"The doctor will be with you in
"Only 15 more minutes on the road kids!" I say through my smile as I flip the radio station after hearing the opening verse of Ke$ha's "Blow" for the 40 bazillionth time. "Patience" I sigh as I click off the radio.
The grocery store check out line. The drive-thru at the local "not so fast food" place. On a long walk through the neighborhood. During dinner. When the girls say they are bored. These are just a few of the moments when I wrack my brain for a way to entertain my not-so-patient children and make time pass pleasantly.
Oh darn, I forgot my Pinterest inspired crayon pouches and busy books. The truth is, I've only pinned those things...I haven't actually made them. And even if I did, I probably did forget them at home. I'm lucky to get out of the house without forgetting one of the kids! (I have never forgotten one of my kids. Although I have imagined following through on the threat while they are
It's during these times that I think through my collection of games that require nothing more than people and brains to play. Some of them are better for older kids, but some can be adapted for littler ones who are no longer pacified with pacifiers, car keys, or the string from your hoodie. So here they are for you to file in your memory bank to use the next time you need to keep your kids from grabbing and, consequently, breaking things that say "do not let children touch" during the 20 minutes that you will be waiting for your doctor to appear.
10 + 1 for Good Measure Games to Play While You are Waiting
Higgy Piggy
Higgy Piggy is one of my favorites but it is best played with kids who are old enough to get the concept. My younger ones do make hilarious efforts bur it is more difficult for them to play because their vocabulary is limited and they don't get rhyming words just yet. The idea of Higgy Piggy is to create a riddle who's answer is two rhyming words.It's a great way to teach synonyms and rhyming. One person comes up with the question and the rest guess. For example: Q. What is a noisy thunderhead? A. A loud cloud. Q. What is hair for a hog? A. A pig wig. Get it? Got it? Good!
I Spy
We have been playing I spy since my kids started talking. Of course when you are in a beige waiting room you become a little limited but there are always enough ideas for a few rounds of I spy. We start off the game by picking an object in the room and saying "I Spy with my little eye something...blue" and then everyone takes turns guessing what is spied. The winner of the round chooses the next object.
I'm Thinking of An Animal, Person, Place or Thing
This is also a fun game for kids of all ages. And the girls often request I'm Thinking of an Animal whenever I suggest a waiting game. It's another easy one! Just choose an Animal (if the kids are older you can choose to play using famous people, places or favorite things) and then everyone asks yes or no questions about your animal and tries to guess what it is. For example: I chose COW. The kids ask: Does it live on a farm? Yes. Does it swim? No Does it eat Grass? Yes Does it give milk? Yes Is it is COW? Yes! It's fun to try to stump them.
How's Yours
How's Yours is best played in a group of at least four people. One person leaves the group and those left agree on an item...let's say "toothbrush"--The guesser returns and takes turns asking each person "how's yours?" the players give a word or short phrase to answer the question. I say "Bristly." Child one says "soggy." Child two says "green." Child three says "chewed." The guesser shouts out the answer as soon as she thinks of it and if she guesses on your word than you become the next guesser.
Thumb Wrestling
Lock your right hand with your opponent's hand with thumbs up. Move your thumbs side to side and you both chant "One! Two! Three! Four! I declare a thumb war!" and then try to pin your opponent's thumb with your thumb without letting go of their fingers. Once pinned, your opponent has 10 seconds to wiggle free before you win! (I let my kids win on occasion) ;)
Rock, Paper, Scissors
The rock is a balled fist. The paper is a flat palm. The Scissors are the pointer and middle fingers sticking sideways. Rock beats Scissors. Paper covers Rock. Scissors cut Paper. Simply say "Rock, Paper, Scissors...Shoot" and everyone throws their choice into the center of the circle. It's also a good way to make a decision--like who will be first to hop up on the doctor's table when she finally arrives!
Pits and Cherries
We play this every day at dinner. It isn't really a game so much as a conversation starter. Each person takes turns telling the best (The Cherry) thing about their day and the worst (The Pit) thing about their day. We all cheer or commiserate depending on whether the person is giving their Cherry or Pit. It is useful when you aren't sure what to talk about (There's never a shortage of topics around our table, but the girls still like to play).
