Some of these games take very little preparation.
For others, it will take you some time but you’ll have ready-made activities to pull out whenever your child wants to play – or needs to be distracted.
You can tailor them to your kids’ interests and developmental status, simplify or extend them as desired.
And best of all – they’re made with love!
Click on the images to read about the games we’ve made and played, or read more general remarks below the fold.
If you get in the habit of collecting items like bottle caps, clothespins, cardboard rolls, even scraps of paper and other common free items, they will serve you in a wide variety of kids’ activities, including many games on this page that you can use over and over.
Upcycling things that would normally just be thrown out can be a lot of fun – and an important lesson to your children all in itself!
As with all activities on this site, remember there’s no right or wrong way of doing it.
Even if you’ve planned a game to work one way, and really can’t see any possible way of doing it any other way, your child might well have a whole other game in mind.
Try to start by simply putting the game in front of her and see what she comes up with. Keep an open mind and let your child lead you if she so chooses.
There’s nothing wrong with gently explaining what you were thinking about when making the game but don’t be upset if it doesn’t work that way. You’re both bound to learn a lot and reap the many benefits of spending quality time together, no matter how you play a given game!
E certainly doesn’t always agree with me on how to play a certain game {or do any other activity} and that’s absolutely okay.
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