The Alphabet party

When was the last time you did something completely different from what you usually do?

Most scientific studies reiterate how important it is to deviate from routines and do things differently every now and then, in order to stimulate your brain cells and improve creativity. The older we get, the more set in our patterns we become. Routines are hard to break and sometimes we don’t even think about them.

I don’t know about the scientific studies, but it’s definitely refreshing to break routines and do a different thing once in a while. We did something really different yesterday. We (The four of us, as a family) played a nice little game that I made up. I called it 'The Alphabet party'.

“Girls versus Boys” said my son, and we agreed. So father-son duo was in one team and my daughter and I were in the other.

The game was fairly simple. We had to turn the English Alphabets (Capital letters) into a picture and then make a sentence connected to the picture starting with that alphabet. I demonstrated with A so that the others would get an idea.


“Ladies first,” said my husband and so we started. My seven year old daughter quickly turned B into a butterfly. And then it was the Boys turn.

My husband turned C into Charlie who was frowning at work—maybe his boss had given him a hard time!

“Typically male,” I commented, but secretly I thought it was quite smart.

We had so much fun playing this game as we had to think ‘out of the box’ and think creatively.

My personal favourites were G which my son (who is 11) cleverly turned into a goat. I also liked what my daughter did with L. I allowed myself a little pat on my own back for what I did with H.

But the best of all, the one that took the prize and one which I really treasure is what my son did with M! I loved it!! Loved what my daughter did with N .I was amazed at that feisty ‘never-say-die’ and ‘never-give-up’ spirit which the picture managed to convey, which is so like her.

Try this game with your kids, if you have children and they are old enough to play it. Try it with your spouse if you are married or play it with friends if you are single—Or if friends do not want to play you can also play it by yourself, and see how much your mind stretches when you try!

I’d love to see what you’ve done with the alphabets—if you send me pictures[ on ps@preetisatish.com] I’ll put up the best ones in my next post.[My children will be the judge of which ones are the best!] Or if you have a blog, you can put it up yourself, leave me a comment and I’ll surely come and see.

I’m waiting for this evening to complete the game (we played only till N).

Want to play?

Comments

  1. A bright smile lit my smile when I saw u updated on my blogroll:-D

    Easy to see that u had a good time with the Alphabets......
    my kids love to have alphabet soup ....more than drinking it they have fun searching out the letter to make words out of it:-P

    I'm sure we'll have fun.....will try this with the kids & let u know how it goes:-))

    And as usual......a wonderful post. Thank U!!!!!

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  2. My personal favorite was the D for Dog... Very artistic. PS, I noticed from your handwriting from Alphabet A, that you use the really complex form of small letter g. Now that style is used by a very few in the world.. (just a thought :D ). PPS - Nothing stops me by ur kiddo! - Hats off to her imagination (and ur male teams too :P )

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  3. Thats a very nice game. will def try with friends or family..and will send u snaps too.

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  4. Wonderful game!

    I bet all four of you had a wonderful time!

    Hows London coming along?

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  5. Wow!! superb game...
    will play it with many of my friends for sure!
    i loved the game.

    keep rocking
    swetha

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  6. What an innovative idea. Loved it.

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  7. each one was so lovely and creative...and yes...my vote goes for M too....brilliant and so heartening.
    Would love to try this one too...waiting for the exams to get done now.
    How're things in the new place???

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  8. such a creative idea... Hats Off to you...
    Though I dont have kids..i will try playing with hubby and frenz on weekend...it will be so much fun!!!

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  9. M for Mother is my favorite. :-) Might've been one of the best Mama moments for you right?

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  10. Cool game..my daughter would love it. Will surely try it out. But the ideas you guys have come up with are really amazing! What imagination! So settled down out there?

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  11. Nice one! I wish I had someone to play with...:(

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  12. Nice to see your blog Preeti! Great creativity on the invention:-)
    Sounds like lot of fun! Will try it out when i get a chance!!! Both M & N Rocks:-)
    -Durga

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  13. this is simply awesome.. i mean, really. Brings out the creative nature in those kids ( and dare I say the parents too ).. Patent it if it ain't done already. you'd make a bundle :)

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  14. Lovely! :) Interesting and challenging game, and for people who love word games this one would be a 'rocker'! but pulling in people (family) would take some effort though, nevertheless shall give it a try!
    refreshing post! :)

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  15. This looks like so much fun.

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  16. Sounds fun! Loved the 'M' one :)

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  17. Very creative! Gonna see if the hubby likes this twist to the word games we play regulalry! Will let u know if we like our work:)


    So have u guys settled in at ur new home? Sent u a msg on FB as well..but didn't hear back. Hope all went well with the move?

