Candyland's Life Lessons

In an article in the Poughkeepsie Journal, Anthony Farmer writes about playing Candyland with his 3-year-old son, and the lessons that both he and his boy are learning from the time they spend together.

For generations, boys and girls have enjoyed Candyland as their first board game. The color-themed game requires no reading on the part of the players and is easy for even the youngest of children to follow. Players move their primary-colored gingerbread people around the rainbow path, moving through the Peppermint Stick Forest by matching the color spaces to the colors on the pick deck. The player who reaches the Candy Castle first wins.

As a primary learning game, Candyland fosters a child's exposure to following directions, taking turns, color recognition and count skills. The game promotes thinking as well as patience in the form of waiting one's turn to play.

If you have a young child that hasn't yet played Candyland, take the time to introduce him or her to this enchanting board game. It's a great way to spend time together, both of you will be richer for the experience, and you may just help to start someone on a lifetime journey of fun and discovery.

Note: This is an archive post; it was originally published on February 25, 2006.