Nixdminx has started a huge meme with all the founding members of British Mummy Bloggers

1. The game I loved? Heads down thumbs up, we’d play it at the end of the school day. It was a really nice way to end the day and one of those sweet things you leave behind when you move up to secondary school.

2. The game I hated? Tag. It always seemed really pointless to me.

3. The games we made up as kids?

Obstacle Courses

We’d set a route through the park and time or race each other, this idea was from the Krypton Factor when they do the assault course at the end (which I’ve actually done).

Traffic Jams

We’d use the car mat or assemble roads and pretend the cars were in traffic jams. You’d think it would be boring but it kept my brother and I amused for hours.

Heads and Volleys

We made up several variations of the football game heads and volleys and played them well into the night!

4. The games my child has invented?

Erin’s only three so she’s just coming into this but recently it’s constantly a role reversal game where she is mummy and I’m Erin.

Pretending to go on a summer holiday and assembling a car from two chairs and some soft toys.

1. Penny Toss

Provide pennies and bowls, mark a shooting spot on the grass, every penny in the pot wins a prize. [from Having Fun with Kids by Marilee LeBon]

2. Penny a Weed

We did something similar with snails when I was younger! Two pence for a snail though, it’s a dirty job.

3. Peanut Hunt

Buy a pack of monkey nuts, mark some ‘winning’ nuts, and then hide all the nuts. Give prizes to any kids who find winning nuts. [from Having Fun with Kids by Marilee LeBon]

4. Home-made Skittles

5. Face Painting

6. Bingo

7. Happy Sun Craft Project (Easy)

8. Short Tennis

You can buy children’s sets relatively cheaply. Get set up with some strawberries and cream and pretend you’re at Wimbledon.

9. Ripped Newspaper Art Project

10. Bike Rides

Pack a picnic and make it an all day outing.

11. Build Sandcastles

In a sandpit or on a beach, make flags from paper and straws for the top.

12. Make Homemade Birthday Cards

Most superstores have pre-packed sets for a few pounds/dollars, which usually include card, glue, stickers and glitter.

13. Make Chocolate Fondue

14. Day Camp

Set up a tent and provide picnic food, and have a day camp in the back garden

15. Karaoke Competition

Hold a karaoke competition, or go one further and host a ‘stars in their eyes’ final with all the kids imitating pop stars.

16. Blind Taste Test

Blindfold each child in turn and provide a few different foodstuffs, mark down which ones they get right. Provide a small prize for the winner.

17. Play Hide and Seek

18. Ice Cream Picture Activity

19. Egg and Spoon Races

Use the plastic eggs from the toy kitchen, if you have one.

20. Visit a Science Museum

21. Put on a Play

Provide a good story book and get the children to choose parts and act it out.

22. Read-athon

Hold a read-a-thon, see how many books they can read in an alotted time.

23. Play Marble Mania

24. Backyard Cookery Class

Hold a cookery class in your own back garden. Tailor recipes to the appropriate age, but perhaps homemade pizzas, fruit kebabs and fairy cakes would be a good place to start.

25. Visit a Farmers Market

Pick ingredients and make a homemade soup or ratatouille.

26. Sponge Painting

Provide a length of plain wallpaper, some sponges and some paint. Hey presto!

27. Sand Art

28. Colour-in Printouts

There are various sites to get print-outs, just search in google.

29. Stencilling with Doilies


30. Visit the Library

Try and arrange to go during story-telling time.

31. Model with Play-dough

32. Go Swimming

33. Make Chocolate Krispie Cakes

34. Build an Obstacle Course

Build an obstacle course in the back garden and time each other. Use and play equipment you have, ie tubes, climbing frame, bikes, hula hoops, skipping ropes with household items like sheets as scramble nets.

35. Chalk Drawing

Use white chalk on black paper, or the patio as a canvas!

36. Go Bark Rubbing

37. Build Cardboard Robots

38. Jigsaw Puzzles

Do jigsaw puzzles and then try and make your own from card.

39. Water Play

Fill water balloons and pistols for older kids.

40. Make Homemade Musical Instruments

41. Sticker Picture

Provide stickers and plain card, it’s that easy!

42. Make Sock Puppets

43. Fondant Icing Characters

Provide a few different colours of fondant icing (colour with food colouring) and let your children make animals and characters from cartoons.

44. Start a Herb Garden

45. Listen to a Story CD

You can usually borrow these from the library.

46. Make Painted Pasta Jewellery

47. Make an Alphabet Scrapbook

Use a page for each letter and find magazine cut outs of the letter to stick in, great activity for preschoolers.

48. Play Card Games

Uno, snap and pairs can provide a couple of hours of fun.

49. Photography

Buy them a disposable camera to practice taking photos of wildlife and scenery.

50. Summer Scrapbook

Make a scrapbook with photos, pictures and comments on everything you’ve done over the holidays.

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Between 12-18 months children will begin to understand turn-taking games (nursery & school guide 06-07)

Starting with the easiest, here are some turn taking game suggestions;

Roll the Ball

Take turns roling the ball back and forth.

Catch

Once you’ve mastered ‘roll the ball’ try gently throwing the ball.

Snap

Take turns to lay a card until a match appears and someone shouts “snap”

Hide and Seek

Take turns to hide while the other one ‘seeks’.

Pairs

Shuffle cards and place face down, take turns to reveal two cards at a time. Try and make a pair, if you get lucky, take another turn.

Photo by flickr user StubbsUk

Reader Tip

Keep little ones entertained by filling juice bottles with water, stick a number on them and play skittles. (thanks, Lisa)

(Also teach them to count by numbering the bottles 1-10 and making these their points value ie knock over a one, a three , and a nine and get 13 points. First to 100 wins! – Little Mummy)