Our Favorite On-the-Go Games (Easy to Teach, Quick to Learn)

Our homeschool family loves to play games. I love that a good game can not only engage my kids, but teach them math skills, co-operation, reading, and more. We happen to spend a good chunk of our time at our martial arts gym. Between the classes that I teach, the classes that they each take, and the classes that my husband and I take, we are there for a few hours each day. Sometimes they play with the other kids, sometimes they sit and veg out on iPads, and a lot of times they bring games to play together and with their friends.

I'm always looking for simple but fun games that my kids can play on their own easily. Games that are easy to teach and are easy/quick to learn are the BEST!  (If you have any that you love, I'd love to hear about them, too.) I figured since we've got a few good ones at the moment, we'd share with all of you!

1. Snappy Dressers. I love any game that I can throw in my purse and bring with me on the go. This is one of those games.  This is a fast-paced card game that anyone can learn and play quickly. While there are at least 9 different ways to play this game, we generally stick to the first option. Every card in the deck matches every other card in the deck in exactly ONE way. You have to spot the matching item on the card (hat color, scarf, top, bottoms, shoes, gift, or animal) to lay it down in the discard pile. First person to get rid of all their cards wins.

 

2. Sleeping Queens. My sister in law, Jenny, gave us this game for a birthday once, and it quickly became a favorite. Not only is it fun to play and won several game awards, it also incorporates matching, addition and subtraction, and silly character cards. My kids have taught many of their friends to play, and it quickly becomes a favorite for most. We've played it with numerous 4 year olds, as well as up to big kids (10-12's).

 

3. Mancala. This isn't a new game, for sure, but it's a fun one that we recently rediscovered. After purchasing this game and realizing that I played differently than the instructions in our game box, I took to the internet for the rules.  And guess what? It turned into a whole history lesson as we explored the oldest game ever known! It originates in ancient Egypt, and there are over 600 variations of the game/ways to play. There are a variety of board shapes, styles, and rules. So if you play this game with others who already know it, be sure to clarify how you plan to play! You may find that you play by different rules. Side note: My 4 year old manipulating the little beads in his hand is the absolute cutest thing ever. He loves playing this game with his 4 year old buddy from martial arts while their big siblings are all in their classes. So cute.

4. Nerts/Group Solitaire.  You know the age-old game of solitaire we used to play on our computers as kids? Did you know you can play group solitaire? To play: Everyone needs their own deck of cards. Set up your seven piles just like normal solitaire (first pile is face up, then six face down piles; move to the second pile and place one face up, then the other five piles face down...continue until all seven piles have a face-up card on them). Everything is the same in group solitaire EXCEPT that ANYONE can play off of the center Ace cards.

This is an interesting one because although you are trying to beat each other, if one player doesn't uncover all their cards, you might both lose. SO, there is a little bit of team work, too. My 7, 9, and 10 year olds have all been working really hard to get good at this game, and it's become really fun to play with them.

   

5. Labyrinth.  We've had this game for a couple years now, and it is still a favorite. A portion of the squares on the game board are stationary, the rest are movable. Each player draws a card to find a treasure. They then have to get through the labyrinth and to the treasure in as few of turns as possible. You only get to push one square on each turn. The first person to get to five treasures wins. The labyrinth is always changing, making it a fun challenge to set up moves for your next turn. Even the little ones simply enjoy changing up the labyrinth on their turn. This game is most-loved by my little 7-year-old engineer brained child, who can *almost* always get himself to the treasure on his first try.

This is a decently quick game, easy and quick to set up, and great for all ages...even adults.

6. While not a game, I wanted to mention this neat little tool that allows our youngest kiddo to jump into card games with the rest of us. My friend Ginny gifted this to my Levi, and it has gotten more than its fair share of use. This card holder allows little hands to grab on and stick their cards across so they can see their cards and play. He uses it every time we play Sleeping Queens.

