Daily Idea #244: The Floor is Lava!

Who here has never pretended that the floor is lava? It is one of the simplest and most time consuming games my kids have ever played. For today’s daily idea, throw some pillows and other items you don’t mind your children stepping all over on the floor. The rules of the game are simple— the floor is lava so DO NOT TOUCH THE FLOOR. First make one room’s floor lava. Then make it more challenging by including the room next to it— can you make it from one room to the next without touching the floor?

Daily Idea #243: Yes/No

One of the first rules of improv is to say yes. We learn that in order for a story to develop there needs to be a yes to whatever idea is thrown out there. Imagine if, on the flip side, every time a new idea came about there was a no.

My family will play this game often in simple situations. The funniest example was when Frozen came out; my daughter would not only sing the songs but quote the movie CONSTANTLY! Well, my middle child, her younger, brother finally got so annoyed when she began the scene for the thousandth time of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” that his answer was flat out— NO! End scene.

So to play off that for today’s daily idea, we are going to practice saying yes and no. Start with some basic questions— Can you get dressed by yourself? Can you brush your teeth? Can you eat breakfast? Then move into some funnier questions— Can you fly? Can we paint the sky? And practice saying yes to things that sound crazy and saying no to things that are an obvious yes. It’ll make it easier when you get bombarded with questions all day to take a step back and find the answer without just having an auto response.

Daily Idea #242: Battleship

We love games in our house— chess, Sorry, Mancala, card games… one of the games we do not have is Battleship; every time I see it in the store, I think, “my kids would really love that game” but for one reason or another I don’t end up buying it.

Well, problem solved! Did you know that Battleship was actually a game played with pencil and paper first? Here’s the game set up and rules:.

Start by making 2 grids that are sectioned 11 by 11. The top row is marked 1-10, the left side column is marked A-J.

Each player sets up or marks the following “ships” on their own board:

carrier (5 squares)

battleship (4 squares each)

destroyer (2 squares each)

cruiser (3 squares each)

submarine (3 squares)

The object is to “hit” your opponent’s ships on their grid by trying to guess where they are hiding.

Each player takes it in turn to guess the other player’s coordinates. Make sure to mark down any hits and misses differently than where your own ships are marked.

Play is over when all of one player’s ships have been sunk.

Daily Idea #241: Tapatan

If you have never heard of Tapatan, I am glad I can introduce it to you. If you have heard about it, then get playing!

Tapatan is a 2 player game from the Philippines that is really easy to set up but takes some brain power to play. To set up the game, draw a square with 4 intersecting lines (one from one corner diagonally across, one from the other corner diagonally across, one down the middle and one across the middle). In each of the connection points mark it with a dot (the black marks on the picture below) The game pieces (the yellow and red pieces on the picture below) can be any 3 matching pieces— beads, game pieces from a different game, etc…

The game is played in two steps. Step 1 is the drop step. Each player takes a turn placing each of their 3 pieces on the board on top of one of the board dots. Once all pieces are out on the board, take turns moving the pieces on the lines to maneuver them into three in a row. Whomever gets their pieces three in a row first wins— no jumping other game pieces.

Daily Idea #240: Infinity Breathing

After everything that happened in the the capital yesterday, I decided that today would be a good idea to work on breathing exercises. We, as adults, need the reminder to breathe just as much as our kids do. So, for today’s daily idea we are working on breathing in and out slowly.

Concentrate on breathing in for 8 counts and out for 8 counts. Do that 8 times. Then with your pointer finger, draw an infinity sign (a figure 8 on it’s side) in the air in front of you. With each 8 count breath in draw one infinity sign and with each 8 count breath out draw another infinity sign. After you have done that, switch hands and draw the infinity sign with the hand that didn’t draw it the first time.

The idea is that it gets your mind out of the immediate stress of whatever is going on in your head and calms you down.

Daily Idea #239: Cleanup Crunches

We’ve been having some issues cleaning up after ourselves over here so in order to get back into the habit of getting our stuff put away we are making it into a game (and getting some hidden exercise at the same time).

Set up a pile of staffed animals at your feet. Lay down and place a box or a laundry basket at your head. Using only your feet get the stuffed animals from down by your feet into the basket by your head!

