How to Make this Simple Game that Kids of all Ages will Love

Trust me, your kids will LOVE this game! We loved it as kids and my kids have loved it! It is so simple to make and can keep your kids busy for hours. The best thing about this game is you can even use this game to teach your older kids math and your younger ones can work on fine motor skills and cognitive skills! I know, it sounds too good to be true! I promise, this one is a winner!

What you'll need:

A pot lid (make sure your beads fit under it)

Dice, you can choose to use 1 or 2 (you can use the kind with numbers on them for younger children working on learning their numbers)

String

1 large bead for each person playing

To Make: Cut a 24 inch piece of string for every bead and thread them through the bead and make a knot. It doesn't get more simple than that.

Object:

Once a pre-chosen number is rolled you try to get your bead on a string pulled out of the way before the pot slams down on it.

Players: 2-However many you'd like Ages: 3 and up

How to play:

It's best to play this game in a circle on a carpeted floor. Everyone places their beads in the center with your string coming out toward you (like the spokes of a bicycle wheel). This way when the pot lid comes down all of the beads are in the middle where they can be caught under the lid if you're not fast enough. One person is chosen to be the pot lid slammer. The pot lid slammer rolls the dice and tries to catch the beads with the pot lid. Everyone else has a bead on a string that they try to pull out of the circle when the chosen number is rolled. Before you start each round, choose a number on the dice that you want to roll. When you roll that number (or combination of numbers on 2 dice) the person holding the pot lid slams down the lid trying to catch all of the beads before you can pull them out. Each person takes a turn being the pot slammer. You can play the game like horse so that each time your bead gets caught you have to take a letter. Once you get all of the letters in a chosen word, you are out. You continue the game until the last two people are standing.

This is a great game to help kids learn. Here are all of the ways we have played it to teach important skills:

For kids learning addition and subtraction, you can play a version of this game where you use two number dice. You then have to add or subtract one number from another to get the agreed upon number. Example: For the addition version, let's say the number you've chosen to slam on is 5. If I roll a 2 and a 3, SLAM. If I roll a 4 and a 1, SLAM. If I roll a 3 and a 1, no SLAM.

For toddlers like my Baby Bumblebee playing this game with his dad (below) it is a great way to learn number recognition. It also help develop fine motor skills and cognitive skills. If your little one is still not ready for numbers, you could use a dice with color squares on it. When playing with toddlers you will need to be a patient pot holder. They are a little slower, but really enjoy playing if the get enough wins.

For older kids learning how to read dice this is a great way help them practice counting the dots and recognizing the number of dots on the dice.