This game is an opportunity to help our children practice identifying shapes and combining shapes to make new shapes. It is also, of course, practice in being strategic in game playing.
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FILL IT FIRST ! – A Family Game
OBJECT OF THE GAME
Players take turns spinning the spinner and coloring in shapes on their Fill It First game board. The winner is the first player to fill their game board exactly.
MATERIALS
1. Crayons, markers, or colored pencils in green, blue, and red. If you don’t have the exact colors, it’s okay. Just agree on a color for each shape: triangle, rhombus, and trapezoid.
2. Fill It First Spinner
3. Pencil and paper clip
4. 2 Fill It First Game Boards
HOW TO PLAY
1. Play with a partner. Each of you will need a game board.
2. Decide who will go first.
3. Take turns spinning the spinner.
4. Each time you spin one of the three shapes (triangle, rhombus, trapezoid), you can color it in anywhere on your game board.
5. The winner is the first player to fill their game board. The catch is, you have to fill it exactly. If you only have room at the end for a blue rhombus, and you spin a red trapezoid, you have to try for a rhombus or a triangle on your next turn. Keep playing until one player fills their board entirely.
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Adults… talk about strategies as the game is played
>I see you just spun a trapezoid. Do you see a good place to put it on your board? How many of the little triangles will you be able to cover with that trapezoid?
>What shape do you hope to spin next? Why?
>It looks like we’re getting close to the end. What shapes do you need to finish filling your game board?
Gameboard pdf
Spinner pdf