It is insanely hot again. Thanks to Sarah Chandler for these indoor family game ideas for all ages.
"When the mosquitoes begin to fly and the hot, humid Illinois air becomes too much to bear in the summer, it?s time to break out the games indoors. My family played lots of games when I was growing up, starting with classic Candyland and Memory, then moving on to Battleship, Life, Monopoly and Scrabble. One of my fondest/funniest memories was my brother Mark laughed so hard when he landed on the ?Skunk Farm Inheritance? square during a game of Life, that he literally made himself ?sick? on my brand new game. Ah, memories?
For me, I couldn?t wait until my own children could talk and comprehend simple instructions because that meant we could play board games together as a family. And there are really great ones for every age level. Here is my short list, but I?m sure there are many more you played as a child, so dive into those memory banks and let the games begin!
Ages 2?3 ?
Candyland: Helps with learning colors and numbers, and who doesn?t love Gramma Nut?
Memory: My kids have a better memory than me and started playing much younger than I thought possible.
Go Fish: A classic
Hide and Seek: No pieces necessary
Cat & the Hat, I can do that: Helps with coordination
Ages 3 ? ?5
Puzzles, 24-100 pieces: My kids have done a ton of these in past few years. We even made a photo book of all of the puzzles they had worked, just like their great-grandfather who is a master puzzle worker.
Uno: While traditional Uno is fun, there are now character themed ones, such a CARS and Barbie
Chutes & Ladders: I put it in this age group because of coordinating the counting, climbing and sliding.
War or High Low is another name for this game: You just need a standard deck of playing cards for this classic, and the game can go on forever! The highest card takes the turn.
Bingo: We have a wildlife bingo where kids match photos of animals rather than numbers, which allows for younger kids to play.
Cooties: Let?s face it?kids love a game about making bugs!
Busytown: The game board for this is about 4-5 feet long and just like the book, you have to find things hidden in the long picture board.
Elementary Age
Trouble: Love the pop-o-matic bubble!
Sorry: Teaches strategy and how kids can gang up on their parents during a board game.
Racko: Helps you learn to manipulate cards to get them in number order.
Connect Four: The newer version has more options for playing.
Yahtzee: Like Uno, this classic now has character versions.
Twister: This is a fun age to start it at, but really, any age can play if you are flexible!
Guess Who?: This is similar to the game where you guess if it is an animal, mineral or vegetable, but with people.
Wii: We have started playing the bowling game and it has been super fun.
Tweens & Up
Monopoly: Many versions of this game are available. We even have a golf one and an Illini version.
Life
Scrabble
Pictionary
Battleship: I still remember the commercial introducing this game? ?You sunk my battleship!?
Taboo: The buzzer has changed its tune since the original, but it is still fun to watch people try and describe a word without saying certain words listed on the game card.
Upwards: A bit like scrabble, except you can stack tiles on one another.
Charades: Get those kids to be a little silly acting out things and maybe they won?t grow up so fast. 
Crazy Eights: Rules are as follows: http://boardgames.about.com/od/cardgames/a/crazy_eights.htm
Submitted by Sarah Chandler. Sarah is a Springfield native, wife to Jeff and mom to Levi and Anne. She loves to spend time outdoors biking, hiking, skiing and playing golf. When she needs a break, you?ll find her in the purple painted walls of her craft room writing, creating quilts, swaddle blankets and scrapbooks.
?
dept of justice weather chicago swizz beatz mpaa south carolina debate lauren scruggs william shatner
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.