Home made games ideas for children
Out and About Bingo
Have a chat with your little one about the things they might see whilst out walking, out in the garden (if you have one) or simply by looking outside through the window?
Then, create a simple grid with squares and draw the things onto each square.
It can be as easy or as hard as you like.
Now, see if you can get ‘Bingo’ by spotting all the objects!
Paper Towel Roll and Pom-Pom Challenge
This clever idea is a great way to help your little one become one of the engineers or mathematicians of the future.
It’s also great for fine motor skills, balance and coordination. Who knew a tube could do all that?
First, you need some cardboard tubes, cut into smaller pieces of varying sizes.
Then, stick them onto a tray or box lid with space enough to roll a small round thing around in.
The aim is to roll the round thing through the tubes.
If you want to make the game more challenging for older children, try numbering the tubes and rolling the ball through them in numerical order.
Let's roll!
(With thanks to for the idea)
Indoor Bowling
Time for some indoor bowling fun.
To create your own skittles all you need are cardboard tubes, scissors, some glue, paint, pens, shiny bits and bobs, scraps of paper or whatever you have to hand.
No glue? Not a problem, just mix up a little flour and water to make a paste. It works a treat! Finally, a rolled-up sock makes a great little ball, or you may already have one of your own to use.
Encourage your little one to decorate the tubes, then once dry, line them up and roll your ball. Try and knock down as many as you can and whoever knocks down the most, wins.
Why not number each of the skittles, then as your little one rolls the ball and knocks one over, name the number on it? This will help your little one to begin to recognise number names and their written form.
(With thanks to the Thrive360Living and websites for the pictures)
Sticky Spiderwebs
Here’s a great idea for a game that helps your little onesto develop their hand eye coordination and have fun at the same time.
All you need is a roll of sticky tape, kitchen paper, newspaper or anything to scrunch up into balls (socks work too) and a doorway.
Start criss-crossing the tape across the top or middle of the door (depending on the height of your little one and how high you think they might be able to throw). Make sure that the sticky side is facing you. Then, encourage your little one to have a go and throw the scrunched-up balls at the web. Did your web catch a fly?
To add another challenge, why not ask your little one to take a step back and throw? Now take two steps back and throw!
(With thanks to and for the idea and pictures)
Homemade Jigsaw Puzzle
Today, why not have a go at making some homemade puzzles! It’s really easy.
You can either print out pictures, use pictures from out of magazines or use old birthday cards that you may have.
Cut them up into a variety of shapes, sizes and angles, then encourage your little ones to put them back together.
Your little one can also have a go at cutting them and asking you to have a go!
Monster Dice
Want to try the Monster Dice game?
All you need is a piece of paper, some pens or pencils and a dice.
Start by drawing a basic head and a body.
Then, take it in turns to roll the dice and follow the instructions according to the number rolled, e.g. add one arm, add spiky hair etc.
(With thanks to Sara Aldridge and Simple Crafts for Kids for the idea and photo)
