How to Take your Kids Bowling for FREE

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By howsitdone
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Bowling fun for everyone!

Are your kids or grandkids bored and restless, wanting to enjoy expensive forms of summer fun? Here’s a way you can take them and all of their friends bowling as often as you (or they) wish, without spending a penny. Don’t scoff: I have actually done this with children of all ages, from toddlers to teens. They love it and you will too!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Chalk or other marking device
10 same-size soft drink or tea bottles with lids (16-ounce to 1-liter size works best)
Tennis ball or softball
Pencil and paper

Step 1

THE LANES: Mark off one or more “lanes” on the floor or ground using chalk. Each lane should be about 3 feet wide. If you only need one “lane,” a long, narrow kitchen or porch will do the job. The length will depend on what size bottles you’re using and the size of the children. For toddlers, you should use 16-ounce empty containers in about a 10-foot lane. Teens can use a 20- or 30-foot lane and either 16-ounce containers partially filled with water or 1-liter empties. A foul line should be marked at the edge of the bowler area to keep bowlers from getting too close.

Use one lane for younger bowlers and another for older children if you have a variety of ages. Lanes should be placed at a good distance from each other – better yet, back to back – to avoid having the ball from one lane drift into the other lane. Remember, you won’t have gutters to keep the balls within the lane!
Step 2

Get creative!

THE PINS: Set up the “pins” (bottles) as follows: a single pin in the first row at the center, two pins behind that for the second row, three pins in the third row and four pins in the fourth row, to form a triangle shape. Pins should be spaced approximately a pin’s width apart on all sides. Once you determine the best pin placement, it’s a good idea to mark it with chalk to avoid conflicts among bowlers and make resetting the pins a quick operation.
Step 3

SCORING: If any of the bowlers or nearby adults knows how to score bowling frames properly, put them in charge of that task. Otherwise, just write each bowler’s name on a line followed by 10 large boxes, each large box containing a smaller box. An additional box should be at the end of the row, representing the extra frame allowed if all pins are knocked down in the 10th frame.

Each bowler gets two tries to knock down all 10 pins, with the first attempt recorded in the left side of the larger box and the second attempt recorded in the smaller “inside” box. A running total should be kept immediately above each large box for each bowler. If a bowler knocks down all pins in either one or two attempts during the 10th frame, he or she is allowed to make a third attempt after the pins are reset, with the results to be recorded in the third box of the 10th frame. Record the cumulative (final) total for each bowler to the right of the 10th frame boxes.
Step 4

THE MECHANICS: Bowlers should take turns manning the pin area to count how many pins are knocked down each time. The “pin person” calls out the number of pins knocked down after each attempt, then resets the pins after each bowler’s second attempt. Pre-schoolers will have difficulty with the math involved in counting pins knocked down on each bowler’s second attempt, so an adult or older child should always be the “pin person.”