GAME: Are you ready to go treasure hunting. Use the Tongan alphabet, numbers and colours to find the treasure.
SUITABLE: Preschoolers, primary (elementary) kids. Beginners for Adults.

This is a fun game to play! Get out all your little nick nack toys, and get ready for some fun. This game can be simplified for preschoolers who are learning their colours and numbers. But it can also be made more challenging for older kids by combining colours, numbers, letters and timing them.

I saw this on one of the many kids activity blogs out there and then tried it using our Tongan language. This is by far the best game, according to my 7 year old. She rated it four stars out of five.

Tips for playing this game:

1. For younger kids keep it simple. Use the option of 1-5 items max, for older kids you can go up to 10 items.
2. Let your child direct the play. My girl could not find an item starting with ʻlʼ so she came up with the idea to draw the item being a ʻlaioneʼ lion.
3. Be flexible. The word for many foreign things in Tongan start with meʻa (thing) like meʻa vaʻinga (toy) and meʻa faitā (camera).
4. Stick to easier letters. Depending on your vocabulary skill level there will be some letters that will be challenging like ʻeʼ and ʻngʼ. I could not find an item for letter ʻeʼ so i got a yellow (engeenga) item.
5. Have fun!

FOR BEGINNERS! Grab a bowl and collect an item each representing the Alphabet. Then use these items to play treasure hunt. Below are some items that you may have at home in the form of toys, fruits & vegetables and household items.

• A – ʻĀpele, ʻAngelo, ʻAnga; Apple, Angel or Shark.
• E – ʻElefānite, ʻĒpelikote, ʻĒpani; Elephant, Apricot, Apron
• F – Fonu, filo, feke: Turtle, thread, Octapus
• H – Hoosi, Hamala, Hele: Horse, Hammar, Knife
• I – Ipu, Inu, Ika: Cup, Drink, Fish
• K – Kā, Kūli, Kaloti: Car, Dog, Carrot
• L – Lemani, Lolo, Laione: Lemon, Oil, Lion
• M – Manupuna, Moli: Bird, Orange
• N – Neesi, Nima: Nurse, Hand (of a doll)
• NG – Ngeli, Ngata: Monkey, Snake
• O – ʻOfa, ʻOtua, ʻOfefine: Love, God, Daughter (of a man)
• P – Peleti, Pōlisi, Pūsi, Peni: Plate, Police, Cat, Pen
• S – Sea, Sipaita, Sōtia: Chair, Spider, Soldier
• T – Tamapua, Temata, Tohi, Toketā: Doll, Tomato, Book, Doctor
• U – Ulu, Uasi, Uaine: Hair (from doll), watch, Wine
• V – Vesa, Vaʻe, Vai, Vakapuna: Bracelet, Leg (from doll), water, plane.

I would love to hear how you guys went with playing this game. Rate it, give me some feedback, did you or your kids enjoy it as much as mine did?