I'm going on a Picnic
This is an alphabet/memory game. Start the game by saying "I'm going on a picnic and I am bringing an Ax" (or Apple, Anaconda, Aardvark--any "A" word) The next person says "I'm going on a picnic and I am bringing and ax and Bananas" The next person tries to remember everything the person before brought and adds their word to the end in alphabetical order. When the person can't remember all the items in order they are out. The winner is the person who can remember the entire list when no one else can!
The Telephone Game
The telephone game is best played with a larger group. Choose a long-ish phrase to whisper quickly into the ear of the person next to you. They then whisper what they heard into the next person's ear. You all giggle and laugh when the last person says the phrase aloud at the end and you see how much it has changed!
Name That Tune
One person chooses a well known song and hums the tune. The other players try to guess the song. The person that guesses gets to hum the next song. We play this game quite often. It makes time fly!Thankfully my girls can carry a tune pretty well so we aren't often stumped!
Don't Break The Cookie Jar
If you are keeping track...you will note that "Don't Break the Cookie Jar" is game number 11 on this list of 10. I added this one because it is Mommy's favorite--especially on a long car ride. But the girls are not very good at it at all. It's always good for about 10 seconds of peace--longer if you can get your kids to actually take it seriously. Simply say "Don't break the cookie jar!" the first person to talk or make a noise is out of the game!
Enjoy playing these silly, no fuss games with your kids the next time you are stuck waiting for something or someone!
Can you think of any others? Leave 'em in the comments! I'm always looking for fun, new ideas to keep the kids' entertained!
Can you think of any others? Leave 'em in the comments! I'm always looking for fun, new ideas to keep the kids' entertained!
If you are visiting from Pinterest, or a first time reader, feel free to check out our follow-up post with 10 MORE games to keep you entertained while waiting!
This post is linked at: Top Ten Tuesday with Many Little Blessings
These are great! I foresee a lot of How Yours in our future. The major bonus is that this is a lot more balanced of a perspective than vowing never to eat out again and dedicating all of our Olive Garden gifts cards from Christmas to take-out only...;)
ReplyDeleteWhat great ideas! :) That Cherry and Pit one is a good idea! :) My kids are a bit young, 1 and 3, but I like those ideas! :) I'll need to read this over and over to put them in the memory bank. haha :)
ReplyDeleteI could kiss you right now! I am tapped out on waiting games and if I have to play I Spy one more time (the only thing this un-creative mama pulls out to bust boredom), you might spy me curled up in the corner in a fetal position, sucking my thumb and asking, "Is it time yet?" A little dramatic...I know. But seriously, I love the idea of pits and cherries to get conversation going and I can't believe I didn't think to play rock, paper, scissors or thumb wrestling! I'm just so happy right now I might go schedule a doctor appointment so I can try these out!
ReplyDeleteLet me know how you and the kids like them! And Thanks for the comment Deanna!
ReplyDeletePits and Cherries is a dinner table must at our house. Even my almost two year old gets in to the act! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteWe play How's Yours around the campfire. It is a fun game for adults too...Lots of laughs! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun list! I love your reference to "The Court Jester". Not enough people have seen that movie! :) By the by, I found you on pinterest...I, too, pin much more than I actually do.
ReplyDeletethank you for this list. I am copying some of them and giving them to the teachers at church to play with the kids when they run out of lesson, but still have time left.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found us Claire! Hope the games come in handy for you!
ReplyDeleteYou are more than welcome. I love that you are sharing them!! :)
ReplyDeleteI know another fun game!! I don't know the name of it but it has to do with words and patterns. The pattern can be double letter words, words that start with the first letter of your name, five letter words, etc. One person is the leader of the pattern. They say I like _______, but I don't like________. As the other players catch on, instead of yelling out the pattern, they simply join in adding their own phrases.
ReplyDeleteI agree...The Court Jester is a movie everyone must see! It is so great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great ideas! We're planning a trip to Disneyland, and these will be great to play while standing in line for the rides! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ideas-we play several of these regularly!
ReplyDeleteA variation on "I'm thinking of" that our family has spent hours playing is Mental Hide and Seek. Pick a place in the room or car, and people ask yes or no questions until they "find" you. This works best for older kids-ones that won't cheat by "moving", and ones creative enough to think of clever places.
