The other day I was at my niece’s open house and was invited to play a round of the card game UNO. “Sure!” I excitedly replied reflecting back on the days where you forced your opponent to “draw 4” and having to anxiously choose a color for the next player to hopefully not have in their hand… Coming back to reality as my hand of cards was dealt to me I was in complete shock… First, the colors were ORANGE TEAL PURPLE AND PINK… wait am I remembering the wrong game? Second, the arrows and symbols were not “skip” “reverse” or “draw 2″… Clearly reading the confusion on my face my opponent (a different niece) said, “flip your cards over!” Sure enough in doing so I was viewing the original cards I was picturing in my happy reminiscing day dreams. I had to relearn the game UNO with a twist and try to keep my competitiveness and confusion at bay.
This is a wonderful reminder of some of the beautiful components of playing games…
1) Learning a new game as a way to provide connection and build relationships. Playing this new version of a game allowed me to connect with my nieces in a way I haven’t in a while. I learned a new style they play and I taught them the way I played in the past. We laughed, joked, smiled, and simply spent time together. Compared and contrasted our ways of playing a game but still remained positively connected and able to debate why “our” way was “more fun.”
2) Patience, Turn Taking, Strategy and Intention – I speak often of the fast paced world we live in. Playing a game allows you to slow down and step away from the; busy scene at a get together, hustle and bustle of a classroom of children, or crowds at a tournament or game hall. Your focus is able to be on your next turn, play or move. You can learn new ways to strategize by playing with new people or patiently awaiting another player to take their turn and communicating regarding their reasoning and intention.
Sure, I was confused majority of the time. My strategies and patience were tested during this game of “UNO Flip.” But honestly, it wasn’t about winning, or even reminiscing… The most important part was time spent with the little ladies I love. The ones I love watching grow, learn and navigate the world around them. Until the next game I learn I will be practicing this so called UNO Flip cause yes I did buy it at Target for 5.99$ because this aunty will not be defeated so badly the next round we play!
The Transforming Teacher 