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  18. Your kids are geniuses! :) I loved L :)

    Just a thought: A small twist in the game could be to pick random alphabets. If it goes sequentially the other team gets time to think their next picture :)

    Brilliant game! Will try it out for sure. And yes, will mail you across the sheet as and when I play the game.

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  19. What a great idea...i'll definately try with my family!!I likje the Goat illustration best!

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  20. What a great idea...i'll definately try with my family!!I likje the Goat illustration best!

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  21. What a great idea...i'll definately try with my family!!I likje the Goat illustration best!

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  22. What a great idea...i'll definately try with my family!!I likje the Goat illustration best!

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  23. :-)

    [...should comment or should..oh wait]

    :-)

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  24. What an amazing idea!
    sounds like so much fun and such a great opportunity to bond with family!
    :)
    hope you are settled in now :)
    -the other shru

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  25. ohh that sounds like fun!! :) i would def love to try it with my parents when i go back home! (altho im pretty sure my brother being the teenager that he is, will shoot down this idea faster than i can even explain it!! *eyes rolling*)

    Atul is quite innovative and i loove Purvi's 'nothing can stop me' attitude! :) This girl is def gonna go far Preeti! :)

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  26. wow, this is a nice idea.. will try to do it when we plan team games next time :) and did I say that I am happy to see an update here :)

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  27. Every sentence is so witty! I loved the 'Love will find a way'coming from Purvi. Wow!! and 'Dogs don't have their way' !!

    I hope your journey was fine and you're beginning to settle there :-)

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  28. cool n creative game!
    D and G get the prizes :P
    How are u?

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  29. thats a great idea.. n the fact that all 4 of u sat thru it is some patience n creativity.. wow!

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  30. such a creative idea..will definetly try it.. kids are soo bright!..hope u are settled.

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  31. wow!! thats a lovely game i am going it to try it in the weekend with hubby... son is too small :)

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  32. Wow! This is such an interesting game. Must try with Anirudh.

    BTW, how are you all settling down there?

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  33. Late I know...but I meant to write a bright smile lit my face:-S

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  34. this is a fantastic game! I'm alreay tempted to draw something...if i do will surely mail it to you :)
    really impressed with M and N...your kids deserve a pat on the back :)

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  35. my fav is the L..!!
    and I liked ur handwriting :)
    hows life in the UK?

    G.

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  36. hey...this was too gud!!! I have done some similar thing before... "Played with alphabets" as u term it! :). Wil definately mail u if i find my copy. But children doing this is simply unbelievable! :D. Talented they are! Its a very innovative way of inculcating imagination among kids. Ur post refreshed me too :).
    W8ing for alphabets ahead of 'N'. :)

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  37. What a marvelous idea. I think I'll try that in my journal.

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  38. Anonymous7:42 PM

    Would love to try this out...but my lil buddha is jut three months old...it seems like i and shnagu, my wife, will have to wait a lil longer...am sure going to ask Shangu to read ur blog she would love this...

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  39. I now need to gather all those single friends of mine.

    I'm still I'll make the sentence for 'S'

    Good to read you back Preeti, it always brings forth smiles :)

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  40. That came wrong; I meant when I play, I'll make the sentence for the letter 'S'.

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  41. wow, that's some thing really new.. and guess what it works like anything!

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  42. Great idea. Tried it and it really felt nice. Thanks.

    http://thewalksoflife.blogspot.com/2009/03/salaam-namaste.html

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  43. Wow Preeti,
    That was a great lesson on how to live life rather than merely exist.
    Thanks

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  44. Wow Preeti,
    That was a great lesson on how to live life rather than merely exist.
    Thanks

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  45. hey..thats mind blowing..

    wonderful creativity!

    will play it with my hubby!

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  46. Preeti,

    Thanks for the tip. I will surely try this asap.

    Take care

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  47. Very very creative...luvd the butterfly , dog , goat and you cooking :D

    You all settled in UK?..Howz everything?

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  48. so creative !!! and what a great idea for a game. Your have talented kids. I absolutely loved 'N'. Have you moved and settled down yet ? You will be closer to your friend niall right ? (i do hope i got his name right)

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  49. This is a wonderful game! I am actually on phone telling my bhabhi to play this with my nephews! :) and i can't wait for hubby to come home this evening so we can play this! lovely post...

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  50. i think this will make an excellent ice breaking game on school reopening day...

    kudos..

    sorry havent been here in a while.

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  51. Rohini: Hope you had a good time playing it!

    Ranjini: Yes—you did get his name right. Yes—very close to him! :)

    Prakhar: Yes—slowly settling. All good.

