I used to call this bored games because back in the day, we would play board games when there's a power outage, or if we are bored. We'd rather go outside and play or climb trees or just run around playing tag. These days, kids are robbed of the pleasure of going outside to socialize with friends old and new because of this pandemic. And parents are getting stressed out trying to find ways to keep the kids occupied while still doing the chores and other tasks.
Last month, my nieces visited our place and stayed here for a month because their online classes are over. And because my sister is already running out of ideas on how to keep her kids busy and happy inside their house. Classic younger sister move, passing the burden to the older sister. LOL. I, on the other hand is also getting stressed out because it seems my little kiddo is getting tired of having me as her playmate. Ditto, kiddo. Ditto.
While we as parents wants to spend a lot of time with our kids and would feel really happy if our kids are happy with us, it's just different when they're with kids their age. Remember how fearless and curious we were back in our younger years? That fearlessness and curiosity slowly dropped as we grow older. Whether we like it or not, they will want to spend some time with other kids more than you. And that's the problem my sister and I solved when she sent her kids over to me for a month.
Another hurdle came though. One month is 30 long days, each needing to be filled with fun activities and games to make sure they don't feel too confined inside the house. I have a few games and activities that I used with my little one but of course, that's just a few. I had to be inventive. And inventive I became.
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Off to the drawing board, I went. I have board games in my arsenal, actually but then the kids are still too young for scrabble, they don't enjoy chess as much as Tatay and I do, and they have played snakes and ladders one too many times. They're looking for something new. What's newer than a DIY Board game, right?
At first, I didn't really know what kind of board game I'm going to make. All I know is that I like it to look like the monopoly goard game, but I don't want to make it too complicated for the kiddos. Also, I want it to be another way of teaching and reviewing what they already know, while also giving them some physical activities. Kids have tons of energy that needs to be dispersed.
When I was starting making this DIY Board game, I just sort of drew squares on a big white cartolina. I gotta get started somewhere, somehow. The first goal I had in mind was teaching Aya the numbers and the spelling of those numbers. So each boxes will contain the number symbols and the number words. Nifty way to teach a kid how to read number symbols from 1-40, eh?
Then, I made one big rectangle at the center, I don't really know what for because I don't know how to call my DIY board game but in the end, it became a landing spot for the DIY dice I made a couple of months ago. I'll be sharing that one too in one of my posts.
Then, to balance the empty space out, I drew four rectangles on each corner. That's going to be the landing space for the task cards. At that point, I wasn't sure what to put in there, I just know that Monopoly has cards on it so this one has to have one too.
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Then next is the coloring bit. Kids are attracted to colors so this DIY board game needs to be as colorful as it can be. Although, I wanted to make sure that they don't get too distracted with the colors. I wanted it to have just enough variation to keep them interested.
I am a stay at home mom, and as such, I have a lot of tasks to do around the house. While I wanted to finish this DIY board game as fast as I could, I still need to put it aside to finish my chores. But I also needed to keep the kids busy so I tasked them into coloring the squares. Yet another way to teach my little one how to improve her fine motor skills. The instructions were simple, color each boxes according to their assigned colors, and color within the lines. That's another hour of busy-ness for the kiddo. Yay!
While the kids were here, I tried to determine the common topics that they can each enjoy while still learn. I have a third grader, a first grader and a senior kinder in the house that time. The common subjects I find they'll have fun with were reading and writing, math, random kiddie questions, and of course, physical education. And so, the four rectangles were filled with those cards.
For PE, I have jumping, jogging, skip hopping, running, and jumping jacks. For math, I incorporated the flash cards for addition, subtraction, skip counting, and comparisons. There were only two cards in the reading/writing rectangle. I just simply had them write their name on the board or read a 3-4 sentence story in their practice reading books. For the random kiddie questions, they have questions about the day, their favorite color/toy/subject, etc.
Each card is assigned to a different color. They will pick a card based on the color of the number their trinket landed on. Before they pick out the card, I have them read the number symbol and spell out the number words. The dice has a very important role too. I chose to put two pieces of dice in the DIY board game because I wanted them to practice their addition. The more they get into the game, the faster they get to answer simple addition questions. Too bad, the dice only has six sides. But that's good enough for me.
The cards are training them to read faster too. I have them read the cards by themselves and pass it along to each other so each one will have the chance to read. Sometimes, they get too overexcited, they all do the task on the card. Kids are just too competitive, I think. Or maybe they just all want to experience all the tasks on the cards. It's all good for me though. The longer they play, the longer I relax. LOL.
I did all the not so easy part of the DIY board game like the cutting, pasting, writing of the numbers, etc. And the only time I can do it is on my free time which is at night when all the kids are asleep. After a long day, all I want to do is to just sit back, relax, watch Netflix while I crochet whatever project I have going on. But since the DIY board game needs to be completed soon, (or I'll lose my sanity) I have to finish it right away. What better way to relax while doing a project than to have a bottle (or two) of Smirnoff. Note to self though, don't drink too much or else, the counting will be off, you'll have to explain to three confused little kiddos why the number symbols and the number words doesn't match. LOL.
This DIY board games saved us all from boredom. This, aside from all the other activities we made for the entire duration of their vacation. In my post about keeping the kiddo motivated, one way of doing this is to gamify the learning process. This board game is like a summary of most of what we learned and needed to learn. This is the ultimate gamification of learning and I am so glad I made it with the help of three little helpers. I'm sure my nieces are looking forward to playing this board game again when they come back for their vacation next year.
@romeskie is a full-time stay-at-home mom to a homeschooling toddler. Loves crocheting as a hobby. Maintains a mini food forest, aiming to grow more to achieve that farm-to-table homesteading. Learned how to cook after leaving the corporate world to take care of her family and is now starting to acquire basic baking skills. Learn more about her adventures and misadventures in the world of motherhood.
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