So, what is this new indoor activity I am talking about?
A new indoor play area maybe? Or a summer camp you had not heard of yet?

Well, not really.

The activity I am talking about doesn’t require any organisation. Or inscription. Or drive around Dubai. It is perfect for (very) early mornings. Even on weekends. Above all on weekends. And for lazy afternoons. When the thermometer is hitting 45 degrees C.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a company called asking me if I wanted to try out some educational games that are newly available in Dubai and very different from what you would get in toy stores here. I was intrigued. So, I agreed.

is run by a Montessorian and a mum of two whose aim it is to get both kids and parents unplug from gadgets and spend more time together again. I met Tripti two weeks ago and found her really inspirational. She was supposed to come to our apartment for a quick company presentation but, after 2 hours, we were still sitting in our living room, playing with my eldest, talking about kids and life in Dubai. I love her idea of reviving family games. And the ones she showed me rapidly won me over with their innovative, fun and educational character.

The games are divided into different age categories: 2 – 3.5 years, 3.5 – 6 years, 6 to 9 years and family games. With Luca, we are currently trying out some of the games for toddlers. And he is really into them! I am surprised how interested he is. How concentrated and calm when we play. I think Luca enjoys the fact that we are doing an activity together. That I am sitting down with him and focus on the game for a while. And on him. Only on him.

Here are some of his favourite games:

Phonic Match

Phonic Match is a great game to practice the alphabet in a playful way. When Luca and me played it for the first time it kept us busy for an hour or two. You basically have to pick the four cards that go with each alphabet board and identify the one odd sounding card that doesn’t go with the rest.

Hex-a-form

Hex-a-form is a sorting game, which includes four hexagons featuring different shapes. The aim is to sort the different picture cards according to the shape and place them around the matching hexagons. Luca really liked this game. After some time, we started looking for circles and rectangles, triangles and squares everywhere in our apartment as well. And it was actually loads of fun. Even on a Friday morning at 7am haha

Stitch in time

A very simply but nice stitching game to develop hand and eye coordination. Luca loved the pictures and wanted to do the stitching by himself. It’s a bit tricky though. So, it’s good to be there to help and motivate 😉

Season wise

Maybe my personal favourite as there is so much to tell! The game includes four season boards, some props and many cards with beautiful pictures of animals we see, activities we do and events we celebrate during the year. Kids need to think which season the pictures belong to and place them on the right season board. It’s an amazing game for my little expat kid who doesn’t know much about winter, for example 😉 It is supposed to build language and reasoning skills and I think that’s what it does. Luca asked me so many questions while we were playing the game!

I really like these  games. There might be no fancy branding but who needs that?

All of the games are really simple to understand and play. Nothing worse than having to read ten pages of instructions before being able to start a game…

I also love the fact that the games come in easy-to-carry-around kits that you can pack in your handbags and take with you to doctor appointments or on holidays. I am planning to take the smaller ones on the plane with us when we will be travelling to Europe this summer.

They are made out of safe and non-toxic materials. So, it’s not a big deal when little sister is chewing on them (and yes, this does happen pretty often).

And, last but not least, they are really affordable, starting at AED 35! The overall price range is AED 35 to 160.

Currently, the games are sold on souq.com and will soon be available on Mumzworld.com as well. If you have any questions or want to see some of the games, however, the best is to get in touch with Tripti. You can call/whatsapp her on one of the following numbers: & .

Hope you will enjoy the games as much as we do 😉

xxx

In case you are interested in the other age categories as well, here are some examples:

Age group: 3.5 to 6 years

Giant World Map Game

This giant world map is a lot like the twister game, but more educational. The game includes a set of cards with country names and arms/ legs mentioned. How it works: Read out the country name & specify an arm/leg (eg: right leg/Spain). The child has to place the specified arm/leg on the specific country on the map. A great game to play at birthday parties and play dates.

Clever Dog

The clever, adorable dog knows his left from right and right from wrong. Quick to spot the happy from the sad, he always knows his opposites. How it works: Place all the 20 cards on the table, put the frame in front of you. Take an orange card and place it on the left in the frame. Search for the matching opposite (blue tokens) and place it on the right in the frame. Have you found the correct opposite pair? Check your result by placing the Dog, in the holes of the cards. Check your answers immediately and self correct.

Age group: 6 to 9 years

World Bingo

Fun way to learn about countries. World Bingo helps children learn locations and names of different countries.
It is played just like Tambola/ Housie. The referee picks and reads out the country name from the cards, and the children have to colour the country being read out if and only if it is marked on their respective re-usable world map sheet. Once you’re done marking 3 countries in a continent, shout out BINGO and conquer the continent! The child who finishes marking all countries on the world map sheet first will be the king of the world! A great game to play at birthday parties and play dates.

Grammar wise

Mr Noun, Ms Pronoun, Mr Verb and Ms Adjective are scattered all over. Get to know them better and test your English grammar. Can you help them find their best matched friends? And they can help you create new sentences. A game that will get you exercising your colour and language muscles at the same time!

Family Games

Why connect

Help the picture tiles make friends with each other by finding out how they can connect. A reasoning game that tests and builds upon your ability to reason, categorise and identify relationships between objects. The game taps into higher order thinking capacities, promoting logical thinking & categorical reasoning. It builds cognitive flexibility while promoting a deeper level of processing & engagement with the ideas. Requires visual processing. Encourages communication skills.

Rolling tales

The dice have rolled all the way from Storyville to help you create fun and interesting stories. Each dice has picture clues to help you get started. Play with one or all of them to create unique tales. The game helps advance oral & written expression. Promotes imagination & creative thinking. Encourages emotional expression & helps to create stories with emotions & details. Promotes self – expression & confidence.