    Jack: My pleasure!

    Hunter: Did you? And did he like it?
    Hari: My pleasure entirely!

    Siddharth: Will surely see.Glad you enjoyed it

    Santulan: Works means what?

    Still thinking:Want to see what you did with S! : )

    Buddha: What a unique name! Lots of good wishes to your little one and Shangu.

    Maggi: We have not yet got down to completing it!

    Marilyn: You could do a collage too with it. Your journal is always full of great ideas.

    Geetha: All good. Still settling down.

    Deeply Dip: If you mail it before I write my next post, I’ll put it up.

    NM: Slowly settling. All good!

    Monika: Am sure you’ll have fun!

    Rm: Well—in the process! It will surely take a while to settle in—after all one has moved countries here.

    Mindspace: We didn’t complete it –but yeah it was fun!

    Shruti: Am good—Stuff that is shipped yet to arrive. Once it does it will be great!

    Stillness speaks: Miss seeing you! That thing you gave me is on my kitchen cabinet right now as I type this—really useful! The Teddy is in the children’s bedroom. Will get them to mail you.


    Xh: Yeah—a nice ice breaking exercise.

    Sunshine: Touch wood! And hope your words come true!
    Other Shru: Slowly settling

    Harish :- )

    Niall: me too!! Feeling great that my choice matched with that of a ‘real artist’! :- )

    Varun: Well—its ok if you think and draw—it isn’t exactly a race! And they’re just 7 and 11!! Maybe when adults are playing random alphabets might be a good idea. You can anyway change as you go along.

    Pavi: Thought I replied to the FB message—sorry if I didn’t. No—not yet settled..but yeah—in the process.

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  52. Reflections: your posts are lovely too!

    Red Phoenix: yes--very few people write G that way. So surprised you noticed. Do you do graphology? I do a bit and have never been able to find out what that G means.

    Purnima; look forward to it.

    Aathira;thank you! :) We're slowly settling.

    Sweta: thank you!

    Swaram :Thanks!

    Prats: Already told you! :)

    Chirpy Paro: Am sure youll all have fun.

    Hari: yep--it was indeed a mama moment!

    Akanksha: your bro?

    Durga: thanks!!

    Roshan: Wish I knew how to! :)

    Onlooker: good luck!

    Sunder: :-)

    Nessa: it IS a lot of fun!

    Laksh: Me too :)

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  53. Hey its a very nice game.. I tried with my husband and it was so fun.. Thanks Preethi for posting this..

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  54. Hi Preethi,
    I have been lurking by your posts for quiet sometime now and finally I have managed to comment. I lurked not because I do that but because I could not contemplate what I wanted to write. Your posts are simply amazing. Again I am at loss for words to describe it. The way you have written on trivial things (trivial for most) amazes me. You have a way with you words and it touches the heart. Some of your posts touched me emotionally and It all makes perfect sense to me. I am happy to have stumble upon your posts. I have only very recently started to blog after years of pushing it aside, and I am drawing inspiration from bloggers like you. Thanks a ton for that. Lots of good wishes and cheers to you.

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  55. Preeti, I loved the game, it's so creative! My prefered was "Goats eat grass"! Great idea of yours, will try to play it with my best friend, his wife and kids. We (the adults) usually play cards, but it will be a pleasant shift ;)

    By the way, I also noticed your exquisite "g", am still trying to understand how you do it... lol

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  56. Preeti.. This is fun !! I and my sister used to play this game when we were little :) May I join in ? Just stopping by, so I'll play O alone :)

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  57. Wow!! That's a brilliant activity... must say, you four sound like a really creative bunch!

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  58. Looks like you've got a lot of nice comments eh? What an artistic game it is. It simply shows your children are creative in a very unique way. I would really love to play that game, and even though I'm an artist I'm not that good like you and your family.

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  59. Miss seeing all of you too!! It seems like you've gone on a vacation and shall get back in a week or two and then it's back to routine! Am glad you liked the gifts :-) Really glad. And I am also happy that we are still in touch! That is all that I asked for :-)

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  60. First time here, dropped in via Nancy's blog. Interestingly, during my studies, I'd read that habits & routines get assigned to a small portion of the brain, leaving the bulk of your brain's capacity to deal with new stuff. So if you don't try out new things, you don't exercise your brain to its full potential.

    This was a great game, by the way. And once again, I'm just stunned by kids' perception and imagination....I loved the 'm' and 'n' pictures!

