"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" came with our subscription, and we've really been enjoying it. I love that this includes a really soothing narrative as the framework for the game. The British woman who narrates these has a really nice voice for bedtime, and I hope they continue to employ her -- she also voices the Math Alchemist game.
Since it is one single story, I was surprised that my child has gone back to this game several times since we've gotten it. What I like about it is that it contains many different skill building games: (1) ordering clothes; (2) knock on the door; (4) long press on the cube to open the door; (5) putting together a maze that ends in the kitchen (6) matching chairs; (7) ordering porridge by size and selecting Goldilock's favorite -- although I am not sure why there seem to be four options there (8) ordering beds by size (9) remembering the order of the narrative (10) constructing a chair. In other words, the games help to review the idea of order, in terms of size, shape, spatial reasoning, and sequence, but in different means/styles to help keep the child's attention.
We've also talked about the story in other contexts to convey the idea of "moderation" -- not too much or not too little -- in terms of eating sweets, etc. It helps that we have also already heard about the "Goldilocks principle," which also applies to the idea of inhabitable planets.
In this story, G also is fearful of the bears, who turn out to be very patient and kind. Recently, my child has also repeated what Papa Bear says, "Accidents happen, but we can fix them," when we knock something over, etc., and I think that it is helping his socio-emotional management in that regard. We also talk about being guests and being hosts -- like G, we need to ask before we go over to someone's house. Like the bears, we should welcome people to feel comfortable in our home. Our child is 4 and a half and really enjoys playdates and wants friends, but needs some pointers sometimes.
The fact that this is a narrative with a conclusion, and is also a soothing narrative, helps it to be a good "last game before bed," since there is no disputing when it is over.
I am not sure I would have bought this card without the subscription, since it's just one story and I thought my child would tire of it quickly, but it is a huge win for me. My experience is that Tokidos is usually 15-30 minutes of very concentrated attention, but he's gone back to it across multiple days. My family sort of rolls my eyes when they see me purchase another screen-free toy, but with more exposure to Tokidos, my husband has come around to seeing how really helpful this system is, with the ability to grow with our child. I'm taking the time to write this because I hope Tokidos stays in business and continues to create/support the games.
Also, if Tokidos is listening -- please let us know if our subscriptions will carry over to a second year, and what some of those cards might be; I've bought some additional cards at the younger age point (totally worth it!), and would like to know if it would be good to buy some of the newer cards or if I could wait for next year.