We also like to hide in a movie-we'll give away the title, like "I'm hiding in 'The Little Mermaid' ". The person then picks a scene and hides in an object in that scene-like the snarfblat or in Triton's trident. It helps to stick to movies everyone has seen numerous times-like the Court Jester :). This version is still a popular waiting game with my siblings even though we are all supposedly adults now.
I will be using a few of these! I too like the sound of How's Yours, since most of mine are older.
ReplyDeleteAnother one I used to play with kids was Don't Laugh CopyCat!. As the leader you can move any way you wish, or choose exaggerated facial expressions. Everyone must copy you... withOUT laughing! Not even a giggle. ;)
Of course over the years we have played at math problems and spelling words a LOT! My kids are excellent spellers and I still throw out words even around the house, whenever one occurs to me that MIGHT stump them.
Thanks for some new games. We have a few, fun games we would like to share. First is called "Guess a Number." I pick a number 0-100 and the kids try and guess the number. It's kind of like "I spy" with numbers in your head. Second game is called "Guess the Letter." For young kids, I draw a letter on their back (it could be an item (flower, or whatever) for really little ones) and they have to guess what I drew. As the child grows & learns to read, instead of one letter, I do a whole word (say, cloud). As they get older the word gets longer and harder (say, umbrella or parachute). If they miss a letter, I get some kisses or tickle them :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was little we used to play a version of "I'm going on a picnic" when on long road trips but our game was with names. Something like "I'm having a party and I'm going to invite Abby" and the next person has to come up with a "B" name. The name did not necessarily need to be someone you knew, but when it was, that made it easier for littler ones to remember.
ReplyDeleteJust in time for a cross country road trip with my two lovely girlies (4.5 and 3)!!
ReplyDeleteMy girls think the name game is HYSTERICAL, and we use it with any word the girls suggest. (Game, game, bo-bame, banana-fana-fo-fame, mi, my, mo, mame...game!)
Since my girls are little, we also play a rhyming game - Q: What rhymes with "pair?" A: "Hair" and an opposites game - Q: What's the opposite of "front"? A: "Back"
I put the name of each game on an index card and will keep them in my purse. I may ask the girls to pull a card out of a bag or just to read through until one catches their fancy.
Thank you!!
This is a great list! We also like to play '5 questions' the asker gets to ask 5 ramdom questions to the other person. Like "If there was one thing you could change about me what would it be?" or "What is the best thing that ever happened to you?" It is a great way to get your kids talking and find out more about them.
ReplyDeleteSo my absolute favorite is "Im going on a trip". You name one thing you are going to take and one thing you can't take. everyone has to figure out the pattern. Once they think that they have it they offer a suggestion of what they think they can take and what they can't and start making them up to help the others. So for example I am going on a trip and I can take apples but not peaches. I can take puppies but not dogs. I can take mommies but not sisters. See so the pattern is words with double middle letters. So you could say that you can letters but not numbers.
ReplyDeleteThese are great! One game my daughters and I play on trips or around the dinner table is the ABC topic game. Pick a topic like movies & TV shows, famous people, food, animals, countries/states etc.
ReplyDeleteThe first person has the letter A and chooses the word in the chosen category that starts with A, then moves onto the next person and so on. On the letter B, a different person gets to start. The game keeps going until you get to the end of the alphabet. One rule we made was if someone gave a double letter answer, the others would have to come up with another one.
For example, with famous people, I say Alec Baldwin, Simonne says Ashlee Simpson and Eve says Adam Ant. So Simonne and I would have to come up with another answer to finish off the letter A. Then Simonne starts and comes up with an answer for the letter B and so on. And a side note, since they are kids and don't have as big a memory as I, sometimes I help them and am a little more lenient on their answers. It is definitely a time consumer and a great learning tool!
We also play "Would you rather..." This can be pretty fun and creative at the same time. Kids can have quite an imagination with this one! For example, "Would you rather have arms so long they hung to the ground or three legs?" Or, "Would you rather run a marathon with a blister on your foot or a cramp in your calf?" or "Would you rather have your grandmothers first name or her hairstyle?"
ReplyDeleteYeah, if I could only remember this list when I really need it. Damn mommy brain!
