Ruelle 1

Beary Good Muffins!

2 players, ages 3-5 with parent help

Pieces:
1 Spinner
2 Dice
2 Muffin boards
1 bear with bucket
60 muffins

Object of the game:

Work as a team and fill up the bears entire bucket with muffins! YUM!

Set up:
Each player gets a muffin board and will count out 10 muffins to
start with
Keep extra muffins off to the side
Place the bear and his bucket in the center of all players

How to win:
When you work as a team, and the bears bucket is full, the game is
complete! Dump out the bucket and play again!

How to Play
Players take turns spinning the spinner and follows the direction it
landed on.
 Ruelle 2

Player who spun counts the number of muffins on his

or her own muffin board

Player who spun rolls one dice and puts the matching
number of muffins from his or her muffin board into
the bears bucket

Both players roll one dice each and put the number of
muffins from their own muffin board in the bears
bucket that matches their own dice

Player who spun rolls one dice and takes the matching
number of muffins from the extra ones off to the side
and places them on their muffin board.

What happens if Im out of muffins??

If you do not have enough muffins to match the dice when you need to
put in the bears bucket, give him what you have.
If you do not have any muffins and you have to roll the dice with the
other player, instead of feeding the bear the muffins, take the
matching amount on the dice from the extras on the side and put on
your muffin board.
If you start a turn with zero muffins, instead of spinning the spinner,
roll both dice and take the total amount from both dice from the extra
muffins on the side and place them on your muffin board.
 Ruelle 3

At left: my three daughters (far left is my 4-

year-old Alexa and the other two are 8.) trying
out my game. I didnt print out the directions
so I read them word for word to them, and the
other two seemed to grasp the concept with
very little explanation from me. Alexa
needed more assistance with the game play,
however as I stated in the directions, it is
geared towards adult assistance due to the
young age. Alexa did follow the directions
very well, and she worked really hard to
count out the correct number of muffins. I am
really glad I made the decision to have it be a
group effort game because there was no
bragging, crying, or taunting during play.
While having my daughters try the game, I
also found that this game had some
unexpected skill-building aspects with the
colored muffins. First, the girls had fun being
creative and giving each color a different
flavor, for example the green was pistachio
and the yellow was banana. The girls also worked together to try to give the bear an equal
number of each color muffin, and create patterns with them.
My older daughters, Eva and Sadie, kept asking me
to make up a game or different rules for older kids. I think
the next step to further foster their creativity is to let them
use the game materials to create their own game. Also,
when the bears bucket was full, Sadie decided on her own
to count the muffins left-over and based on the
directions saying the game included 60 muffins, she figured
out how many muffins they fed to the bear. I was
impressed by her curiousity and initiative to use an aspect
babyish (her word, not mine!) game and apply it to a
mathematic concept she is working on at her grade
level. Her work is at right.

Developmental Critique
 Ruelle 4

Because my game is designed for a pre-reading stage of 3- to 5-year-olds, it is important to

mention that while the directions are child friendly for a 7- or 8-year-old, the preschoolers will

need initial direction from an adult.

This game primarily focuses on math skills and social/team building skills. By counting

out the muffins to either replenish your basket, in your own basket, or to feed the bear, the

children are practicing their one-to-one counting skills (every item can only have 1 number

assigned to it,) stable order skills (there is only one order to count in,) and general rote counting

(a goal of 4K is for the child to be able to count the numbers in order up to 20 and hopefully

beyond.) Also, the numbers on the dice help with learning number recognition. For children

who struggle to recognize numbers, there are also the matching number of dots under the

numbers on the dice for counting. This is a team building game as well because the children are

working together to get the bears bucket full. I chose to do it this way instead of having them

compete against each other because that often upsets preschoolers and I wanted them to focus on

the math skills without the stress of winning or losing. When they land on the spot where they

have to feed the bear with a friend, they get to share the task and feed together.

As explained in the class text on page 224, mastering basic principles of math during

preschool years help children learn more difficult math concepts (Kail.) Without being able to

count, how can you learn to add or subtract? Cooperative play begins around age two, and is

typically the norm between children together by the time they are four-years-old (Kail, pg. 446.)

By the game involving teamwork, it is promoting further development of cooperation by having

the children work together towards a common goal (filling the bears bucket with muffins!)

Works Cited
 Ruelle 5

Kail, R (2010.) Children and Their Development. Pearson Education, Inc: United States of

America.

Educational Game Scoring Guide

Scoring Standard
10 = Exemplary, shows evidence of high order thinking; exceeds expectations
8 = Satisfactory criteria met.
5 = Unsatisfactory, criteria attempted
0 = Criteria not attempted
Self- Instructor
evaluation Evaluation
Instructions/Directions (minimum of one page) 10 8 5 0 10 8 5 0
See directions for requirements

Directions Posted to Discussion Board 10 8 5 0 10 8 5 0

Developmental Critique (minimum of 2 paragraphs) 10 8 5 0 10 8 5 0

See directions for requirements. Research is Incorporated;
sources cited

Demonstration 10 8 5 0 10 8 5 0
Game Submitted to Instructor

Game is creative, professional, and developmentally appropriate 10 8 5 0 10 8 5 0

Total48 /50 Total /50