At first glance the game is simple. Almost too simple, one might think. That’s a big mistake we tend to make. Toddlers thrive on simplicity. They are bright wandering minds trying to figure out a trillion concepts at all once. More often than not their little minds are probably overwhelmed.
This game consists of them mimicking eating and pretending to feed the bear – similar to playing “baby” with a doll. Toddlers love practicing the concepts they have learned. They love teaching their dolls what they know – feeding them, putting them to sleep, and strolling them around. Both of my children (2 and 4 years old) were enchanted by this game: Hungry as a Bear.
As soon as I set the game on the table my 2 year old asked for the spoon. “Poom! Poom!” – he says. He carefully places strawberries – his favorite – on the spoon and slowly feeds the bear. We practice his vocabulary by repeating the names of the foods he is feeding the bear: Potatoes, strawberries, spinach, blueberries (he still has difficulty pronouncing this one but we are working on it), and carrots!
And then you hear that little voice announcing proudly that he did it. Looking at those big eyes brighten when he feels accomplished always melts me. “Sito!” – he says (“Osito” is bear in Spanish).
You can choose Free Play or play one of the games. There are 3 games:
Game #1
Rumble, rumble – little bear is very hungry.
This is the star game of the pack. It teaches your children how to roll the dice, match the drawing on the dice with the drawing in the cards, practice their fine motor skills as they hold the spoon and feed the bear and learn to wait for their turn as they play with other kids.
Game #2
Chomp, chomp – little bear is starving.
This is my 4 year-old’s favorite. You play it in a similar fashion that you play the memory game. She gets so excited every time she turns 2 cards and they match. Love.
Game #3
Have a guess: what is my f-f-favorite dish?
This is a cute, fun game to play with 3+. It consists of guessing what the other kids favorite dish is.
This is a very sweet game. Great to encourage little ones' fine motor and language skills. But the real reviewer here is ultimately the child, no? So I asked my 4 year old what she thought about the game and this was her answer: “I love it.”