5 Best Card Games to Play with Your Kids

If you told me I could only have one "toy" in my entire houseful with 6 kids, I would pick a deck of cards for sure! We go camping quite a bit so we definitely play a lot of cards. Even at home, we will have a card night where we all gather around the dining room table to play cards.  Here are my 5 best card game suggestions for kids ages 4 years old and up:

1.  Feudal Lords (our version of this card game) - we go through phases where we get hooked on different games.  This is the current game.  It is super easy and fun.  Deal out all the cards.  Players sort their cards from highest to lowest.  Suit does not matter.  The player with the 3 of clubs goes first, all 2's are wild and Ace is high card.  The object of the game is to be the first player to get rid of all your cards.  You go clockwise taking turns.  You have to follow in numerical order by either matching the number on the card or going higher.   

Here is an example of how a round would go - 
Player one plays the 3 of clubs.  
Player 2 must play a 3 of any other suit or any card(s) higher than a 3.  So let's say player 2 plays a single 4.  
Player 3 plays 2 fives.  Player four must now play two of any numerical card.  
Player four plays 2 tens.  
Player five plays 2 Aces.  
Back to player 1 - must play 2 aces or a wild 2 to clear the board.  If you can not you pass.
Player 2-4 do not have 2 aces and/or do not want to play a 2.
Play returns to player 5 who gets to clear the board and start over with whatever card he/she chooses.

Continue playing until everyone runs out of cards.  The first person out of cards is the KING.  Next person out is the QUEEN.  Last person out is the SERVANT #1.  Second to last person out is the SERVANT #2.  Everyone in between are smoothies.  If you are playing with only three people just have a king, smoothie and servant.  When you play the next round, Servant #1 has to give the King his/her two best cards and the King gives the Servant back 2 cards.  Servant #2 gives the Queen his/her best card and the Queen give Servant #2 back one card of his/her choice.  

We usually play for a set amount of time.  Sometimes we play with candy.  Everyone starts with a pile of treats.  If you are the King you get to pick a piece of candy from the Servant's pile.  When you get to the last round, everyone keeps the candy that they have left.  No eating any candy during the game.  
  

2.  Old Maid - My kids still love to play this game.  Although it always lands up that someone cheats.  You can read the rules at Bicycle Playing Cards.

3.  I Doubt It - I used to love playing this game as a child and my children enjoy it as well.  This is another one that can go on forever though so set a time limit.  Read the rules here


4.  Go Fish - This is probably one of the best games to start with for younger children (around 4 years old).  Super simple game of making matches.  Read the directions here.


5.  Solitaire or Double Solitaire - This is an absolute classic that you must teach your children.  First of all they can play it by themselves....need I say more.  Read the directions here.   Another version we love to play with more than one player is double, triple or even quadruple solitaire.  Everyone plays solitaire at the same time but you all put your cards up in one shared location.  Therefore, if one player puts up the Ace of diamonds, I can play my 2 of diamonds on the Ace even if I have not put my Ace of diamonds up.  By playing with more than one person, in turns Solitaire into a face paced game of racing who can get their cards in order first.  One rule is that you can only touch one card at a time.  This is a favorite game of mine for sure.  You do need a lot of table space.

What is your favorite card game to play with kids?

If you are looking for some great fun activities to play with the kids check out Set the Record.  Only $1.99 and ready to print and play.  Kids of all ages LOVE this game!  

Check out all the other Family Game Night Ideas!

The Quietest Game to Play Around the Dinner Table - Who Has the Spoon?

Need a last minute game around the dinner or restaurant table for some family fun? Or maybe a birthday party is getting a little out of control and you want to settle the children down. Try playing a quick game of "Who Has the Spoon?"  Here is how you play:

1.  One person is the "GUESSER" and closes his/her eyes tightly throughout the entire round.  

2.  Everyone else passes a spoon around the table.  

3.  One person keeps the spoon.  That person makes a sound with the spoon.  For example, gently tap on the table, clink a glass or smack it on your hand.

4.  The guesser has to determine who is making the sound with the spoon.  

Want to make it more difficult?  Pass around a sugar packet and shake it (much harder to hear).

If someone keeps cheating by opening their eyes (and as parents we all know this will happen - haha) change up the game. One person can still be the guesser but keep his/her eyes open. Pass the spoon under the table to different people.  After 10-20 seconds, the guesser has to determine who is holding the spoon. Make sure people are fake passing the spoon to confuse the guesser.  

Want to make it more difficult?  Pass around a spoon and a sugar packet.  The guesser has to determine who is holding the spoon and who is holding the sugar packet.

For either version, everyone must play the game quietly so the guesser can hear the sounds and concentrate.  

Waiting Games is a 22 page download of twenty games to play while on a road trip, waiting for an appointment or sitting around a campfire.  This collection of activities encourages children to develop self-regulation, creativity and communication skills while they wait.  Get more information here or add to cart below. 

To order Waiting Games for $3.99 click on the ADD TO CART button. You will receive an email with a link immediately following payment to download the book.  

5 Reasons Why Play is Purposeful

Many times, as adults we may not always remember how necessary play is for children including teenagers.  There is a purpose for play.  Here are 5 reasons why children and teens play:

1.  To develop social skills and interact with adults and peers.
2.  To explore objects - touch, hear, taste, see and learn from objects.
3.  To be creative and develop imagination skills.
4.  To develop motor skills so that hands can manipulate objects and children can move throughout their environment.
5.  To learn cognitive skills - cause and effect, motion analysis, number correspondence and more!

