War

Today we are learning how to play the card game - War. "Why are you teaching them how to play card games?" you may ask (and I am glad you did). We are learning how to compare numbers quickly to see which number is the largest in a set. It started with some simple rules, but we added some more rules as we played. We sorted a deck into cards by suit; leaving the King, Queen, and Jack out. Each kid got their own set of cards and was given a partner. The cards sit in a pile face down. Each player turned over the card on the top. The kid with the larger number wins. They continue through the sets of cards. At first we did not have a winner if the partners turned the same number over. Later we added a rule to take care of that problem. When two players turn over the same number, each player turns over three more cards; saying "I declare war." When the third card is turned over, the pair of kids compare the card on top of each pile. The player with the largest number, wins all of the cards played in that turn. By the end of the week we will also add the face cards; Jack, Queen, and King. We will also learn how to divide the cards by dealing them in a group - one card at a time.

This is an easy card game that can be played almost anywhere. I hope that they enjoyed it!