My Very First Games: Go, Go, Little Penguin!
My Very First Games: Go, Go, Little Penguin! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
3 big penguins, 3 baby penguins, 1 game board, 2 fish, 1 die, 1 rulebook
Note for Parents
Dear Parents,
We're happy that you have chosen this game from the My Very First Games series. You have made a good choice and have given your child a gift with many tools that will help them discover their world and develop through play.
These instructions offer you plenty of tips for how you can discover the game components with your child and use them for different game ideas. In free play, your child can play with the penguins, stack them on top of each other, or move them around the game board in role play. In the game, your child will develop different skills and abilities: first counting and matching symbols, fine motor skills, concentration, and language. Above all, however, playing these games is simply fun! So learning happens while they play, almost without effort.
Wishing you lots of fun while playing and discovering together,
Your Inventors for Children
Discover free play and details
Your child can engage with the game materials during free play. Play with your child! Explore the illustrations on the game board together. Before the first game, talk about the many details, the big penguin parents, and their babies. Show your child how the big penguins stand over the little ones and walk along the path as a penguin pair. Practice rolling the die correctly with your child and have them move forward the number of steps corresponding to the number they rolled.
With children that are a little older and already familiar with the game components, you can ask questions about the penguins and the game board. Some examples are: Where is the mole/mouse/ladybug/frog, etc.? How many ducklings are swimming in the water? Did you see the snail? Take a look at the nests: Which toys are in there? Count the white flowers.
Key to the game board illustration:
- Goal = Plate
- Path = Stones, tree trunks, planks
- Start = Penguin nests
Before Starting
Assemble the game board with your child and put it in the middle of the table. Place the two fish on the plate. This is the penguins' goal. Each child chooses a penguin baby with the big penguin to match. Place both in any free nest. Have the die ready.
Now Let's Get Started
Children take turns and play in a clockwise direction. The first child to think of a black and white animal may roll the die first.
Ask the child: What does the die show?
- 1, 2, or 3 small penguin footprints? Take your baby penguin and move forward the corresponding number of spaces.
- 1, 2 or 3 big penguin footprints? Take your big penguin and move forward the corresponding number of spaces.
Note:
- Each penguin pair has its own path. Only on this path can the children move their penguins forward towards the fish plate.
- The big penguin and the penguin baby don't walk along the whole path as a penguin pair.
- Has the big penguin landed on the space where the baby penguin is standing? Then your child places the big penguin over the baby penguin and forms a penguin pair. Has your child rolled big penguin footsteps in the next round? Then the penguin pair stays together. Your child moves the big penguin forward together with the baby penguin. Or, has your child rolled small penguin footsteps in the next round? Then the penguin pair separates again - the baby penguin hops forward happily. Your child leaves the big penguin where it is and only moves the baby penguin forward.
- Has the baby penguin arrived at the fish plate before the big penguin? Then it has to wait for its big penguin, because the fish will taste better together. Your child may now move the big penguin forward even if they roll small penguin footprints.
Now it's the next child's turn to roll the die.
End of the game
The game ends as soon as the big penguin and its baby penguin have arrived at the fish plate. It doesn't matter whether the baby penguin or both arrive there first. This child has won and their penguin pair gets the two fish as a reward.
Winning and Losing
Winning and losing is part of playing! The winner will be really proud. But other players might be sad, disappointed, and sometimes even angry. Respond to your child in any situation, celebrate with them or comfort them. Children who have just lost need reassurance and need to know that there is another chance for them to do better in the next game. This makes them emotionally able to cope with the ups and downs in life.
Penguin Facts
There are 18 different types of penguin. Most of them live in the southern hemisphere. Some live in the cold ice of Antarctica. Others prefer the sun and live on the beaches of South Africa and Chile, for example.
Penguins are birds but cannot fly. But they are very good swimmers and can dive deep into the water, where they look for food. When penguins are on land, they waddle on their two feet. They can also slide over the ice on their stomachs. Their coat of feathers is very dense and keeps them warm even in cold water.
When a pair of penguins meet, they rub their heads together to greet each other. Some types of penguins build nests on the ground, while others look for crevices and caves for their eggs. In Antarctica, king penguins and emperor penguins carry their eggs on their feet and warm them up under a fold of skin on their stomach. Freshly hatched chicks also sit there until they are ready to go off on their own.