FUN INDOOR GAMES TO PLAY WITH YOUR CHILDREN

Is it another showering day and you are stuck indoors with the children? Do not think that all you can do is to watch television or play mobile or video games or only read books. See below some fun games that can entertain as well as educate.

1. Card games
Card games are great for challenging young minds and creating hours of indoor fun. You could easily play some with your children.

2. Puzzles
Exercise your creative and problem-solving skills with a good puzzle. You can use an already made one or have the children make theirs. You can have your children draw a picture on a sturdy piece of cardboard or Bristol board. After, use a pencil to outline puzzle pieces directly on their drawing. Cut out the pieces with a pair of scissors or blade. Be mindful while you do this. Mix them up and get going.

3. Freeze!
Toddlers love this game but children enjoy it too. Choose some of your children’s favourite songs and turn up the volume. Then, ask them to dance until the music stops or you stop it. When it does, they have to freeze in whatever position they find themselves in – even if they have one leg up. To make the game more challenging and in effect, more interesting, ask the children to freeze in specific poses: animals, shapes and letters.

4. Hide and Seek
This is a classic by all standards. One person (“It”) covers his or her eyes and counts to 10 or as agreed aloud while the other players hide. When “It” is finished counting, he or she begins looking for the hiders. The last hider to be found is the next “It.” This game is often full of giggle fits. Families with older children might want to make it more exciting and take it a notch higher by making it a “Hide and Seek in the Dark”. Just to be safe while at it, make sure there are no loose items on the floor. If you want, allow “It” to carry a flashlight or turn the lights on once “It” finishes counting.

5. The listening game
Although this game is not a popular one, it is fun to play. This game is sure to both educate and delight little ones. To play the game, pick several miscellaneous items. Have the children look at all the items you have picked and then put them away. Next, ask one child to cover his or her eyes and listen as you pick up an item and make sounds with it. The child is to guess which item made the sound. Examples of these household items could be a comb (run your fingers at the tips) a glass (gently tap it), slippers (wear it and walk noisily), earthen ware pot, broom (sweep with it) water in a bottle (shake it).

6. Adjo Says
This is a traditional favourite of most people. To play this game, choose one player (probably a parent for the first round) to be Adjo. The rest of the players will gather in a circle or line in front of Adjo, as he/she calls out actions starting with the phrase “Adjo says”. For example, Adjo says…touch your waist.” The players then have to copy Adjo’s action, touching their waist. If Adjo calls out an action without uttering the phrase “Adjo says,” the children must not do the action. If a child touches his waist when Adjo didn’t say…, he or she is out of the game. The parent can make it more interesting by tricking the players in many ways to fail. The last player standing after all others are out becomes the next Adjo.

7. Memory game
This is an innovative game developed by Marsha Colla which challenges the minds of the children and causes them to giggle and have fun. To begin with, everyone sits in a circle. The first player says, “In my basket, I packed…,” and then says what item he or she packed. The next player then says, “In my basket, I packed…,” and then mentions what the first player packed and adds his or her own item to the basket, and it goes and on.

 9.Indoor bowling
A great way to reuse water bottles, if you do not have an indoor bowling set is to use them for a bowling game. Simply line about five-ten empty water bottles up at the end of a spacious part of your home. Then, put a line of duct tape at the starting point or line. Place a medium-sized indoor ball (tennis, tiny bowl etc.) and start bowling. If you want to stabilize the water bottles or make the game more difficult, just fill the bottles with some water but don’t forget to screw the tops on tightly!)