Daily Idea #238: Tick Tock

We need one thing for today’s daily idea, a broom or a mop (you also need space and to be ready for fun).

In this super easy and simple game one person holds the broom parallel to the ground and actually as close to the floor as possible. As that person moves it back and forth like a pendulum on a clock all the other person has to do is jump over the handle. Super simple, super fun.

Daily Idea #237: Conga Line!

Sometimes getting up and moving is so difficult. The days after New Year’s Eve seem like the winter season has hit us all hard and we have a long way to go until the next break (in school, in national holidays, just in general). So to make it a little easier to get up and move we are going to make a conga line and dance! Turn on some fun, upbeat music and do the conga.

Daily Idea #236: Marshmallow Architecture

I bought mini marshmallows on Friday and it took everything I had to keep finding new hiding spots in the pantry because my kids have little marshmallows radars! Well, today we finally get break out the bag and not only will we eat the marshmallows but we are going to build with them as well.

You can either work together as a team to build something or you can give everyone their own individual sets of toothpicks and marshmallows. If you are working together as a team, decide what you would like to try and build: a bridge, a skyscraper, a house… If working individually, each person can create what they would like. Use the marshmallows as the connectors to hold the toothpicks together and let your imaginations run wild!

Daily Idea #235: Sliding into the New Year

It’s officially January 1, 2021! I have seen countless memes talking about entering the year really slowly, taking our time to get settled, not disrupting the new “car” smell. So, for today’s daily idea we are going to do some sliding.

ITEMS NEEDED:

a broom/ a mop

2 stacks of books to start at least a foot high

Stack an equal amount of books about 4 feet apart and lay the broom/mop across the books. Everyone has to slide under the broom one by one. Once everyone has taken a turn remove a book from both sides. Keep the rounds going and remove a pair books after everyone has taken a turn. As the broom gets closer and closer to the ground, you have to get more and more creative to get under the broom!

Good luck and good sliding!

Daily Idea BONUS: Light Up the Night

It’s New Year’s Eve and I saw this idea and wanted to share it as a bonus. All you need are balloons and glow in the dark light sticks. Activate the light sticks. Place one in each balloon. Blow up the balloons and tie them off. Tape them to or hang them with string from the ceiling! As the evening turns into night, you have an atmosphere set for a family party!

Daily Idea #234: Video Time Capsule

It’s New Year’s Eve! Every year on NYE, we print out the same questionnaire and help the kids fill it out (my oldest likes to fill it out on her own now). We then take out previous year’s responses and read through them.

This year, while we will be doing our yearly questionnaire, we are also going to make a video time capsule. I have a set of questions that I am attaching here and then I am going to record their answers as a “TV interview”. We’ll save them on the phone and then plan to watch at the end of this coming year.

Daily Idea #233: Noisemakers

Tomorrow night we say good riddance to 2020! I can’t think of a better way to help usher out this year than with making some noise. Homemade noise makers are so easy and require very few items.

ITEMS NEEDED:

2 paper plates

stapler

dried beans/dried corn/small uncooked pasta

items for decorating

Start by decorating the bottoms of the 2 paper plates. Color them, washi tape them, put ribbons around the edges… Then pour about a 1/3 cup of the dried beans/dried corn/small uncooked pasta into one of the paper plates (in the area where you would put your food). Place the second paper plate on top of the first paper plate upside down and staple them together. (The closer you place the staples around the edge of the plate, the less of a chance that your noise making material will come out.) Shake ‘til your heart’s content.

Daily Idea #232: DIY Party Hats

The new year is almost upon us! New Year’s Eve is going to look pretty different this year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t ring in 2021 with some fun things to do (and maybe even create a family New Year’s Eve tradition or two). For today’s daily idea, I found these really great templates for coloring in and making your own party hats.

Simply print out the templates (thank you to teacherpayteachers.com for the free templates!). Color them in. Cut them out and glue or tape them along the extra flap (if you want there to be more structure to the hat, glue it onto a piece of cardboard first), Attach ribbon or elastic to the bottom of the hat and maybe a pom-pom on the top and you’ve got yourself a fun party hat to wear on Thursday night!

