lily pad play
Recently I joined the Flickr group “Creative Summer”- started by one of my favorite blogs…
I noticed a really cute idea that required lily pads and stuffed frogs and although I WISH I could whip out a few frogs, I improvised. (time at the sewing machine has been very minimal and it’s driving me mad).
We found our driveway empty today (car in the shop) and so I recommended a “chalk fest’. As I was getting the chalk and kids were bouncing out of the house I knew there needed to be some structured play. Guess what popped in my mind? That’s right, the brilliant lily pad game. My kids loved it- there was some drama, tears, and frustration (from my poor son), but soon we got our groove and it was fun.
We basically made up the game right before starting, but I reminded the kids to keep it SIMPLE without a trillion rules, rewards, etc. You know how kids can get!
The perfect thing is that Penelope could play by just hopping around as we were a bit more competitive.
How we played:
1. Draw out a bunch of lily pads using the same colors.
2. Add a few more lily pads with a different color scheme (these are bonus and you get another turn.)
3. Have fun adding fish or sea creatures or whatever…
4. Throw a rock on the first lily pad, it needs to land on the pad OR at least on the line (depending on your kids skill and patience.) After the first throw, you go again. This is just so there aren’t 3 of you on the same lily pad. After this everyone gets one chance unless you throw a rock on a “bonus” lily pad.
5. Whoever makes it home first- WINS.
Easy, huh? A perfect game to change as you wish. Nice for the outdoors. Even better when you see your kids play on their own without YOU having to nag them to do it…
I feel like we are at the point of summer that I have 3 shadows following me wondering what to do next. I sound terrible, I know! Thank goodness for some fresh inspiration and I need to read back on some other fabulous blog posts…now only if I can find time and a good excuse to sit in front of the computer! (Thanks to Mama Urchin for the great game inspiration!)
