This DIY game was made with just some markers, scissors and a paper plate. It sounds deceptively simple but it really does keep young kids and toddlers busy and challenged, plus it's just genuinely good imaginative fun.
Cut a slit down the side of the paper plate for each challenge tab. You could use letters, shapes or colours depending on the ability of the player.
The aim of the game is that once you find the tasked object just fold down the tabs. You win when you have all the tabs turned down and its fun to see how fast it can be done. Best thing is it can be played all over again by flipping the tabs back up.
This gives the little ones a real sense of reward and helps with colour and letter learning... Plus its fun and can be played anywhere again and again.
Here's some ideas for making and using your plates....
- Use letters, colors, numbers, textures or shapes etc. (or a mix of these!) as the challenge. You could try numbers (finding certain amounts of things) or challenging kids to find different shapes in everyday objects or outdoors. For example a good play plate for older kids might require them to find a pair of something, something square, something yellow, something electric, something that makes noise, something soft etc.
- Make it a race! Each kid can make their own plate and they race against each other to tick off the tabs, the winner is the one who finishes first.
- Play it indoors: My 2 year old and I filled a good hour on a rainy day making the play plate using different colours in each tab, then running around the house finding different things that were each colour. Suddenly banal household objects or forgotten toys were found because they were the sought after colour and she just lit up, delighted with herself. It became a whole new game the next day for her after the rain cleared and we were out in the garden spotting things in each colour.
- Play it outdoors: In the park, garden, zoo or at the beach.. it can be used over and over again by kids to give a whole new perspective to the world around them.
- Play it out and about: The play plate helps keep kids busy and focused in the supermarket.
- Fight boredom in traffic or queuing - like waiting in line for a ride at in a fairground or when you are stuck the traffic, or a long queue at the post office!