ReplyDeleteI'm loving revisiting this post and all of the comments with other great ideas for games to play with the kids! Thanks everyone!
ReplyDeletewe play "I'm thinking of..." slightly different, we pick an animal & then give a few clues (sometimes they are ridiculously easy,for my 3 yr old, or really obscure, for my 10yr old)
ReplyDeletesay polar bear, clues could be, its big, furry & cold, then they have to guess, if they get stumped I'll add a few more clues untill they finally get it
I like your way too, might try that next time we play, which is usually everyday! we play on the way to/from school
My 3 yr old and his 4 yr old cousin love to count things. They each wait very eagerly for the next number. We have done fire hydrants, stop signs, etc. in a restaraunt you could count people with blue shirts, people with facial hair etc.
ReplyDeleteat the dr's office, when my daughter was younger, i would take a glove from the box an dmake a small balloon from it and toss it around with her until they arrived. we never got yelled at because i always made sure we were careful and quiet. one time they told me it was the funniest/creative thing they've seen someone do while waiting with a child.
ReplyDeleteMy kids still laugh about our road trips where they would write honk your horn on a piece of paper and see who would honk.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! New follower via Pinterest. :)
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome ideas! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGeography: You name a place, and then the next person has to name a place beginning with the last letter of your place.
ReplyDeleteEx.
Person A: Spain.
Person B: Nebraska.
Person C: Alabama.
etc.
Since you often end up with a lot of D's, E's and O's, I usually am very loose with what constitutes a place... Like I would accept Arctic Circle, Bermuda Triangle, Hogwarts... You get the idea : )
I've also played with colors, and names.
And of course that usually leads to "Concentration," where you basically have to think of a new thing in a category when it's your turn. There's also a rhyme and clapping involved sometimes, but that's hard to explain without being able to demonstrate :)
We play "let's tell a story". Someone starts telling a story then stops and the next person picks up and starts adding to the story. It gets silly and often times we end up starting over, but it's a great way to pass the time.
ReplyDeleteI have 3 other favorites.
ReplyDeleteThe first is called the "God Dog game" and is similar to the game with people or countries and using the last letter, but you can use 3 (or 4, 5, or however many) letter words. You might start with the word God, the next person says dog, then the next might say got and so on. I am always sure to spell the word and have the children spell their words. When they can't think of a word, they are out and the next person must think of a word.
Another game is called Chopsticks. I have simply included a link to it because it is challenging to explain, but it can past a lot of time. http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Chopsticks
Finally, "Do You Want To Buy A Duck" is a fun game for a larger group. The first person (A) turns to his/her neighbor (B) and says, "Do you want to buy a duck?" B replies "A what?" A says, "A duck." B asks, "Does it quack?" A replies, "Of course it quacks." Then person B turns to his/her neighbor on the other side (C) and asks "Do you want to buy a duck?" C asks B"Does it quack?" B repeats the question to A. A replies, "Of course it quacks." The pattern continues around the circle however many times as you would like. Other animals and sounds can be used, it can be done in silly voices and you'd be amazed by how much fun kids can have with it.
Here's one for older kids - Also called "We're going on a trip." Decide on a city and state or city and country. The things you take along must be two words: an adjective that starts with the name of the city, and a noun that starts with the name of the state or country. Example: Boston, MA. We're taking along a boisterous monkey, a blue monster, and a beaded motorcycle. The more ridiculous the better!
ReplyDeleteThis one is great if the kids are a little younger. We do this while waiting for our food in restaraunts. You can just use a straw wrapper rolled up, put your hands behind your back, hide the wrapper Andover of your hands, bring them to the front and they get to guess which hand it is in! Another we play, but can get kinda loud is British Soldier. One person tries to keep a straight face while the others try to make them laugh!
ReplyDeleteI didn't see the one we like best: the Spelling game. For older kids, but the adults can play too. Start with a letter, then each person adds a letter - to the front OR back - until someone is stuck, or "challenges" the previous person. It can be a stumper: does any word contain "chh"? Yep. hitchhiker. It can be funny if no one has the guts to challenge. The word gets longer and longer and more nonsensical. Thinking of odd letter combos expands vocabulary and inspires kids to think outside the box. ("boxcutter" - XCU!)
