Playing Games The Old-Fashioned Way

Now that we are full-swing into the year-end holidays, the girls literally have a lot of time on their hands after a very busy and intense school year. They did not have any holiday programmes this time round, and they spent their long days luxuriously, without any schedules or objectives.

And that was how I remember my own school holidays as a kid too. There were no tuition in the holidays back in those days, not a lot of play dates and definitely no holiday enrichment programmes! So, I would spend my long days with my brother, cooking up ideas to play with - ranging from us being pretend DJs and recording countless radio programmes (on cassette tapes!) to playing restaurant or clinic. All I remember of those days was our unfettered happiness and carefree spirit. And I want the Bees to remember their school holidays in the same way too - unshackled and free!

So, they spent their days doing what they want. This is also an especially busy time at work for me, so they were literally left to their own devices the whole day. I am glad my mother is a great help though. She always believes in healthy, robust activities conducted in the great outdoors which do not involve paying, so she would bring them for walks in the park and badminton games.

And every night when I am back from work, we would try to play board games as a family. Every sort of board games from Scrabble to Blokus to Game Of Life to Monopoly to UNO!

The girls always enjoy strategizing against me in Blokus, which always resulted in me being the last! 

We are board game junkies from eons back, and have a good collection of board games at home. We will usually bring these out during the holidays to play games the good old-fashioned way. Compared to the instant, one-to-one and anti-social gratifications of iPad and mobile phone apps which I never approve of, playing board games slows time down, allowing for turn-taking, enforcing understanding, patience and empathy. Most importantly, we laughed together, jeered together, poked fun at one another together. What a wonderful way to bond!

Their all-time favourite - Game Of Life! I guess the reality depicted in this game appeals to them.