One of the first interactive educational displays in Gates' room was a set of Magnetic Message Boards that my sister, an elementary school teacher, recommended. We quickly began introducing Gates to simple words. Our challenge: a single set of the alphabet.
Rules for Our Family Scramble
As with any game there are rules. Here are our rules:
- Words must be family-friendly; swear words are not allowed.
- One point is awarded for each two or three-letter word created.
- Two points for each four or five-letter word.
- Three points for words with six or more letters.
- One point is awarded for each letter used.
- One point is subtracted for each leftover letter.
- Extra points for words that can be used in context with Gates (1 point per word). For example, "Where did you hide your binky?"
- Extra points for positive words.
- Extra points for using uppercase and lowercase letters appropriately (a point per word). (Doesn't apply in every game.)
To simplify our game, I started acquiring additional retro letters. Some in uppercase. Some in lowercase. Some in serif fonts. Some in san serif fonts. I also stumbled across a magnetic mathematics set so snapped that up as well. (It'll make an appearance later when more age appropriate.) At the moment we're still limiting ourselves to the single alphabet. We'll be introducing more letters into the game over the coming weeks.
Vowels and Consonants for This Week's Scramble
We have 8 consonants and 4 vowels for this week's scramble:
D, G, H, R, T, S, W and A, E, I, O.
Here's two solutions to get you started: Dig, Snow, Heart (or Earth) and Hide, Gowns, and Art (or Rat or Tar) pictured below.
How many combinations of words with no leftover letters can you make?
Good luck! I'll share the combinations we come up with in the next scramble.
Ciao Bella!
Eden