7. Last thing, I promise. These waterproof cards were also a gift from my friend Ginny to my husband...I have since claimed them as my own because they are my favorite. BUT, they are also the BEST cards to pack up in my purse, car, to go to activities, etc. because they are waterproof and cleanable! My kids often bring these cards with them to martial arts and play with their friends while I take class...and if they get dirty from kid hands, I can easily wipe them clean! So great. Everyone needs these cards! (Side note: I am aiming to provide you with an Amazon link to buy these, but the one showing up for these appears to have BLUE spades/clubs, not black. While not a huge issue, I find it difficult to play Nerts with differing colors of card numbers/shapes.) 


What are your favorite games to play with your family/friends? I'm especially looking for more games like these that can go with us anywhere, are easy to teach, quick to play, and fun for kids of all ages. Leave your ideas/suggestions in the comments!



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Trader Joes: The Secret Animals!

I shop at Trader Joe's a couple times a week (no joke...I head there twice a week just for produce trips).  I love the store, plus it's close to my home.  I've become pretty skilled at taking 4 kids shopping with me, but still, it's always nice to have something to "do" at the store.  If the ever-changing decorations at Trader Joe's weren't enough to entertain the children, many locations hide little stuffed animals for the kids to find!

Our store has Billy the Goat, Rosemary the Bird, and Milly (I haven't seen her in a while; not sure what species she belongs to).  They move them often, so it's always fun to hunt.  

They're almost always up high, out of the kids' reach, so keep your eyes looking UP!  

Once you find your store's little animal, be sure to head to customer service and tell them you found "so and so" and where he/she was.  They give out lollipops or other little treats once you've located their friend.

My children LOVE looking for Billy each time we head into the store.  As of late, they've been particularly excited because both Billy and Rosemary have been out and about.  

Adding Fun File Folder

Remember the "Adding Fun" post from a couple years ago?  Well, it was by far my most popular post ever with almost 60,000 view and over 189,000 pins on Pinterest!  Isn't that just crazy?!?!

Well, I still love the activity idea!  It's such a great, fun, visual way to teach addition.  I recently made  a file folder version of the adding fun activity so that it could easily be put away in my file folder box.  and brought out whenever I need it.  

Since it needed to fold flat, I used construction paper to form the tubes and the "catch" at the bottom.   This made it so it could easily flatten up and be stored.

At the bottom, I added a laminated "___+___=___" card strip.  When a child uses the folder, she can also use an Expo marker to write her addition problem down on the bottom.


Adding Fun in a to-go form?  Perfect!

Six Ways to Learn with Dice

All my children love to play with dice.  Whenever I find odd shaped, large, different textured, or different colored dice, I'm sure to pick them up for my kids.  I have big foam dice, and little tiny dice.  I have dice with money amounts on them, and dice with roman numerals.  I have polyhedral dice with lots of numbers on them.  Dice are fun to throw, and fun to watch roll around.  They can also be fun for learning!  Here are six ways to use dice for some learning fun!

1.  Greater than/less than. This is for two people.  Each child rolls their die and reads the number they roll.  Then one of the children must decide which is the greater number (and which is the lesser number).  This activity can be used for younger children by using regular, dotted dice, or with my older children, we use the dice with various #’s up to 30.   

2.  Addition.  Give your child two of any type of digit or dotted dice.  Also give them a white board and marker.  Have her roll both dice, and then create a math problem on her board.  So, if she rolled a 2 and a 3, she may write 2 + 3 = 5 on her board.   This also works with money dice, too, and gives great money adding practice! 

3.  Dice race/Graphing.  Give your child a graph with spaces to represent each number on the die (if you are using a typical dotted die, your graph would just have spaces for #’s 1-6 on it.).  Then have your child “race” their die to the top.  For every roll of the die, have your child fill in one space on the graph.  Which number got rolled the most?  Which number did you roll the least?  The winner of the race is whichever number gets filled to the top on the chart first.

