Fun Games for Kids That Can Be Played Anywhere
Keeping the kids entertained--especially while standing in line at the bank or DMV--can be difficult. However there are several games that can be played anywhere. Some of the games require nothing and are free but some require items like paper or writing utensils.
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Question Games
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Play a question game called "I Spy." This game can be played with just two people or several people of different age groups. One kid begins by saying, for example, "I spy something green," It can be anything that's the color green. Have players take turns asking questions about the object that can be answered with a "yes" or "no." Whoever gets it right, gets to pick the next object. or play a game of 20 questions by having one kid think of an object. The other players take turns asking questions that can be answered with a "yes" or "no." Try to guess what object the player is thinking of in 20 questions or less.
Classic Games
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Classic games are easy to learn and don't usually require a whole lot to play them. Rock, Paper, Scissors can be a fun game for younger kids and they can play a best out of five version or come up with their own version of the game. Carry around a book that requires kids to fill in the blanks of a story with parts of speech like an adjective or noun. Or, have the kids make some of the stories up themselves. Just have one player ask the other player for whatever the blank word asks for without that player looking. Read the story out loud with the contributions from the other player. Tic-tac-toe is also a classic game that can be played anywhere with paper and a writing utensil.
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Alphabet Games
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Turn the I Spy game from the first section into a learning game by spotting something that begins with the letter A, then the letter B until you reach the end of the alphabet. Play alphabet games with a line like "I packed my grandmother's suitcase with" or "I helped my mom cook with." Then have each player come up with a single item starting with the letter A, then B and ending with Z. However, each player must remember what the player previous to him said and then add his word. For example if one player said "I helped my mom cook with apples," then the next player must say "I helped my mom cook with apples and bacon (or another B word)." This continues until a player can't remember the items before hers.
Active Games
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Try a game called "Categories," which involves a clapping rhythm that everyone participates in, to keep the game going. Come up with a category like "Types of Cereal." Then, go around in a circle, with a clapping rhythm (say, two claps and then a finger click) and each player names a cereal within the rhythm (for example, on the finger click). The first player to misspeak is out of the game and it continues until one player is left. Or play the hand-slap game by having one player place his hands palm up while the other player hovers her hands just above the first player, with her palms facing down. The first player must try to turn his hands over and slap the other person's hands. The other player tries to pull his hands back before the player slaps him. If she pulls her hands away before the other player attempts to slap her hands, the players change position. Players can slap with both or only one hand.
Role Playing
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M.A.S.H. stands for Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House, and it's a game that "predicts" each child's future. Write out M.A.S.H. at the top of the page and then list categories like "Boy/Girl Names," "Types of Autos," "Jobs," "Number of Pets," "Number of Kids" and anything else that may sound creative and fun. Then the person comes up with four to five items in each categories. Ask the one who came up with each item to close his eyes and tell you when to stop. While his eyes are closed, write out tic marks. When he says stop, count out the tic marks, say for example seven. Then go through each category of the game, including the M.A.S.H. you wrote at the top of the page and count to seven, marking off each seventh item. Keep doing this until you have one item under each category. Then, read the person's future including if that person will live in a Mansion, Apartment, Shack or House. Variations of this game can also be used and are only limited to the children's imaginations.
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References
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