An Easy Game to Keep Kids Entertained

As I write this, we’re getting to the part of summer that I think is hardest for kids and parents alike. It’s too hot to want to be outside, you’ve probably already had your big vacation or trips to various places you like to go during the summer, but school is still a ways off.

It’s easy to succumb to the lure of watching lots of movies or spending even more time on devices, but it’s great to try to get a little more family fun in while you can.

Enter the doughnut game.

This is a low-prep, quick and easy game that you can play with kids of just about any age and even adults will find it fun.

It’s sort of like a lower stakes version of Jenga, and just showing you a picture will basically tell you all you need to know about how this game goes, but go ahead and click over to the original at Playtivities to learn all the details of how they play it.

I love the idea that once you have your doughnut you can play this just about anywhere and at any time. When my daughter was younger I always had a bag of colored pencils in my purse (since she loved to draw and color but they don’t melt like crayons do). If you have that you can just tuck a doughnut into the same bag and you’ll be ready to play when you need to wait at a restaurant or any time the dreaded phrase “I’m bored” comes up.

Get all the details on how to prep and play the doughnut game over at Playtivities.

And if you are still hitting the road and need some more activities when you travel, check out this collection of road trip printables.

[Photo: Playtivities]

Lacing is a great fine motor activity, and most kids go through a phase where they enjoy working with lacing cards. It helps promote focus and is a great quiet activity for kids to do in the car or to fill time in the classroom. And of course knowing how to lace is the beginning of knowing how to sew, which is great for all kids to learn (more on teaching kids to sew here).

There are lots of ways to make your own lacing cards. This one is just a pin but it’s easy to make lacing cards with any shape a child is into using cardboard and a nail to poke the holes. This could be fun for letter and number recognition or spelling the child’s name. Or try this version from Hey Azka, which uses a hole punch to make bigger holes so you can lace with shoe laces.

You can also just do lacing cards with paper, but it’s a great idea to print them on card stock and/or laminate them to make them sturdier for little hands. Homeschool Share has a set of alphabet lacing cards, which are free with email signup. Deceptively Educational has a set of number lacing cards with numbers 0 to 10.

Picklebums has some basic shape lacing cards, too.

Living Life and Learning has a bunch of cute printable lacing cards, including back to school designs, shoes kids can lace and learn to tie and ocean themed lacing cards. She also has tips for making your own lacing cards.

A Rose Tinted World made their lacing cards with craft foam, which makes them a little more durable than paper and you can cut it more easily than cardboard. They used a die cutting machine but you can also cut shapes by hand.

I also love the cat and mouse cards from Seam Whisperer. They also have some spring themed designs. So cute!

If you want to make lacing cards that are more open ended, check out this tutorial form Pretty Life Girls to make lacing cards that are more like geo boards. Theirs are made with wood but you can also do this with cardboard, craft foam or card stock.

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