Shadow Tag

May 12, 2020Leave a comment

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As an outdoor adventure addition to Travis’s summer workbook, we headed outside today to play shadow tag. The day had been variably sunny and cloudy, but we got a beautiful burst of sunshine in which to play!

I explained the rules to Travis very briefly. Whoever was It had to tag the other person… not by touching their body, but by stomping in their shadow.

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After that, just run! Needless to say, Travis giggled and loved it. We played just after noon when shadows were short, making the game particularly tricky. I challenged him to think about why it would have been easier to play early in the morning or late in the day and he guessed correctly: longer shadows!

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We recruited baby sister to play, too. This was a great way to get some sunshine and movement in.

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Arcade Kiwi Crate

January 2, 2020January 2, 2020Leave a comment

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Whenever we walk into an arcade, Travis’s favorite game is the claw machine, even though we almost never win. So the instant his Arcade kit arrived from Kiwi Co., I knew it was going to be a huge hit. He got to make his own claw and prizes…and was sure to be a winner this time.

There’s tons of STEM to love about this crate, especially in the first project: The Claw. Start by reading the explanation of how this simple machine works: a string that moves a bolt that pulls a connector that pulls a claw, resulting in the claw opening. The booklet even explains how it closes up again, when stretched-out rubber bands want to revert to their unstretched shape, pulling everything closed again.

To prepare the Claw, Travis followed along layering bolts, wooden pieces, and nuts in the proper order, using the handy color-coded piece of cardboard that is the guide.

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Once assembled, the claw then lifts right up off the guide. A long wooden handle is attached in the same way with a second guide.

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Travis had to test it out on baby sister’s toys right away, of course!

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We immediately had to follow up with the next project: Pom-Pom Prizes. This was the artsy part of our STEAM lesson. Attach the end of one provided yarn bundle to a wooden pom-pom winder with a sticker, and loosely wind the yarn around.

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Having made homemade pom-poms, I appreciated how Kiwi took all the guesswork out of this, with yarn that looped along in no tangles. Now secure around the middle with the provided pipe cleaner.

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Slide the yarn off the winder and use scissors to snip open the loops of yarn. Fluff it out and you have a pom-pom! The pipe cleaners now bend down as little antennae and there are sticky-back wiggle eyes to adhere as the final touch. The crate contains enough material to make two. Travis loved these creatures, even before turning them into arcade prizes!

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It was time to put it all together and play the Claw Game. We cut a rectangular hole in the lid of the Kiwi Crate, leaving about a one-inch border, and a second hole on the side, leaving about a 1/2-inch border. Cut a piece of plastic from a gallon plastic bag to fit over the hole in the lid, and tape it on securely.

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We taped on the provided Claw Game decorations, then filled the box with little knickknacks from Travis’s treasure box. And added in the pom-pom prize of course.

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Travis was so proud once he got the hang of it.

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Mommy got the grand prize pom-pom!

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As always, we turned to Explore magazine for extended fun. There is a page filled with “penny arcade” games, a fun riff on the old-fashioned term, where kids can play games on the page with a literal penny.

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Next we made a Laser Maze with crepe paper.

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A big fun house challenge!

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Finally, we made the Tilt-to-Win: Cut empty paper towel tubes to various lengths and cover each in a different color construction paper. Glue construction paper to a large flat box as the background, and glue on the tubes.

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Once dry, add a point value to each tube with marker. Put in a small ball, and take turns seeing how many points you can get in one minute.

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This is almost like a handheld pinball machine!

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The two recommended books are worth investing in, as each contains more ideas than we’ll ever get to for gaming fun. Do check out The Kids’ Book of Simple Machines: Cool Projects & Activities That Make Science Fun and Play These Games: 101 Delightful Diversions Using Everyday Items.

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Backyard BBQ Games

August 22, 2019August 22, 2019Leave a comment

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It’s the last week of summer, and we’re making the most of it by spending time outdoors with family and friends! The following five games are ones we’ve planned to play all summer, ever since making the delicious trio of recipes from Travis’s Backyard BBQ Raddish Kids crate. Whether you’re hosting an actual BBQ or just getting outside in the sunshine, here are a few fun games to try.

1. Egg Toss

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We made the game vegan with plastic eggs to toss as an alternative to hard-boiled eggs (try Egg & Spoon Race from International Playthings). Travis loved that the eggs could really crack open when we tossed them…

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And missed!

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2. Hot & Cold

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Hide an object (Note: the “hard-boiled eggs” from our egg toss were perfect) while one player closes his or her eyes. Players instruct the finder where the treasure is by noting if they are cold (far way) or boiling hot (close!).

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Travis enjoyed finding the item first, but then preferred to be the hider and guide me with his words.

3. Blind Taste Testing

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This is a fun one if your family has prepared a special summer meal together. I blindfolded Travis and had him sample some of our fresh-from-the-market veggies.

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He got them all right, even blindfolded! You can make this more challenging by far if you use sauces or spices for big kids, instead of the rather-obvious vegetables.

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4. Capture the “Foodie”

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This is just like Capture the Flag except you play with fruit pieces instead of flags! Good choices include items with peels, like oranges or bananas. See which team captures the other’s fruit first, and don’t get tagged and sent to jail (i.e. the steps) in the process

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Easily the favorite, Travis got a kick out of hiding his banana, and delighted when he could find the other team’s first.

