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Written by Marcus Boucher

Being stuck inside with the kids covered in sugar and the stickiness of Easter candy? Playing boring old games that have been collecting dust? Spice it up!

Playing with a variety of ages with different skill levels can be tricky when trying to incorporate the whole family. To even the playing field there aren’t any rules that say you can’t make up your own “house rules” for any game. For example, Scattergories is a favorite in our household as it offers lots of potential for replay and adaptation as well as laughter and opportunities for expanding our vocabulary in fun, socially based game play. Many of you may own this game and played it with peers but a fun way to bring your kids into it and make it more fair and fun for all is to alter the rules slightly for younger players. For example, if the letter is “T” and the category is items found in your closet, you might think of trousers or a tie, but for a younger child that might be a challenge. In our home we offer points to the gradeschool children if they can just write down any item in their closet, it doesn’t have to be letter specific but as they grow we offer bonus points for them as they learn to answer with the correct letter. There are plenty of bonus points written into the actual rules for older kids and adults as well. If playing with an even younger child perhaps ask them to simply write the letter that was rolled as many times as they can before the timer goes off. The key is to make it fun and achievable for all players to join in on the family fun.

While playing Monopoly, sometimes it just lasts too long and the kids get bored. Try limiting the game to the first person to make it around the board so many times, or once everyone makes it around five times the game is done and you count your money. Another fun way to liven it up and burn some physical energy versus mental energy is make the kids do so many jumping jacks every time they pass “Go,” or run around the table, or if you’re feeling like some extra energy is needed to vent then run around the whole yard on warmer days.

With games like Sorry, allow kids to pull their pieces from start more easily by offering new rules for what qualifies as a start move, or make a rule that says you can only send a player back to start if they are older than you, or allow kids under 10 twice as many turns per turn, etc. For games like Trivial Pursuit, change the answers to multiple choice (and make some of the answers silly and goofy) or make the questions ones you know your kid will know.... even better yet incorporate their E-learning with the game and ask questions about topics you know they are currently studying.

Since there are no rules that say you can’t add your own rules to a game, I say do it! Make up any rule you can or want to to help make the game fun for all involved. Just make sure the rules are defined prior to the start of play so that no one feels like they are constantly changing or unfair. If you’re home with kids that have a wide gap in age, discuss the new rules with the older children so they all agree to the change. This will help them understand that the goal is to make it fun and not about winning...typically the rule changes should still allow all children and adults an equal chance at winning since they aren’t meant to let other players win but rather to level the playing field of fairness for all participants.

The point being, if there are game parts missing or not all the players are the same age, don’t be discouraged! Use what you have and make a new game, a custom tailored game for your family. Make your own rules or even completely new games, using your own clothes earn points by seeing who can put on the most shirts or put in the most hairties or wear the most hats, etc. Maybe see who can dress the most like dad or mom or like a 5-year-old or like a grandparent or a celebrity.

You’re only limited by your own imagination and your willingness to be silly. Stay safe my friends. Knitting • See a tutorial at https://youtu.be/MsZsUBYU 0qU

Leaf Painting • Begin by taking a walk to collect fallen leaves. • Then, set kids up with paint and paper. • Simply paint the leaves, turning each one into a unique canvas. • Have kids paint the leaves, and then press them to paper to make leaf prints. • Paint the leaves with a variety of colors to make rainbow leaf prints. • Use them as a paintbrush and paint

WITH the leaves. • Make intricate designs and patterns on the leaves using a fine-point brush and paint.

Shadow Art • Set up your sketchbook outside in the sunshine. • Place toys, figures or blocks on paper. Turn them in different directions to see how their shadows change. • Encourage little ones to trace around the shadows to create their very own shadow art. • To take the shadow art to another level, try coloring them in with crayons or paint.

Toilet Paper Roll Binoculars • Measure some colored paper and cut it the length of your paper rolls. Glue your paper onto your paper rolls.

Glue the first part of your paper onto the roll, wrap it all the way around and glue to finish. (Or simply decorate the rolls with paint or markers) • Glue your rolls together. You can do this with regular glue, but they are much sturdier if you use hot glue for this step. **If you wrap pipe cleaner around the rolls, you want to wait to glue your rolls together until you wrap the pipe cleaner. • Add your decorations! We had so much fun stringing sequins onto our pipe cleaner! Since my daughter is pretty young, I apply a dot of glue, and she sticks her items on. • Punch a hole on the side of each paper roll. • Tie your string onto your lookers. I just double knotted the string at each hole and trimmed the extra. • Let your child’s backyard safari begin!

• Make a “laser” maze in a hallway with crepe paper and scotch tape. • Encourage little builders with some mini marshmallows and toothpicks. • Create a target practice for little ones with a box, some string and some paper cups. • And most of all, let the fun begin!