Kids and Adults Will Love this Paper Version of Tetris

I’ve been doing a lot of posts about games lately (see also my post about printable board game templates) because I think games are a great activity when it’s hot outside. Or cold outside, depending on where you live. Or it’s raining. Or really any time you just need something to do.

I never really got into video games as a kid (or as an adult, other than a couple I play on my phone to pass the time) but I did always like Tetris. Did you know you can play a Tetris-like game without a screen?

One Mama’s Daily Drama designed a printable Tetris board, complete with brightly colored shapes like the classic game.

You can play it a couple of different ways. Start with a stack of shapes and try to put them together like you would in classic Tetris. Then you can either move the pieces down as you fill rows, or just play until the board is full and you can’t make any more moves.

This is fun as a solo game (and would be great for a road trip if you laminate the pieces for durability) but you can also print out multiple sets and have people challenge each other to see how many pieces they can use before they run out of space or how long they can play moving the full lines.

It might also be a fun challenge, instead of drawing shapes to place in order, if you worked with the shapes like a puzzle and tried to fill in as much area in your board as possible using whatever shapes you want.

I think this would be a great one to add to your printable games arsenal, and kids and adults will both want to get in on the fun.

You can grab the printable Tetris game pieces from One Mama’s Daily Drama.

[Photo: One Mama’s Daily Drama]

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Explaining Dia de Los Muertos to kids can be difficult because most of us don’t generally talk about death or what happens when we die a lot with our kids. But Dia de los Muertos is actually a happy, not scary occasion that allows us to remember loved ones, share stories and come together as a community.

While it is mostly celebrated by people of Mexican heritage, the day has become more well known thanks to movies and other media representations. And there are some great children’s books to help explain and allow you to celebrate the holiday if you want.

Dia de Muertos by Jaque Jours, illustrated by Alejandra Ruiz (48 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by words & pictures, suggested retail price $14.99) tells the story of a family getting their ofrenda (altar for the dead) ready and how they remember people who have died through decorations, food and sharing stories.

It covers the classic decorations and rituals of Dia de los Muertos including using cempasúchil (in English we call them marigolds) and papel picado (cut paper banners), pan de muerto and la catrina, the elaborately dressed, skull faced women that are a common site at Dia de los Muertos gatherings.

The back of the book explores how the day is celebrated throughout Mexico as well as the meanings of different symbols. There’s a recipe for pan de muerto, a tutorial for making papel picado and tips for doing makeup to look like like la catrina/el catrin.

Want to try more traditional foods? The Dia de Los Muertos Cookbook is a companion to The Dia de Los Muertos Story, both of which are by Andrea Jáuregui de la Torre and illustrated by Laura González (52 pages, hardcover paper over boards, published 2026 by becker & meyer kids!, suggested retail price $19.99).

The book opens with some discussion of the meaning of Dia de los Muertos and why food is an important part of the day. The recipes included are easy enough for kids to make with minimal help, and all based on food memories from her childhood.

There are recipes for hibiscus iced tea, Mexican corn and salsa, tortillas, molletes (open faced sandwiches with beans and cheese), jicama fries and sugar skulls to name a few.

Other activities in the book include papel picado, coffee filter marigolds, making your own playlist and making an ofrenda.

Together these books give young readers insight into this holiday that might be new or confusing to them, while also giving you a chance to get in the kitchen together and make your own Dia de los Muertos memories.

Have you read?

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