Daily Idea #231: Wrecking Ball

I saw this game being played by a few of my friends online recently and I thought, “this is a perfect daily idea!”

ITEMS NEEDED:

stockings/ footie pajamas/ leggings

A ball of some sort (tennis ball, softball, balloon)

plastic cups

*If you are using leggings you’ll need to tie a knot in one of the legs to ensure the ball doesn’t fall out.

Take your ball and put it into one of the legs of the stockings/footie pajamas/ the legging leg that you tied. Take the remaining cloth and tie it around the player’s waist leaving the leg with the ball hanging in front of them (or for more of a challenge, behind them). Set up a row of cups on the ground in front of the player. The object of the game is to knock over the cups by using the ball in the leg as a wrecking ball.

Daily Idea #230: Turn Yourself Around

I asked my 9 year old for her input for today’s daily idea. She thought for a few seconds and then said, “You haven’t done the Hokey Pokey!” And you know, she’s right!!! Sometimes I think the Hokey Pokey is for little kids; it is, after all, hokey! But if everyone really gets into it the Hokey Pokey is a lot of fun and gets our bodies moving. So, get yourself up, put your whole self in, put your whole self out, and then shake it all about!

Daily Idea #229: Reindeer Games

Today is Christmas, and while we don’t celebrate this holiday, our family loves the music, the lights, and everything else that comes with the day (or really the season). So today, we are going to play a reindeer game!

ITEMS NEEDED:

Stockings or leggings (one for each person playing)

a whole lot of balloons!

How to Play:

Each player will get a whole stack of unblown up balloons and one pair of stockings or leggings. That person will have to blow up their balloons (or have some help blowing up balloons) and stuff them into the legs of the stockings/leggings. Once both legs are stuffed full of balloons, put the waistband on your head like a crown and VOILA! Reindeer Antlers!!!

Daily Idea #228: Snowcakes

We are now officially in winter! The winter solstice was a few days ago so the days will start to get longer but it may feel like it’s going to take a while to get through these colder winter months. One of my favorite things to do in the winter is bake— it fills the house with delicious smells and warmth from the over. In some areas, the temperatures have dropped and we’ve seen a lot of snow already. So while we are inside baking our animal friends are still looking for food (we don’t get snow where I am, however our animal friends could still enjoy this treat). For today’s daily idea, we are going to make Snowcakes.

Get bundled up and head outside to a field, a park, or even your back yard. Gather snow to make a “cake”. Decorate your snow cake with carrots, bird seed, lettuce, apples, and other fruits and veggies. If you don’t have snow in your area you can still bring some fruits and veggies outside for the animals, but instead of putting them in the snow, you can arrange them in a picture first.

Daily Idea #227: Can You Draw It?

I have never considered myself an artist— at least not one that is super talented in drawing. However, this activity requires some imagination and no skill in the arts! We are going to try and draw by holding a marker with our mouth.

Lay your paper on a flat surface (like a table). Make sure your marker is clean and uncapped; place the end of the marker in your mouth so the part that actually draws is faced toward the paper. Have everyone think of one thing to draw (a stick person, a flower, the sun…) and see each of your interpretations of the object. Repeat as many times as you all want with different items or objects.

Daily Idea #226: Frozen Edible Snowflakes

My kids have recently been making hot chocolate as a treat a few times per week. They haven’t found the joy of putting marshmallows in their cups yet, and of course, hot chocolate without a marshmallow is not a winter treat! However, I found a recipe that may make putting marshmallows in your hot chocolate a thing of the past (and it is super easy!).

All you need is cool whip (or something similar), a baking tin, parchment paper, and cookie cutters. Spread your cool whip on a baking tin lined with parchment paper. Spread it in one layer as even as you can make it. Place it in the freezer for at least an hour. When you remove the tray from the freezer, the cool whip will be frozen. Take your cookie cutters (snowflake shape or any other shapes you have) and start cutting out shapes. Place one shape in your hot cocoa and you have a homemade marshmallowy treat! To store the extra frozen cool whip shapes, you can place them in a plastic container in layers (just make sure to put wax paper or parchment paper between the layers).