Take Us Home

Explore

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players examine the Take Us Home game board looking for pets to pick up and take to their proper home.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
When first learning the game, parents can help children look for the best path. After children pick up an upside down Pet Tile, encourage them to look at going forwards and backwards to find the fastest path to the pet's proper home.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
When first learning the game, educators can help children look for the best path. After children pick up an upside down Pet Tile, encourage them to look at going forwards and backwards to find the fastest path to the pet's proper home.

Determine

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Take Us Home involves plenty of determining as players decide where to move their Digger Car, what to do when landing on a space, the fastest path to take a pet home and where they can retrieve another face down Pet Tile.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
When first learning the game, parents can help children look for the best path. After children pick up an upside down Pet Tile, encourage them to look at going forwards and backwards to find the fastest path to the pet's proper home.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
When first learning the game, educators can help children look for the best path. After children pick up an upside down Pet Tile, encourage them to look at going forwards and backwards to find the fastest path to the pet's proper home.

Compare

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players compare their Pet Tile with all of the homes on the game board to find the proper home for their pet. Players also compare alternative paths in order to pick the best one to get a pet to the correct home or pick up a face down Pet Tile.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
If children are having difficulty finding the proper home, give directions such as "The bunny lives in a red house" or "The bunny lives near the fish."

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Comparing is one of the primary skills developed playing Take Us Home. It focuses a child's attention to the details of the animal's shape, since the Pet Tile is colored yet the matching image on the game board is grey scale. If children are having difficulty finding the proper home, give directions such as "The bunny lives in a red house" or "The bunny lives near the fish."

Remember

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Take Us Home involves light memory skills as players need to remember what happens based on the spot their Digger Car lands.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
While no special adult support is required, a parent may want to demonstrate what happens on each space several times to ensure younger children understand.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
While no special adult support is required, educators may want to demonstrate what happens on each space several times to ensure younger children understand.

Predict

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Based on the moves of others, players can start to predict which Pet Tiles they may be able to get before someone else does.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Predicting involves skills like analysis, observation, empathy and interpretation. No adult support required. Parents can encourage children to predict to which homes they think other players are trying to move their Digger Cars.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Predicting involves skills like analysis, observation, empathy and interpretation. No special educator support required. Teachers can encourage children to predict to which homes they think other players are trying to move their Digger Cars.

Plan

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players look for Pet Tiles to obtain and homes to take their pets. In both cases, players need to plan the fastest path they can make.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
When first learning the game, parents can help children look for the best path. After children pick up an upside down Pet Tile, encourage them to look at going forwards and backwards to find the fastest path to the pet's proper home.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
When first learning the game, educators can help children look for the best path. After children pick up an upside down Pet Tile, encourage them to look at going forwards and backwards to find the fastest path to the pet's proper home.

Solve

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
As the game proceeds, player's need to make simple strategic decisions of which face down Pet Tiles to pursue.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Encourage children to ""Wait. Look. Think."" This will help with impulsivity, considering options and looking closely. In particular, you want children to look at where other players are moving their Digger Cars. Also, using such cues can give children a model for future play in order to think more strategically.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Take Me Home introduces basic strategic thinking for young children. They need to determine which Pet Tiles to pursue in order to accumulate the most Thank You tokens. This requires looking and evaluating the positions of other players, which are constantly changing throughout the game. Encourage children to "Wait. Look. Think." This will help with impulsivity, considering options and looking closely. Also, using such cues can give children a model for future play in order to think more strategically. "

Cognitive

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Players need to match pictures of animals, recognize numbers on the dice, and be able to move a token with one-to-one correspondence. Players need to understand the meaning of the different pictures and symbols on the board along with corresponding actions. Players with cognitive delays can play with prompting and support from other players.
Ask questions with each move to see if the child understands what to do. With repeated play the child will learn the meaning of the symbols.

Communication

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Although the game can be played without communication, encourage children to count aloud and comment on what they intend to do on the board.
Use the topic of pets to encourage players to talk about their favorite animals, discuss the characteristics of each, and comment on moves in the game.

Sensorimotor

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
The Digger Cars and Pet Tiles are large and thick. Unless children have serious issues with manipulating small objects, they should be able to pick up the Pet Tiles.
The Thank You tokens are small, so other players may need to assist with picking them up.

Social Emotional/Behavioral

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
This is a simple game, that allows children to succeed and feel accomplishment with each pet they return home. If children are impulsive, encourage them to look for the shortest route before they move their token.

Vision

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Take Us Home will be challenging for children with vision concerns. Line drawings of animals on the board will be difficult to distinguish. To help children with vision concerns, place a Thank You token on the house where the player is headed. This will provide a goal marker for the player, and they retrieve the Thank You token when they arrive at the house.

Hearing

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Players do not need to talk, but will want to comment on their animals and moves they are making. Use sign language if possible.

*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards

Extra Ways to Play the Game
This variation is for 2 or 4 players. Either one player or teams of two players sit opposite of the other with game board between them. Each player places their Digger Car on the path circle closest to the player (the "path circle" is one of the two similar spaces on the board where Digger Cars are usually placed to start the game). All tiles are placed face up rather than face down. The rest of the traditional rules apply. Ultimately, players or teams of two scramble to get the most total pets.

Materials Needed
No additional materials needed.

Developmental Benefits
This team version encourages players to communicate about which paths to take to maximize their opportunities against the other team. The team that takes home the most pets wins.

Extra Ways to Play the Game
Make an exception to the rule of not landing on the same spot as another player. The person with the least pets can land on same spot as any player who is currently trying to take a pet home. By doing this, the player steals the other player's "take home" pet and takes it home them self.

Materials Needed
No additional materials needed.

Developmental Benefits
This modification adds an element of surprise to the game.