5
ENGLISH
My Very First Games
Let the game begin
The children proceed clockwise. The child who has been gardening most recently starts,
rolling the die.
Ask the child: Which color do you see on the die?
•
White/blue/green?
Proceeding clockwise, move Gardener Gabriel to the next square of the same color.
Hint: The tip of Molly’s nose always points in the direction Gardener Gabriel should move.
She can help the children recognize which way to move.
Ask the child: Can you see Molly mole on this square?
• Yes, there is Molly Mole!
Molly Mole pays the garden a visit. Take the biggest of the molehill tiles lying next to the
game board and place it in the center of the game board (earth face up). When all molehill
tiles have been placed in the center, place Molly on top of the hill.
• No.
Super! Gabriel now looks after his patches; take a good look at the patch cards. Choose any
of the patches on the game board and place a corresponding big patch card there.
If a patch card is already on the chosen patch, the child takes the next smaller patch card
corresponding to the plant marker, and places it on top. And so, bit by bit, the plants grow.
Now, it is the next player’s turn to roll the die.
The patches are laid beginning with the largest and working up to
the smallest. The plant markers indicate which patch card belongs
to which patch. You can integrate the little story you invented
prior to beginning the game, drawing your child’s attention to the
different growth stages, how the plants look, and so on. This way you
stimulate his/her vocabulary and language skills. The game playfully
familiarizes children with the life cycle of garden plants (sowing,
sprouting, blossoming, harvesting).
End of game
As soon as all tulips are flowering and all fruits have grown in the patches, i.e. all patch cards
have been placed on the game board, the children have collectively won the game.
If, however, Molly Mole is sitting on top of her molehill before the carrots and strawberries are
ripe and the tulips in flower, the children have unfortunately lost. This time Molly Mole was
quicker than the little gardeners. So it’s time to turn over the earth and sow some new seeds!