When people see the number of books we own, they assume that we are a family of avid readers. In a way, that is true, but the reality is that we do prefer audiobooks over reading a book. My husband and I like to listen to a book while driving or doing housework; it helps us focus on what we are doing. Our daughter also likes to listen to books while doing artwork or while driving. Sitting down and reading a book for more than an hour has never been our thing; we just can't sit still long enough! So when we need our daughter to practice reading aloud, we have different strategies. One of them is Bingo - the Natural Science by eeBoo.
The object of Natural Science Bingo is to be the first player to fill a game board with Natural History tiles. The game has six categorized game cards with eight (8) illustrations of names of natural history items, one free square, forty-eight (48) playing pieces with illustrations, names, and facts, and a drawstring bag. The categories include:
Mammals | Under the Water | Fossils & Minerals | Flowers & Bugs | Birds & Leaves | Weather & Celestial |
Hippopotamus | Why the Sea is Salty | Fossil | Praying Mantis | Cuckoo | Why the Sky is Blue |
Polar Bear | Bioluminescence | Diamond | Dung Beetle | Raffia Palm | Shooting Star |
Kangaroo | X-Ray Fish | Salt | Spider | Hummingbird | Clouds |
Chimpanzee | Clownfish & Sea Anemone | Feathered Dinosaur | Venus Flytrap | Ginkgo Leaf | Snowflakes |
Aye Aye | Narwal | Mercury | Walking Stick | Poison Leaves | Lightning |
Beaver | Deepest Place in the Ocean | Pumice | Dandelion | Ostrich | Tornado |
Koala | Axolotl | Minerals | Largest Flower | Fall Foliage | Orion |
Dolphin | Sea Horse | Smallest Dinosaur | Parts of a Flower | Flamingo | Rainbow |
How to play
For two-six players, a player is selected to be the Bingo Caller, who reaches into the bag, pulls out a tile, names the image, and shows the other players the tile. Players check their board to find the image called. The player whose board includes the images take the tile and reads the back of the card aloud. It is placed on the proper square on the player's board. If it doesn't match, it is set aside, and play continues until one of the players fills all eight spaces on the game board and calls out "Bingo."
The game allows the players to read aloud and learn a new fun fact. I love this game and enjoy playing it with my daughter as it allows us to read aloud to one another without it being a formal setting, no judging, just trying to complete the board and win the game. The game takes about 30 minutes to play, depending on the number of players and how fast you can read - but when talking about fun facts about different natural elements, the game could run a little longer.
Melissa Sweet illustrated the game for eeBoo, and it is made with a recycled board and printed on FSC-certified paper with vegetable-based inks. This game is a must-have for any family that values what nature offers and enjoys a quick game of Bingo!
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