Here are some fun ideas for those evenings when you’ve run out of other fun ideas and the board games have lost their charm and the Lego is just catching dust. Make some fun games for the kids, with the kids, and by the kids. Let’s get rolling!
1. DIY Memory Game
DIY memory game: Do you remember how we used to spread out a deck of cards upside down, and try to remember where the pairs were? Why not make your own? While the making of this might take some time, the children would love to play with their own artwork. Else you can always make your own with paints and coloured paper. Believe me, the kids will love this!
2. Tic Tac Toe
We’ve all played Tic Tac Toe, or Cross and Noughts on paper, in our notebooks during class. A simple take on this is making it on cardboard with the kids. Make the 3×3 grid on a plain thick stock, or cardboard. And use bottle caps for Noughts and Crosses. Use brands or colours to differentiate, or paint them. The kids love the activity, and you can play endless rounds without making the grid everytime! Here are ten ways to DIY a tic-tac-toe.
3. Art Time
This one is worth the art and time invested in it. It’s all about the setting. Find a canvas, or again, a cardboard, or the inside of a cereal box. Decorate it with the kids. Create your neighbourhood, with details like the park, or school, or neighbour’s house, or grocery store. Make a path that runs right through it in a serpentine pattern. Add stops: at the park, behind a tree. Play with 4 pieces like a family going out for a walk. Here are some more ideas.
4. Snakes and ladders
You need one largeish piece of cardboard. If it is not plain, you can make the game on a plain paper and paste it on it. Make a grid (10×10) for 100 boxes. Number it from 1 – 100. Let the children decorate it with snakes and ladders. Snakes will take you down, and ladders will take you up!! No die? No problem! Here is a template to make your own die! No pawns? Use bottle caps, imli seeds, erasers! Lego people. Anything. Each gamer can have a pawn of their choice! Ready, Set, Roll!
5. Floor Games
Why not make a giant board game? Use the whole corridor as a board, and turn it into a hopscotch, twister, sensory walk for yourself and the family. All you need is chalk, or induction tape and lots of imagination! Here are some ideas. Not only will it keep everyone entertained, but also create avenues for physical activity. Get those endorphins racing!