4.  Money matching.  If you have money dice, get out some real or pretend coins/dollars, too.  Then, have your child roll her die.  If she rolls, for instance, a “$.50,” have her find coins to make $.50.  How many ways can you make $.50?  Which way is the easiest?  My kindergartener plays this way, but my 2nd/3rd grader plays with two or three dice at a time and adds them up in her head and then builds the total with her coins.

5.  Draw a picture.  This can be a single player game or a two-player game.  Pick a picture to draw, but make sure it has 6 “parts.”  Each part of the picture then has a corresponding number on the die.  For example, if you are going to draw a snowman, give your child a page with the three circles already drawn.  Then, the nose might be #1, the eyes for #2, the mouth for #3, the arms for #4, the buttons for #5, and the hat for #6.  When her die rolls a 5, she would draw buttons on her snowman.  The first child to complete his snowman wins! 

6.  Writing the Number.  Using dotted dice, have your child roll, count how many dots, and then write the correct numeral on paper or a white board.  For older children, give them two or three dice, have them roll, add the total, and then write the numeral.  For an added challenge, have your child write how many dots in Roman Numerals instead of standard digits.


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Fall Themed Tic-Tac-Toe Game

Isn't this a cute little fall activity?  One of the best parts is that it's a Dollar Store Score!  

The Dollar Store wins again!  I found these super cute little mini pumpkin/squash/gourd bags in red and green.  They were a perfect size to make a cute fall themed Tic-Tac-Toe game (I recently saw a large Tic-Tac-Toe game played with full sized orange and white pumpkins in a magazine, though I can't remember which one).  

I tasked the kids with finding sticks in the backyard.  To make a Tic-Tac-Toe board, you'll need 4 like-sized sticks.  Once they gathered a handful of sticks, we picked the four that were closest in size.

Using some string or yarn, tie the sticks together to form your board.  We used grey yarn.

And there you have it!  A fall themed Tic-Tac-Toe game!  

The kids thought this was a really fun way to play this game.  Plus, they enjoyed hunting for sticks and comparing sizes of the sticks.  And, of course, it's super frugal!  

Game to Play with "Hop on Pop" by Dr. Seuss

Who doesn't love a good Dr. Seuss book?  Hop on Pop is one of my very favorites.  It was also the first Dr. Seuss that my (then) 5 year old ever read on her own.

Last time we read the book, we had some fun with the rhyming words.

I used little foam sheets and wrote words that rhymed with "hop" on them.  Then, I spread them around, and called out to Ellie, "Hop on Flop!", "Hop on Prop!", etc.  She had to "hop" onto whatever word I had called out to her.  

When we were done with this activity, I had her put them all in alphabetical order.  

The little ones who aren't quite reading yet wanted to have some fun, too!  So we made some vowel cards and played "Hop on A!" 

Simple fun to go with a great book!

The Mitten: Activities for the book

The Mitten by Jan Brett is an absolute favorite book of mine.  I remember it from my elementary school days, and I've always used it in my classrooms and with my own children.  Today we got snow for the first time, and so it was the perfect day to pull out this book.  I'm going to share a couple activities with you that go great with this book.

1.  Hunting for the White Objects (Sensory)

In the book, Nicki's grandmother does not initially want to make him white mittens because it could so easily get lost in the snow.  Find a handful of white (or mostly white) object from around your house, a gallon sized ziploc baggie, tape, and white flour.  

Fill the bag with a couple cups of flour and all your white objects.  Then, tape it shut so curious hands don't leave flour all over your house.  Children can use this as a sensory activity and feel around to find the hidden objects.  Finding something white in a white bag is hard, just like loosing a white glove in snow!  The consistency of the flour really does make it a difficult task!  For younger children, you may want to use larger white objects to avoid frustration.

2. Mitten Match & Sort (Math)

Gather up all those little mittens for matching and sorting.  You can have your children match each glove to its pair, or sort them into piles of like colors or styles.  You can also create patterns!

