A Silly Little Game for Toddlers

One of the things I love about having a toddler is that almost anything can become a fun game.

After a little Mardi Gras party thrown by a neighbor, we ended up with a bunch of strings of plastic beads. While I was nursing the baby one morning, Ella laid all the necklaces out on the floor, carefully arranging them just so and then announced that I needed to guess what they were (I was very bad at this, but she was patient with my low abilities).

Once the baby was in bed, I sat down on the floor with her and we spent nearly an hour arranging the necklaces into different animals. I’d make some and she’d guess what they were. Then she got on of her favorite books of animals (Life-Size Zoo) and called out animals for me to make (I drew the line when she wanted me to make a sloth… ).

I was pretty impressed by my own abilities and when I made my husband look at the pictures later, he correctly guessed 11 out of 12 of them! Can you guess them too?

Octopus

I started with a nice easy one. When Ella immediately guessed this one, it really built up my confidence.

Alligator

Watch your fingers! This one bites.

Bat

This one was not my most impressive.

Llama

Or giraffe. Take your pick. I thought the little squat body definitely was more llama-esque.

Shark

That fin is pretty ominous looking, isn’t it?

Fox

Ella guessed cat, but those long ears are DEFINITELY more fox, yes?

Rhino

Maybe you’re thinking it looks more like a dinosaur but I am wildly proud of this little rhino.

Rabbit

The little bunny ears could be a little less deformed, but so it goes.

Snake

Easy peasy!

Fish

At first, I thought I’d only be able to come up with about one animal outline, but as I got into the swing of it, I was amazed how many kept popping into my mind!

Camel

I am really grateful for animals with recognizable physical attributes (although an elephant turned out to be impossible for me to make. Ella told me, “It SORT of looks like an elephant” but I think she was just placating me).

Tapir

I cannot tell you how impressed I was when my husband correctly identified this one. I am a necklace-animal-making machine!

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