Ideally you’ll need four players or more for this, but even two people can have fun and race to find the other person’s “foodie” first.

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5. Restaurant Relay Race

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For this silly game, we loaded a tray with plastic cups, forks, and fake picnic food. See who runs the fastest without dropping something along the way. Travis thought this was quite hilarious.

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Which of the BBQ games is your child’s favorite? Please share in the comments!

Indoor Hide-and-Seek

July 19, 2019Leave a comment

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This stay-put version of hide-and-seek will introduce your baby to the concept of the game… and is sure to get a whole lot of giggles!

First, I set up a tent. Place two small chair nears each other, and weight each one down with a heavy book to avoid topples or accidents.

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Drape a sheet over the chairs. Your tent is ready!

Outside of the tent, I had Veronika play with a stuffed animal friend (named Marshmallow), much to her delight.

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Then, I placed him behind the sheet. She looked around, suddenly confused.

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“Where’s Marshmallow?” I asked. Together, we shined a flashlight on the sheet.

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She seemed quite curious. I lifted up the edge of the sheet and… There’s Marshmallow!

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Not only was she clearly delighted at the reveal, but she wanted to be the one to hold the flashlight and “find” him.

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We played several rounds of the game like this before it was time for advanced hide-and-seek: where’s Veronika!

I put her under the sheet with Marshmallow, and lowered it down. Very quickly (so she didn’t get startled or scared), I lifted the sheet and said, “I found you!”

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Needless to say, this version was also a big hit.

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I hope you and your baby love this one as much as Veronika and I did!

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Backyard Bean Bags

July 15, 2019July 28, 2019Leave a comment

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Travis and I made these adorable homemade bean bags this morning before his first day of camp; I wanted to send him off in high spirits after quality mom and son time!

To prepare the bean bags, spoon about 1/2 cup dried beans into small zip-top bags.

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Squeeze out the air and seal tightly.

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Insert each bag into the toe of a small sock (or an old, longer sock that you’ve cut just above the ankle). Twist the top of the sock into a knot to tie.

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These were so cute (Travis loved that they were circular instead of square like ones from the store) and have great heft. Already they were fun to play with, just tossing or juggling!

But now we needed to play with them! First we set up a classic Bean Bag Toss with buckets.

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It was mommy versus Travis for a few rounds to see who could get it in!

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Next up: Target Practice! I drew three different colored circles of different sizes and labeled them as worth 10, 20, and 30 points.

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Travis not only loved it, but made up a new rule. If you hit this blade of grass, you were instantly out.

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In the evening, we found a few more ways to play with the beanbags. First, a round of Stuck in the Mud. With this game, you run with a bean bag on your head. If it falls, you freeze in place until another person returns the bean bag to your head.

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This was a highlight of our day, getting the whole family out running around in the new yard! But keeping the bean bag on our heads proved very tough, so Travis changed the rules: you simply had to pelt another player with a bean bag to make him or her It.

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Luckily the bean bags are the perfect soft item for a game like this.

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Soon we were all silly and rolling around in the grass.

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Baby sister loved just watching!

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As a final game, we played Tower Toppling, a riff on a classic carnival game. We only had one rinsed and empty can to play with, but will be repeating this game with a whole tower for sure!

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For our game, the goal was to see who could knock over the can first.

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If you have a full tower, see who can knock down all the cans with the fewest throws to declare the winner.

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Any and all of these games would be fantastic with a crowd; consider them your next summer gathering, whether a barbecue, block party, or family get-together.

Update: After collecting a few bean cans, we could truly play topple the tower.

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Travis loved getting out his energy with a round of this before dinner!

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Walk-and-Spot Game

June 15, 2019

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Aaah, those summer walks in the park or the woods. It seems like the perfect family pastime… until the kids tire out, amiright? Here’s the perfect new game to play if you need to motivate your kids through the miles!

One person is the spotter, and picks an item a little ways away without revealing what it is. The spotter tells the other players the color of the item, and then begins beeping.

Beep slowly when the item is far away. Beep faster as you get closer. Whoever guesses correctly is the next spotter. Well, Travis took to it right away! First he got us with this yellow sign.

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Then it was mommy’s turn – an orange cone!

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Don’t overlook little items, like purple flowers.

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Daddy picked something green. Hmmm, what could it be? Beep beep beep. The green bench! Travis guessed.

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This game kept him happy for ages and easily ate up the last mile of our excursion. What’s your favorite game to play on a walk? Please share in the comments!

Button Toss

May 15, 2019May 15, 2019Leave a comment

This fun game (another winner from Highlights magazine) involves crafting on the front end and then becomes a sport with some math involved by the end!

To put it together, you’ll need 3 boxes, ideally of different sizes and heights. Paint each box a different color, for the best contrast.

We also squirted on some puffy paint because, puffy paint.

Note: If you don’t have paint, you can wrap them with wrapping paper instead. Glue the boxes together in any configuration and let dry.

To play, I cut out paper circles and marked each with a different score for each box. The easiest was worth a 1, the second was a 2, and the hard one was a 5. (Note: Big kids can skip count by 5s, labeling the boxes 5, 10, and 15).