Raise your hand if your family likes to laugh. (Check).
Raise your hand if you like to help them learn, too. (Check).
Now raise your hand if you love to be silly with your kids.
Even if you need a little help in that department, Game 6 in this series Why This Game is Good for Your Child’s Brain has got you covered.
Introducing:
Game #6: Pencil Nose
When I first saw this game I immediately thought about the goofiest spelling technique that I ever learned. Let me explain.
Do your kids have trouble spelling? Let them get their noses into it. What?!
Okay, before you think that I’ve completely lost my mind, you first need to understand a little about crossing the midline.
Crossing the Midline
Our midline is the vertical center of our body. Imagine a long string that is tied directly above the center of your head. Now imagine letting one end of the string fall in front of you, straight down to the ground between your feet.
That string is now in front of your midline. It represents the dividing line between your left side and right side.
The most important bit here is the midline of our brains.
Some kids have trouble crossing the midline. If the left arm, for instance, doesn’t easily cross over to the right side of the body, then the brain is not really communicating as efficiently as possible.
We practice crossing the midline in order to get both sides of the brain working together.
Pencil Nose does just that. (It’s actually a pen, but somehow “Pen Nose” doesn’t sound quite so catchy.)
Step 1) Attach a pen to your nose with the specially designed glasses. (The video demo is hysterical. See the link at the end of this post.)
Step 2) Draw something with the pen. By drawing something with the pen attached to your nose, you naturally cross the midline.
Step 3) Your teammates guess what your drawing is supposed to be.
What I Love About Pencil Nose
First of all, the silliness is off the charts.
If your kids have a great sense of humor, they’re going to love it.
Pencil nose requires quick thinking, so in a way your kids are working on speeding up their processing skills without even knowing it.
By quickly guessing what you’re drawing, kids strengthen communication skills.
It’s fun.
It’s creative.
It gets the entire family belly-rolling.
And the number one reason that I love Pencil Nose likely has nothing to do with what it was designed for.
Remember that spelling technique that I mentioned earlier? As effective as it is, sometimes it can be a hard sell for older students. Getting their noses in on the act can feel a little, let’s say, too silly for some kids trying to hang onto their dignity.
With Pencil Nose, silliness is built right in! And THAT helps the act of spelling with your nose feel completely natural.
Is it weird to practice spelling words with your nose? No! Of course not! (Okay, maybe a little, but we like weird. Weird is good!)
You’ll find the video demonstration of Pencil Nose here.
Plus, you can check out the rest of the games in this series here:
Next up, Game #7.