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]

Leif Erikson Day is celebrated on Oct. 9, and it’s a great time to learn more about the Vikings and why we still remember Erikson all these years later.

If you don’t know about Leif Erikson (sometimes spelled Eriksson), he’s believed to have been born in Iceland, and is considered the first European to set foot on continental America, more than 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

123 Homeschool 4 Me has a printable mini book about Leif Erikson and the Vikings for kids to read and color. It talks about who the Vikings were, what kind of ships they used, how they got to America and more. It’s a good overview for younger kids to use.

A good unit study is available from Simple Living Creative Learning, which includes a page where kids can write what they know, what they want to learn and what they learned through the unit, as well as information on the Vikings, longships, helmets, clothing and more.

Get a printable Viking unit study with reading passages, comprehension questions and other activities aimed at grades 4-8 from Creative Classroom Core at Teachers Pay Teachers. (And see more Vikings content from TPT here.)

Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus has some great unit study ideas, too, including suggested books and videos. The post includes information about the Viking voyages, society, mythology and ships, as well as some vocabulary and a list of famous Vikings. While you’re over there also check out her free printable lapbook, which includes mini books on ships, a timeline, a Viking women coloring page, draw your own Vikings, geography, ancient runes and more.

Piqolo Kids has a lesson on Viking women with (available for purchase) worksheets about a day in the life of Viking women. Even if you don’t grab the printables there’s some good resources on that page and a link to a video on Viking women.

Learn how to draw a Viking ship with instructions from Drawing How to Draw, or grab Vikings coloring and labeling worksheets from Kids Puzzles and Games.

There’s a Leif Erikson Festival annually in Norway, Michigan, which you can learn more about here.

Have you read?

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