being dealt the big bucks had Tristan begging for one more game. We obliged. Thankfully, he walked away before the game ever really got going. There's only so much Monopoly a family can take! Or... is there.
Later that day Noah finally won!! First Josh went out then Noah and I went head-to-head for a bit. I was proud of myself for going through the motions of letting it all play out slowly. Mortgaging everything, selling houses, trading properties, waiting through 3 unsuccessful rolls to get out of jail when I couldn't afford bail. When Josh and I play I'm usually more like "ok, you're going to win so can we please not make me do math". But, Josh was still our banker so I didn't have to do as many disgusting mathematical equations, which made me much more patient with my slow trudge into bankruptcy. Plus the look of extreme joy on Noah's face was well worth simple addition and subtraction problems. He was trying hard to be a good winner too... no silly dancing or mocking or any of that. When it was finally over though he threw his hands up and shouted "YEEESSS!!" and jumped around. We were high-fiving and cheering for him. It was a good win.
Now he believes himself to be a Monopoly expert. He sets up the board and plays against himself or the evil banker. He gets Tristan to play, but he completely takes advantage of Tristan's naivete and tricks him into giving him money and properties like crazy. I guess the sweet taste of victory was much too delicious to give up. I'd care if Tristan cared, but he's just happy to play.
Today I watched them all and I had a blast! I also took pictures. Brennan photo bombed me quite a bit and was being exceptionally devilish.
His job was to make Tristan laugh until he was rolling on the floor in pain. This is not a very difficult task.
Brennan was kissing Tristan's arm and then slamming it onto the table over and over, making the pieces bounce all over the place. Noah got in on the fun too and made weird faces at Tristan. My favorite part was at the end though.
Tristan gave Brennan a dollar in exchange for stealing one of Noah's properties while he wasn't looking. Noah never noticed. He was too busy cheating Tristan into trading his $500 bill for a much more useful $100 bill... again.
Suddenly Tristan demanded his dollar back from Brennan. I saw a lightbulb go off... instead Tris hatched another plan. I believe the whispering went something like this "you can keep the dollar if you go get another card for me".
Brennan snuck around Noah's back and slipped into the bank to steal his big brother some land. Noah caught him, but they teamed up and distracted him and Brennan finished the score. Marvin Gardens, which happens to be Noah's favorite.
Then Brennan danced around and shoved the card in Noah's face. Suddenly everyone erupted into iCarly style random dancing and asked me to take pictures of them shaking their "booty-butts", which I declined mostly because the sun had gone down and the lighting was bad lol. So we went downstairs and switched to pictionary. I love my crazy boys!
Our random snow day last Wednesday (apparently an inch of snow followed by tons of rain constitutes a snow day) we dealt Tristan in for his first ever Monopoly game. He was so stinkin' happy!! He was paying rapt attention during our other games and required very little direction. Of course, he can't add, subtract, or read yet so I don't know how much you can really credit to him as far as "playing" is concerned, but he counted those dots on the dice and moved along the corresponding number of spaces like a ninja warrior.
He was filled with pride for every purchase, regardless of not knowing the property names or their worth. He was ecstatic with any change he received from the bank, not realizing he really spent much more than he was handed in return. All he knew was he was actively participating in a grown-up game with us, and simply being able to play is like winning to a 5yr old. Eventually his fervor faded as his funds began to dwindle due to us collecting rent from him. He was no longer interested... in paying anyone for anything. So, he went bankrupt and we quickly finished. However, the promise of a new round of rolling and counting and being dealt the big bucks had Tristan begging for one more game. We obliged. Thankfully, he walked away before the game ever really got going. There's only so much Monopoly a family can take! Or... is there.
Later that day Noah finally won!! First Josh went out then Noah and I went head-to-head for a bit. I was proud of myself for going through the motions of letting it all play out slowly. Mortgaging everything, selling houses, trading properties, waiting through 3 unsuccessful rolls to get out of jail when I couldn't afford bail. When Josh and I play I'm usually more like "ok, you're going to win so can we please not make me do math". But, Josh was still our banker so I didn't have to do as many disgusting mathematical equations, which made me much more patient with my slow trudge into bankruptcy. Plus the look of extreme joy on Noah's face was well worth simple addition and subtraction problems. He was trying hard to be a good winner too... no silly dancing or mocking or any of that. When it was finally over though he threw his hands up and shouted "YEEESSS!!" and jumped around. We were high-fiving and cheering for him. It was a good win.
Now he believes himself to be a Monopoly expert. He sets up the board and plays against himself or the evil banker. He gets Tristan to play, but he completely takes advantage of Tristan's naivete and tricks him into giving him money and properties like crazy. I guess the sweet taste of victory was much too delicious to give up. I'd care if Tristan cared, but he's just happy to play.
Today I watched them all and I had a blast! I also took pictures. Brennan photo bombed me quite a bit and was being exceptionally devilish.
His job was to make Tristan laugh until he was rolling on the floor in pain. This is not a very difficult task.
Brennan was kissing Tristan's arm and then slamming it onto the table over and over, making the pieces bounce all over the place. Noah got in on the fun too and made weird faces at Tristan. My favorite part was at the end though.
Tristan gave Brennan a dollar in exchange for stealing one of Noah's properties while he wasn't looking. Noah never noticed. He was too busy cheating Tristan into trading his $500 bill for a much more useful $100 bill... again.
Suddenly Tristan demanded his dollar back from Brennan. I saw a lightbulb go off... instead Tris hatched another plan. I believe the whispering went something like this "you can keep the dollar if you go get another card for me".
Brennan snuck around Noah's back and slipped into the bank to steal his big brother some land. Noah caught him, but they teamed up and distracted him and Brennan finished the score. Marvin Gardens, which happens to be Noah's favorite.
Then Brennan danced around and shoved the card in Noah's face. Suddenly everyone erupted into iCarly style random dancing and asked me to take pictures of them shaking their "booty-butts", which I declined mostly because the sun had gone down and the lighting was bad lol. So we went downstairs and switched to pictionary. I love my crazy boys!
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I also love that you keep this journal for grandparents and other loved ones to follow and for you to look back on so you can relive these sweet memories. Your kids may do that too.