3. Mitten Lacing (Fine Motor)

Use your own hand as a template for a mitten.  Cut two out, and punch holes around it.  Tie string or yarn to one of the bottom holes and let your child practice lacing in and out of the holes.  Younger children may need the end of the yarn taped to effectively move the string through the holes.

Bonus: Print out pictures of animals from the book and have your child put them inside their mitten as you tell the story!

Do you have any other fun activities to go with Jan Brett's The Mitten?

How Many Apples? File Folder Game

Today's file folder game idea is for ages 2-4 year olds.  However, it can easily be adapted for kindergarten and 1st grade students (instructions at the bottom of the post).

To Make it:

Cut tree trunks out of brown paper.  I actually had some brown sticky foam sheets, so I used that, which is fun because of the texture.  Write your numbers on the trunks using a sharpie.  The tree trunks will be the piece that is attached to the file folder.  I used the sticky backing of the foam to attach, but you can use glue or tape.  

Cut "trees" out of green paper.  Cut apples out of red.  Attach different amounts of apples to each tree.  Since I made this folder for my 2 year old, I used #'s 1-4.  You can use any numbers.  Laminate the trees.

Using velcro squares, attach one side of the velcro to the trees, and the other side to the file folder.  Now your apple trees can be attached to their corresponding tree trunk!

That's it!  Pretty simple, huh?

To Adapt it:

This file folder can easily be adapted for older children.  

OPTION #1:

Your apples could come in groups of 5's or 10's or 2's, depending on what your child is learning (i.e. if a tree has 5 groups of 10 apples, the trunk would read "50" and the child would be counting by 10's to figure out 'How many apples?').  

OPTION #2:

It would also be easy to adapt these trees using math problems.  The apples could be sorted into 2 groups on the tree, with a + or - and an = sign on each one.  The child would read "one apple plus three apples equals..." and they would hunt for the trunk reading "4."

Fun Exercise!

I have been intentionally trying to be creative with exercising and burning extra calories.  Since I'm currently teaching a kindergarten class (as well as my own 4 and 2 year old at home), I figured one creative way to burn extra calories throughout my day was by playing with them!  Here are some ways to play with, teach, or test your children at different skills while burning some extra calories yourself! 

Skipping- By kindergarten (age 5ish), most kids should be able to skip properly.  Ask your child if they want to skip around the house (backyard, park, etc.) with you!  For younger children, just have them "skip" however they can alongside you (their gross motor skills may not be developed enough yet to do this well).  For older kids, check that they are skipping properly.  If they are not, go through the movements slowly and have them mimic your motions.  You will burn around 21-26 calories in 2 minutes of skipping while your child practices their coordination!

Counting- While teaching your children about different numbers (say, 12), ask them to jump 12 times with you.  Count together while you both jump as high as possible into the air.  Try different numbers and be creative.  How about 13 frog jumps?  Or 7 bear crawls?  Or 23 jumping jacks (this would be better coordination-wise for an older child, though you can start demonstrating these to a younger child, too).  You will burn 8-10 calories in 2 minutes of jumping, and your child will get to exercise with you while practicing their numbers and counting! 

Brushing Teeth- Teaching children good dental hygiene from a young age is so very important.  Did you know you can burn calories while brushing?  Make it a priority by doing it together, and a fun activity by singing songs (this is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth, this is the way we brush our teeth, right before bed!-sung to "Here we go 'round the mulberry bush").  You will burn about 7 calories in 3 minutes of brushing, and your child will learn the importance of good brushing habits!

Tag- What kid doesn't like to play tag?  It's great fun, and teaches turn taking, rule following, and game-playing skills.  Play a game of tag with your child for 10 minutes and burn 40-60 calories!

These are just a few activities that you could do with your child.  The possibilities are endless.  Several good things will result from these activities:

• Your child will get to learn and practice skills!
• You will burn some extra calories!
• You will get to spend some quality "fun" time with your child!
• Your will be your child's "teacher" and you can see where they may need some extra help!
• Your child will get to exercise in a fun way, too, and will hopefully develop a love for exercising from your example!