When children become bored with board games and having them sit at a video game isn't something you care to do, try these game recipes that will satisfy even the pickiest of fun hungry children.
Some of these games have everything to do with physical dexterity while others only require a vivid imagination. Certain games may be messy and almost all of the games need some parental supervision. They are even more fun when parents join in. Though written in recipe form, no game is set in stone. Let your child mix in his or her imagination; the variations they come up with are the best part of the games.
Indoors - ages 3 to 10
Treasure Hunt
This game will need someone with basic artistic talent to draw shapes of household items.
5 to 10 Small squares of paper or photographs of objects in your house
1 or 2 Crayons, pencils or pens
masking tape or sticky dough (optional for sticking clues)
1 or more children
a prize (cookies, popsicle, party favor)
On each square of paper, the artist draws a different household item to be used as clues; for example: the refrigerator, a couch, a lamp, a carrot, a bathtub, the dog's dish.
After the drawings are finished, the artist keeps only one of the pictures and hides the rest on, behind, inside, or under the other items that were drawn but making sure the items do not match the drawings. Say if a couch, a lamp, and a refrigerator were drawn, the paper with the couch drawn on it could be hidden under the dog dish, the drawn lamp could be hidden under a couch cushion, and under the couch cushion is the picture of the refrigerator.
When all drawings are hidden, the artist gives the picture that he did not hide, to the child; in the example, it would be the dog dish drawing. The child looks at the picture and hopefully can tell that it is a dog dish and the search is on to get the rest of the drawings. Every picture the child finds, leads him to the next drawing. When all drawings are found, he wins.
Guess What
a paper grocery bag or shoe box
scissors
small items or toys that are safe for your child to handle and will fit into either the box or the bag (a sock, a crayon, a game piece, a spoon, a cracker )
1 or more children
Cut a hole into the side of the bag or the shoe box. The hole needs to be big enough for your child's hand to fit through. Place a small item or two into the bag or box then close it. Have your child put their hand into the hole, feel the item and guess what it is.