1. Pencil-and-paper games
From Battleship to Sprouts, we’ve created a must-play list of pencil-and-paper indoor games that beat TV any day. Gather some pencils and paper and check out these pencil-and-paper games.
2. Building
You don’t need a fancy building set for this. Popsicle stick cities, card towers, even buildings out of blocks, or indoor forts out of boxes or pillows, will do just fine. If you want to get competitive, whoever builds the highest tower wins.
3. Magical Mama (or Papa)
Be your kids’ very own magician. Simply place a coin under one of three cups and shuffle the cups around. Then ask your children to guess which cup holds the coin. Sneaky parents can place the cups near the edge of a table and secretly drop the coin.
Watch your tots’ eyes light up in amazement when they learn the coin is gone! You’ll probably enjoy playing the game too.
4. Freeze!
Choose some of your kids’ favourite tunes and turn up the volume. Ask them to dance until the music stops. When it does, they have to freeze in whatever position they find themselves in – even if they have one leg up. To make the game more challenging, ask the kids to freeze in specific poses: animals, shapes, letters or even yoga postures. Toddlers in particular love this game.
5. Hide and Seek
No list of indoor games would be complete without Hide and Seek, now would it? In this classic game, one person (“It”) covers his or her eyes and counts aloud while the other players hide. When “It” is finished counting, he or she begins looking for the hiders. The last hider to be found is the next “It.”
6. Treasure hunt
Kids love finding hidden objects — especially when there’s a prize at the end. Simply write your clues on some slips of paper — get creative. Place the first clue somewhere easy to find, like inside your child’s snack or cereal bowl. Then leave as many clues as you like around the house, making a trail to the final clue.
Instead of a prize, the treasure hunt can lead to various coins around the house. This way the kids get to collect all the coins and put them in their piggy banks in the end.
7. Indoor bowling
A great way to reuse water bottles (or you can purchase an indoor bowling set). Line six-10 water bottles up at the end of your hall or living room. Place a line of duct tape at the starting line. Use cardboard boxes as bumpers. Grab a medium-sized indoor ball and start bowling! If you want, keep score and give out trophies at the end.
Note: if you need to stabilize the water bottles or make the game more difficult, simply fill them up with some water. Don’t forget to screw the tops on tightly!
8. Bubbles
You don’t have to go outside to enjoy bubbles. For this indoor game, you need a plate and straw for each player, some dishwashing soap and water. Place a dime-size drop of dish soap at the centre of each plate. Pour a little water onto the plate and gently mix with the dish soap until some suds start to form. Have the kids place the straw in the suds and blow very gently. Watch as massive bubbles start to form. To make this competitive, see who blows the biggest, or longest-lasting, bubble.
9. Indoor basketball
You can’t be too little for this version of basketball. All you need is a bucket and a rolled-up sock (or a small, light ball). Each player takes a turn at throwing the sock-ball into the bucket. When a player scores a bucket, he or she takes a step back and throws again until missing. The player who shoots the ball in the bucket from the farthest distance wins.
10. Sensory box
Most preschoolers flock to the classroom sensory table as soon as the teachers pull it out. They will love a plastic container with beans, kinetic sand, pom poms or soapy water. Add some little toys and watch them play!
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Source: Today’s Parent, Image: iStockPhoto
Discovery Point Nursery and Academy daycare in Woodbridge, Vaughan.