Balloon Juggle

Games for kids 11+, Games for kids 2-5, Games for kids 6-10, Indoor Games, , ,

Balloon Juggle!

Balloon Juggle

Balloon stuck on the ceiling? Instant win.

Best Played: Indoors

Supplies Needed: 

  • Balloons

Basic Rules:
Hit a balloon in the air and do not let it hit the ground.

This game is super simple but there are lots of fun ways to make it interesting. You can make rules like only hit it with your hand or only with your foot. If your kids are older, you can hit each other’s balloons or you cannot let the balloon hit the ceiling. This game can easily turn into a full contact game. For the younger kids, you can hit each other’s balloons with your own balloon.

It’s not a real game until you are diving on the couch to stop the balloon from hitting the ground.

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Paw Patrol 3 Card Game Pack!

Games for kids 2-5, Games for kids 6-10, , ,

Paw Patrol 3 Card Game Pack!

Paw Patrol 3 Card Game Pack

Best Played: Indoors

Supplies Needed: 

Basic Rules:

The three card games that come with this pack are War (Tug of War), Go Fish (Go Pup), and Old Maid (Old Bone).

Go Pup aka Go Fish: This is great for young kids because it teaches them to pay attention. It can be hard at first for your kiddo to remember what all has been asked for, but if you can play the first few games with at least 3 people it makes it easier. Let’s be honest, a kid under 5 is going to be terrible at not showing everyone their cards, mostly by accident. With three people, you can say things like, “Remember how someone asked me if I had Chase? Do you have Chase? Maybe you should ask them if they have that card.”. After several games, they should start picking up on this and hopefully not just ask the same person for the same card over and over again. This is also where a card holder becomes really handy, allowing them to see all their cards in their little hands. I like to keep the score pretty close just so it makes it feel like a close game. Game:
When I got this card pack, I did not realize how much my kid would love it. Card games can sound pretty boring at the start, but there are definitely ways for you to make it fun. 

Tug of War aka War: This game helped my son learn which numbers are higher. If he does not know who won a round, I make him count to each number using the cards to see which one has more. Once he got the hang of it, I would say on hand that I lost “Haha! I win!”. He would usually respond with “No! I win because 6 is more than 5!”. 

Old Bone aka Old Maid: This game is really boring unless you have more than 2 people to play. If you only have one child or your kids aren’t quite old enough to play this without help, you can play a memory matching game with the cards that can get quite competitive.

 

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Marshmallow Wars!

Games for kids 11+, Games for kids 2-5, Games for kids 6-10, Indoor Games, , ,

Marshmallow Wars!

Ammo... I mean Marshmallows

Best Played: Indoors

Supplies Needed: 

  • Marshmallows
  • Cardboard (Optional)

Basic Rules:
Run around the house like crazy throwing marshmallows at each other.

There is nothing more satisfying than throwing small objects at your kid’s head. It’s even better when they don’t end up crying for hours. The basic idea of this game is just to throw marshmallows at each other, because why not. This is especially good for younger kids. 

For older kids, you can keep score on who has been hit the most. If you have multiple kids, use your whole living space and play Capture the Flag. You can also build cardboard forts or make cardboard armor. 

Either way, make sure you have extra marshmallows left over so you can eat some after you clean up the mess from the war. Oh and the winner of the war does not have to help clean up. 

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Blue’s Clues!

Games for kids 2-5, Games for kids 6-10, Indoor Games, Outdoor Games,

Blue’s Clues!

The dog is the clue

Best Played: Indoors or Outdoors

Supplies Needed: 

Basic Rules:
Print out paw prints and tape them on three items. Have your kid try to find the clues. After finding each clue, either you or your child can draw it on the notepad using the crayon. Once you find all three clues, go to the designated “thinking chair” and have them figure out what the three clues mean.

Younger kids love Blue’s Clues and I do not understand it. But this game takes hide and seek and adds troubleshooting to it. Get ready to play this game multiple times over and over again. The first thing to do is to come up with a good list of things for your kid to figure out. You can even make them do chores with this game. Got to feed the dog? Put a clue on the dog (or dog bed), one on their food bowl, and one where you store the dog food. You can also use this game to lead into other fun things like going on a walk by putting one on your shoes, the door, and maybe a coat. 

My kid thinks it’s hilarious if I make ridiculous guesses when we’re figuring out the clues on the “thinking chair.” Using the dog food example, say “Maybe we need to put the dog bowl on the dog and pour dog food on it?” or “Maybe we need to put the dog in the dog bowl and pour food on the dog?”  Make it silly and fun.

 

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Balloon Baseball!

Games for kids 11+, Games for kids 2-5, Games for kids 6-10, Indoor Games, , , ,

Balloon Baseball!

Balloon Baseball

Best Played: Indoors

Supplies Needed: 

  • Balloons
  • Paper Plates

Basic Rules:
It’s super complicated. Imagine baseball, but with a balloon in your living room. There is a pitcher and one batter. The pitcher throws the balloon to the hitter, and the hitter swings their hand to hit the balloon.

Want a game that will get your children (and yourself) utterly exhausted? This is your game. Blow up a balloon and start playing. I use paper plates as bases, but you can use anything, even just paper. 

For younger kids, I use all 4 bases (they don’t have to be that far apart from each other). I don’t count it as an out if I catch the balloon, and I let them throw the balloon at me to get me out. I frequently throw the balloon really hard right behind them (so they think I am actually trying). I also only do 1 out, and you have to round all the bases so you are constantly going back and forth between pitching and hitting.

For older kids, I do play that if you catch the balloon it is an out. This encourages them to hit it toward the ground. You can also play with ghost runners. This means if you get to first base and don’t get tagged with the balloon, you can declare a ghost runner on first and re-hit. But on the next hit, if the pitcher is able to get the balloon and tag second before you get to first, the ghost runner is out. For quicker games, only use 1 out instead of 3. 

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