Make it easier:

• Lay the cards in a stack on the table instead of holding them in your hand
• Remove some of the suns from play to ensure success in early playthroughs, gradually increasing difficulty (challenging frustration tolerance)
• Play in teams of 2 learners and pair those of different abilities, where one partner holds the hand and the other plays the card, then trading roles

Make it harder:

• Split the deck in half. Shuffle all of the suns into the top half of the deck.
• Add a timer for player turns
• Don’t allow players to look at their hands between turns

Target executive functioning:

• (planning & sequencing) Ask each player what they want to do on their next three turns and have them put their cards in order in front of them
• (adaptability) When another player plays a card of a color that they hoped to play, coach the player to identify another good option
• (working memory) each player gets 20 seconds to look at their cards before they are flipped upside down. They must then choose and play without looking, trying to remember which was which

Target visual-spatial skills:

• Play “I Spy” or a variant of “Where’s Waldo” in-between turns to challenge visual scanning and eye saccades
• (ocular-motor control, convergence) Create a grid of each color and one sun in a pattern (7 total cards). Place the grid of cards on another surface at least 3 feet away from the game space. Then, place the rest of the cards in a pile which you keep in front of you. On each player’s turn, you draw a card and say it aloud. Ask each player on their turn to find the specific color or sun in the grid (without moving physically closer to it), and then find it on the board which is directly in front of them.

Target motor skills:

• Play the game on a scooter with the board at least 15 feet away from the deck of cards. Have players scoot back and forth collecting cards and moving owls.
• Have players act out the movement of the owls by hopping, crawling, running, or another form of appropriate movement to increase coordination and body awareness
• Build a multi-colored obstacle course and incorporate it into game play

Target social-emotional skills:

• For each turn, players share or answer a social question
• Have players look at each others’ tiles instead of their own and then verbally communicate what is on each tile (bonus: this also challenges visual-spatial skills!)

Target sensory processing:

• (tactile) Instead of putting the tiles in a stack or holding them in hand, bury the tiles in different types of dry goods (rice, beans, etc.)
• (tactile) Do an owl craft with finger-painting (see directions in section below)
• (taste) Try eating foods of different colors which correspond with the colors of the sheep (oranges, bananas, blueberries, plums, kiwi apples etc.)
• (visual) When the game starts, turn the lights out and use a flashlight. As the sun starts to rise, gradually increase the brightness in the room (this is easiest if you have a dimmer switch, but you can accomplish the same thing with curtains, multiple lights, etc.)
• (auditory) Find a track on YouTube of night sounds with owls hooting and play it during game play. This may challenge players’ attention and /or ability to manage the extra stimulation. You can begin with the sounds on a low volume or let the player use headphones if necessary.

Target art, English, & math skills:

• Count the colors, the owls, the bugs on the board, anything that your learners take interest in.
• Make an owl craft – use your thumbs to finger-paint owls on paper. Once they dry, draw eyes, beaks, and wings.
• Read a book together! Here are some great options: The Not So Sleepy Owl , National Geographic Readers: Owls , Owl Always Love You