ReplyDeleteMy son enjoys 'what's missing'. When at a restaurant waiting for our food, we will take things like a sweet n low packet, salt shaker, napkin, spoon, etc... Give him minute to look at everything and study it. Then he has to close his eyes while we take away an object. He then has to guess 'what's missing'.
ReplyDeleteThe younger the kids, use few objects to start with...older kids you can use more. He also likes playing the game back to us.
These are great. We played one at a boring house-keeping job in college called Botticelli which is a complicated twist on something like "there's an animal on my head" It's a team vs. one person game and the individual person picks a famous person (fictional, living or dead) and announces the first letter of the last name (or only name if you pick someone like Madonna). Let's go with Madonna. So if I'm the single person I say "M".
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the team comes up with potential "M" names and asks a "stumper". There's no need to take turns or anything, just ask them as they pop up. Something like
Q Are you an angry tennis player? ME: No, I'm not John MacEnroe.
Q Were you once known as Steamboat WIlly? ME: No, I'm not Mickey Mouse
Q Were you a famous blonde actress with connections to JFK? ME: um...no idea...? (
If the stumper question does its job and stumps the person, the team player earns a "yes/no" question. We play a variant where if the answer to the stumper has the letter for both names (in this case, Marilyn Monroe...) the team earns TWO yes/no questions.
Are you male? (no) Are you living? (yes)
The stumper questions don't have to stay in line with what is known about the person. So even if I reveal that I'm a living female, stumper questions could still be males, fictional, dead, etc. Eventually after enough yes/no questions, though, the team may have some pretty detailed information. Let's say we've gotten to:
female
not fictional
still alive
over the age of 35
In music industry
Still active in career
solo (not a group) artist usually
So they may start asking more specifics trying to trap the person. The goal is to finally corner the person until they have to answer "yes, I am Madonna" (or whoever). Sometimes a stumper may be pretty good, like "did you sing the song ___" but if I happen to know another "M" singer that also sang that song somewhat famously I can say "No, I'm not [that person]". Then the team has to try a different question (can't just say "are you ANOTHER singer famous for singing...". :)
It sounds really complicated but it's really laid back unless you're "the person".
"Who has the hat?" This game works well with a BUNCH of people. Only one person can know the secret though. You start by saying "I have a hat, I give the hat to the waitress, she gives it (insert name), they give it to (another name). Who has the hat?" The first person to talk has the hat. This could work in a busy restaurant lobby and give the hat to the hostess every once and a while! It will drive the kids nuts trying to figure it out =)
ReplyDeleteIm a teenager and on long car rides we play the alphabet game where you look around and everyone tries to find the letters of the alphabet in order and once a word is used, it cannot be used again. Another one that we do is Never Have I Ever. This is where everyone puts all 5 fingers up and a person is chosen to go. This person says something that they have not done that they think that the others have done. This is because if you have done what they say, then you have to put one of your fingers down. When all of your fingers are down, your out. Also, when we were little, my brother, sister and I would play the story game. This is where one person says a little bit of the story, then the next person says the next partm
ReplyDeleteGreat collection of game ideas! I'd much rather keep kids busy using their creativity than by handing over a tablet or smartphone.
ReplyDeleteA variation of pit and cherry is rose, thorn, bud. The rose is the good, thorn is the bad, and the bud is something you are looking forward too! We always put the thorn in the middle so we end on a positive note :)
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of a... Is mine and my little cousins favorite! We like Gus's the disney character (we've been to disneyworld almost every year since she was born in 2008) we ask things like Is it a princess? Is it an animal? Is it a villain? Does she wear a blue dress?
ReplyDelete*guess not Gus's
ReplyDeleteI love this post! Great ideas. My son invented a game he loves to play that he calls which animal would win. we both say an animal at the same time then debate which one would win at something. it could be in a race, an eating contest, jumping contest, weightlifting, a wrestling match, etc...
ReplyDeleteAnother good game for young kids is "Something's Missing." It's very simple, just place a few objects in front of the kids, have them study them and then remove one of them when they're closing their eyes. Whoever guesses correctly can be the one to remove the next item. You can do it with anything, contents of your purse, table setting, etc.
ReplyDelete