Monopoly

For Christmas, our eight-year-old son received the game Monopoly as a gift. In early January, we started playing a game. We decided to play for awhile, take a picture of the board and continue playing the same game. We played that game for two months, and it ended with our son having gobs of money and my husband and I borrowing from each other so we could pay the rent on all of his properties with hotels. This was his first time playing this game, and he played it like a pro. He was strategic in his deals and purchases. If someone landed on Park Place or Boardwalk (he owned them and starting putting houses on them right away) and didn't have the money, he asked for properties, one at a time, for rent. He was able to put houses and hotels on them, which meant more rent for him, and his parents (who were pretty much working together at this point), were clearly in over their heads. He payed attention early, figured out how the game works quickly, learned from the mistakes he made along the way, and played well.

This is how this kid had been from the time he was a baby. He would watch with his serious baby expression, figure it out, and then do it. He didn't walk until he was almost 15 months old, but when he figured it out, off he went. One day he took a few steps, then later that day he took 15 steps and then he was walking. He didn't do a whole lot of falling. Learning to read was similar. He is so focused on the task at hand--on what he is learning. He watches, eyes furrowed and focused, pays attention, learns right away from his mistakes and continues. There isn't anything this kid can't figure out when he puts his mind to it.

Last weekend we finished up that game, and last night we started a new one. Our son zeroed in on attaining Park Place and Boardwalk because that is what worked for him last time. He passed up on other properties so that he would have enough money to buy the ones he wanted. And wouldn't you know, that kid got both of those properties naturally. And then his mother landed on Boardwalk right after he acquired it and had to pay double rent.