Keeping a three-year-old entertained all day in a way that's both enjoyable for her and for me isn't always easy.  That's why I love finding games of all kinds that we can play together, which also help her develop new skills.

I've long been a fan of Peaceable Kingdom's Cooperative Games, which allow you to play together with your child instead of compete against them.  Riley and I recently had the chance to review the Snug as a Bug in a Rug board game from Peaceable Kingdom.  Keep reading to learn more!

The Snug as a Bug in a Rug game from Peaceable Kingdom focuses primarily on developing matching skills and being able to compare and contrast different looking bugs and why they will or won't work with what the spinner and/or die indicates.  Simply spin the spinner and find a matching bug.  If you do, then slip it under the rug.  Everyone works together to get all the colorful bugs under the rug before the three stinkbugs release their smelliness around the room.

There are three levels of difficulty to this game, ensuring that it will grow right along with your child's skill set.  In Level 1, a roll of the die is all that is needed to determine which bug attribute will be matched for the entire game - color, number or shape.  In Level 2, both a roll of the die and a spin on the spinner complicate players' abilities to find a match.  Level 3 requires players to match two attributes in matches.

This game is very easy to both learn and teach, and within minutes, Riley and I were hard at play...working together to find those matching bugs.  Since she is only three-years-old, we played the game on Level 1.  I could see the sparkle in her eyes and her enthusiasm jump through the roof when she found a match and could put a bug under the rug.

The great thing is that when she got stuck, I could help her without appearing to be helping her.  I was just another teammate trying to find matching bugs, after all.  :big grin:  In the age where toddlers want to do everything by themselves, it was great to be able to provide help without aggravating her sense of independence.

The delightful cooperative board games from Peaceable Kingdom offer non-stressful play situations, promote self-esteem, offer a sense of community and initiate problem solving.  I highly recommend the Snug as a Bug in a Rug game for your little one.  I never thought I'd have this much fun encouraging my child to put bugs under a rug!  :rofl: