I had a conversation with my mom not so long ago about her old toys and how she spent her free time as a child. It was great to have some nostalgia, and to remember what I was playing with my friends. I realized again how easy it is to find simple but great games using ordinary objects at home. In this article we are about to share some of these ideas with you.
I am sure that the sentence ‘let’s build a bunker!’ has been heard in lots of families. Here come some ideas about building a cosy bungalow out of objects you find at home. If you are about to build a bigger bungalow where more kids can hide, use the table of your kitchen as the base. Put a bedsheet on it which is bigger than the table. Put some soft objects inside to make it comfortable, place the favourite toys, and that’s it. If you’d like to make a smaller one, you can simply place soft blankets or pillows in a big cardboard box, and decorate it.

Probably you’ll find a flashlight in a drawer that can be used for lots of creative games. Most kids like shadow play. Darken the room a bit or hide under a blanket with your child and let the game begin. Pay attention to the level of darkness, make sure the child still feels comfortable and secure. Then place the flashlight on the floor and form hand puppets. Make a dog, a bunny, a butterfly, or else, and find out stories with the characters. You can compare the shadows to each other – check whose puppets are bigger or smaller. Observe the change of the size when you move closer or further from the light.
To play another game with shadows, you will need a white paper and some small toys. Go to a place where the sun shines, and place the toys on the paper in front of the light source. You can draw the shadows around or observe them from different points of views. Our favourite elephant can have short and stumpy or tall and skinny legs. It is also fun to try to pair the drawn shadows with the toys.

Do you remember the game when you expand a rubber rope between the legs of two children and a third one jumps over and on it? Make a tie on the two ends of a rubber rope to form a circle and make it tight by two children standing in the circle. If you don’t have enough players, you can fixate the rope on chairs or trees. Then a child can jump in the middle, then out of it, then on the ropes, then out again. You can make it more challenging putting the rope higher and making more complex jumping choreographies.

We hope we could provide some nostalgia or new game ideas to show to your kids!
Nikoletta Széki,
Forest Tale Daycare

This article is translated by Anita Nagy.
Click here for the Hungarian version.