What Do You Hear? Sound Game

Okay, so I did plan one game for the kids over spring break. I've always brought out a basket of plastic eggs as part of our Easter decorations - the kids always find fun things to do with them for a couple of weeks, then they go away until next spring. This year, they were purposed!

I originally saw the idea on Kirsten's blog and saved it in my things-to-do-someday file. I've been trying to do more auditory sensory activities lately with Clark, so it was a good time to try it out.

I filled the eggs with little things found around the house and labeled each one with a number.

The kids had to shake each egg and guess what could be inside. Some were deceptively similar!



It was pleasantly surprising to see all three kids get in on the action. Not making a big deal about it seems to be the key to getting everyone involved. 

Here's a copy of the game sheet - it's labeled with things that should be easy to find around the house. Personal use only, please!

Download What Do You Hear? game sheet here.

Fall Bingo Game

If you have kids, you probably have some parties coming up next week! I made this game a few years ago and have used it many times for fall classroom parties. (Yes, there are a zillion fall bingo games out in interwebspace land, but of course I wanted to do my own thing.) It was designed to give the kids a bit of reading practice, so it's probably better suited for the older grades (2-5). 

Would you like a copy for your kid's classroom? Here you go! (Personal use only, please!)

Download fall bingo game here. 

Page one is the call markers to be trimmed, followed by 20 pages of boards. Print on card stock for extra reusability. I found it fun to give the kids a little cup of candy corn to use as markers (and to be eaten afterwards!) It also worked well to let several kids get bingo rather than clearing the board after each win. Enjoy!!

The Waiting Game

I have a tiny supply of tricks to pull out when the kids are bored when we're out waiting ... at the dr's office, at a restaurant, in the car. One staple is The Letter Game, which is kind of like a simplified version of Scattergories. (Name something you can wear that starts with S), and so on. Our go-to restaurant game is Five Things. Pull five objects from around the table together. Have a kid look at it for a few minutes, close eyes, take one away, guess what's missing. Super easy and it can last a good ten minutes with variations (take away two things! have Dad be the guesser! and so on.)

Our recent trip to the Statue of Liberty involved some waiting. Lots and lots and lots of waiting. About 4 hours, to be exact. The kids did great overall, but we definitely had some tense moments. When we reached the statue and realized it was going to be ANOTHER wait to get in the museum, it was time to pull out the Silly Face game. Requirements: a camera and children who like to show off. I snapped a pic of each kid making a silly face, we reviewed the evidence and voted on which face was funnier. Apparently, my children find the tongue to be a critical component of physical comedy.

Police Chase

So, the kids invented a card game. It's been in the works for a few weeks, but it wasn't until today that I learned that it is an actual game with actual rules. Which they made up together. Played with cards that they drew together. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I realized all of this. The deck is made out of old business cards (an excellent use for the squajillion leftover cards with my old address) and Sharpies. 




The game is called Police Chase. I got to play it today. I have to tell you ... it's not bad. It moves quickly, has simple rules, appeals to boys and girls. And, it never ends. Which apparently, is the best feature according to Dora, because "there's no winners or losers!"

So, like any loving parent, now I wonder ... how can we make money off of this?