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  61. truly, we become set in our daily routines as we grow old, I remember we used to draw pictures out of alphabets as kids..
    you did the H brilliantly :)

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  62. such a priceless moment for a family. great mom.

    i love the creativity of the game! ;)

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  63. Anonymous8:03 PM

    Very cool game, am planning to play it by myself. You are very creative to even think of such a game.

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  64. great game to stir creativity... liked the M and the D alphabet a lot... Do visit my blog..I have some interesting articles lined up..want your feedback on them...:)

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  65. "greatness is in simplicity" - this games looks so creative and engrossing will definitely try this.

    BTW best of luck for your book

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  66. hey really cool Idea..I came across your website after a long time..good to see you writing about mama moments..

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  67. hey its been ages!!!

    good fun as always reading your posts again...

    how's life? and what're you upto nowadays? do write in when you get a chance.

    loved this game... must try it out with family... and maybe we'll call another family over and make it more fun and an excuse for some chai and pakoras too! :P

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  68. one of the best blogs that i have ever seen... the sheer innocence and creativity of this blog touched my heart and would definitely try this out with my would be partner...and kids.
    My favorites were L and H !!

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  69. This is such a fantastic idea. I'm going to see if I can get my family to play with me.

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  70. I just happened to come across your blog, amazing posts. I absolutely loved reading each one of them.

    My favorite is "N". I mean for a 7yr old, to come up with a line "Nothing stops me" is truly amazing.

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  71. Hi,

    Sorry about reading the blog a bot too late.....getting out of the routine was tough!!! ;)

    I loved this game. A creative innovation at the best!!! Are you a teacher by any chance?

    Another twist to the game can be:- The other team gets to Do the same with the last alphabet of the sentence you make. This would be tougher on both parties...wat do u say?

    I ll definitely try playing this with my nephew. I loved what your genius children did with "M" and "L".


    Luv 'n' Luk
    Arnab

    P.S:- Would like to hear from you soon.....with new creative things and comments on my blog :-)

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  72. hey preeti
    great going.. sure a creative mind keeps Alzeihmer's away.... and m sure as for the kids, keeps their imagination sky rocketing..
    great going.... someday when i have kids would surely play this with them

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  73. Nups : :-)Hope it does :) and pls remember to remember when u have kids--its easy to forget :)

    Arnab:Yeah--the twist you suggested is indeed nice.

    Nandana: :-) I think only a seven year old can say it! :)

    Rayne: It was fun. knowing you you'll go ahead and do it on your own anyway!

    Bal mukund: :) Since yo picked H, I am beaming :)

    Guru: We have caught up already and connected over Vaseline LOL. :) :D

    Committed to life : :-)

    Amit: thanks a lot!

    Sushobhan: :-)

    mehubbynbaby: Thanks :)

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  74. never ending memories: Glad u had fun

    Anusha: That comment of yours really made my day! Thanks so much!!

    Guto: Don't know why i write G like that!! I guess its from the printed ones that I tried to copy and over the years developed my own version of it.

    Nandy: D join!! O can be had alone--u just need a vibrator or very good fingers :D Sorry! Couldnt resist that!!!! :D LOL

    Sauron: A little crazy a a little creative!

    jyan:Most important thing is for one to have fun!!

    Stillness speaks: Will get kids to talk to u over g-talk--problem is the timing..

    Shalom: I too loved M and N..Thanks for stopping by!

    preeti: Thanks!!

    Iriz: thanks!!

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  75. awesome awesome all thje way! am gonna play it with M soon! Cubby is too young! :p

    hugs for coming with such chraming stuff all the time! :D

    cheers!

    abha

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  76. How old is that girl! That Nothing Stops Me was way outside my out of box. Far out!

    Loved to see such creativity and a family that entertains itself without TV. Kudos to the kiddos

    Thanks for sharing all the pics. It was an amazing sight

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  77. Very nice blog. I shall definitely be a regular visitor. I have to find a suitable moment to play the game ( considering the fact that the children are grown up and it is the 'empty nest' situation).

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  78. Very nice blog. I shall definitely be a regular visitor. I have to find a suitable moment to play the game ( considering the fact that the children are grown up and it is the 'empty nest' situation).

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  79. i happened to come across your blog..the alphabet game is so creative and really fun to play..

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  80. This is such a lovely and creative game. And I can't say whose idea is the best...you've all superbly :D

    So much has happened in the last 2 months that I was away! Oh dear...still tryin to catch up :D

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  81. Hi Preeti..

    Fantastic game...

    We (me and My hubby)played this game while traveling to PUNE.
    Enjoyed a lot.
    Will definately gonna play again n again...

    thanks for amazing idea..

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  82. Nice game...hmm..lets see..."R": I'd probablr put a crown on the head of the letter and say Rads is a princess :)

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