Duck Duck Goose (Will Style)

So, I should be getting ready for the gym, but I have a sneaky suspicion that will not be happening today. As I should be somewhat productive, I thought I would tell you about our game of Duck Duck Goose last night. It has been a while since we had just some family time in the evening. Lately, it seems, we have been rushing through a late dinner and then straight to baths and then straight to bed. I noticed we had a good 15 minutes before the boys' bedtime routine needed to start and suggested we play the game where you get to hit people on the head and then run around screaming. As it turns out, both boys have greatly improved in their understanding of the game since we last played. Will, in particular, had me laughing with his new skills. And as I type this, I'm not sure how well I can relate the hilarity in writing, but just keep a picture of our little 2-year-old in your mind with his little impish smile and his whole body nearly shaking from the excitement of playing this classic game.

Will still gets up and runs no matter whose head has been tapped as goose. However, he has gotten much better at the tapping of heads and clearly saying "Duck" and "Goose". He has also developed quite the winning strategy, he will tap three heads (no more, no less) and say "Duck" and then hesitate and head to the door as he yells "Goose" (in our version, you don't just run around the circle, but out the living door, down the hall, through the kids play area, through the dining room, and back into the living room). This strategy serves him well as it causes a bit of confusion (at first) over who is exactly "Goose" and also gives him quite the headstart, so he can almost certainly get back to the circle before being tackled by his older brother (another fun part of the Buschelman version, that we'll probably have to correct prior to the time they go to school).

Also, Will has decided he has no patience for those players who like to milk their turns for as long as possible by going around the circle a million times. And I have to say, I quite agree. Though, we may need to help him in the virtue somewhat as he sits in his spot nearly shaking with the tension, and if someone hasn't been tapped as Goose within about 7 head taps, Will just calls "GOOSE!" from his spot and gets up and runs away. And, I have to say, it definitely gets his point across.