Need game ideas for your family?  Check out the Growing Play game collection.

Waiting Games - 20 Games to Pass the Time

Waiting Games is a 22 page download of twenty games to play while on a road trip, waiting for an appointment or sitting around a campfire.  This collection of activities encourages children to develop self-regulation, creativity and communication skills while they wait. 

This packet includes games such as 60 Seconds, Reverse 20 Questions, Let's Debate, Outside the Box and more! 

This is an electronic document so immediately following payment you will receive an email with the link to download the book.  You can print it and toss it in the car so you have something to rely on during those times when the kids start to get antsy.  If you don't want to print it, just save the PDF to your smartphone or tablet and take it with you to reference wherever you are.

Download a free sample page - I Spy Memory Lane

To order Waiting Games for $3.99 click on the ADD TO CART button. You will receive an email with a link immediately following payment to download the book.  

Can You Set the Record?

The Set the Record download is a collection of 25 different finger testing, singing and physical activity challenges.  Pick a challenge and see who can set the record for the fastest, longest, most, shortest and tallest skills! Write down the top scores to keep track of who holds the records for each challenge.  Print as full size pages or smaller cards for travel size. You will need some household items to complete the challenges such as paper, pencils, coins, etc.  Download a free challenge page and try to be the fastest.    Set the Record is also available as a card set.

Only $1.99.  Add to the shopping cart and check out.  You will receive an email with a link to download the games immediately!

Check out all the other Family Game Night Ideas!

5 Ways to Make Time for the Family

I started to write this post since our life has been so chaotic recently with everyone going in different directions. The amount of time that our family of 8 is all together seems to be dwindling. Partially it is because the kids are getting older and have more obligations and partially it is just that we have a lot of kids! I wanted to write a list of 5 ways to make more family time for us. I am hoping I am able to follow the suggestions. Even as I was writing them I realize that some will be easier than others.

1.  Put aside a certain time during the week or write on the Calendar FAMILY TIME. In today's fast paced, over worked, over scheduled life sometimes hours turn into days turn into weeks, etc. before you know it so much time has gone by without anyone ever taking time out to enjoy the family.  We did this last weekend and it was quite successful.  We had to cut down the Christmas tree and decorate in within a small window of time.  All of us made sure to not schedule anything Saturday morning.  It worked!  We were all together cutting down the tree and decorating the tree before noon. Family time completed and Christmas tree up and decorated - woohoo! We frequently get together for family game nights.  We gather around the dining room table or the table in the camper and play games or card games.  When my husband and I are old and gray (oh wait a minute we already are haha) so maybe older and grayer, I know we will look back so fondly on our game nights.

2.  To create uninterrupted family time occasionally turn off all electronics including the phone. Even better, toss them in a basket so no one even is tempted from the vibration. Take time just to socialize and enjoy each other's company.

3.  Don't over schedule the kids. Sometimes we spend so much time running everyone around and never just all staying home together. We have a one sport rule per season in our house. The only problem is this doesn't eliminate other activities such as school play, church activities, odyssey of the mind teams, etc. so with six kids there are certainly days where we are over scheduled.

4.  Say no sometimes. We definitely need this suggestion. We say yes to way too many things. On one hand it is great to help out with coaching, cooking, rides, babysitting, etc I truly get so much satisfaction in life by helping others. But that being said at times our life is chaotic because of it. We all go in different directions to this meeting or that game. We do try and volunteer together as a family a few times a year.  This will probably be the hardest one for my to follow.

5.  Family time can come in all shapes and sizes by making every day routines more special. It can be really nice to drive to a game with only one child in the car. Whether it be my husband or myself, we frequently stop for a special treat - coffee for the adult and candy for the child.  I love these moments and really look forward to them. Very simple yes but special family bonding that works for us. As my children get older I realize that family time doesn't have to mean all of us doing something together. We just need to make time to enjoy each other and live in the moment.

Need ideas for family time?  Check out the instant downloads for family game nights here.

Category Games for Family Game Night

Click on image to enlarge sample pages from Category Games

Are you looking for a fun, quick game for family game night? Check out Category Games.  This digital download will be sent to you via email right after payment so you are ready to play.  The packet includes four (4) different category games:

Game #1: Top 10 and A to Z Recording Sheets with 100 Category Punch Cards.  Recording sheets are available in different styles to use based on a child's handwriting abilities.  List 10 words for each category card for Top 10.  List one word for each letter of the alphabet based on the category for A to Z.

Game #2: Three for Three Recording Sheets with 50 Category, 3 for 3 Punch Cards.  Recording sheets are available in different styles based on a child's handwriting abilities.  List three words for each category.  Three categories per page.  How fast can you complete the 3 for 3 challenge?

Game #3: Vertical Categories with 36 category cards.  Write the vertical word from the category card down the left hand side of the paper with one letter on each line. Write words associated with the theme that start with each letter of the category.

Game #4: Horizontal Categories with 40 category cards.  This is a collaborative game where all players work together to complete the horizontal category. The object is to make the longest list of words possible.

You can play with one player or as a large group.  Just print a recording sheet for each player.  

Want to play the game on the road? Print over 200 category cards and go!  Use a hole punch to record words or color in the circles on the cards.

Perfect activity for family game nights. Younger children can be on a team to help come up with different words in the categories. Older children or adults can record the answers.  These games are fun and challenging for all ages.

This 42 page PDF download includes the 4 category games to play with the family and also includes a FREE 4 page party pack extension with everything you will need to host a Category themed family game night.  Includes an invitation, food menu ideas and to do list.

Download a sample Top 10 Recording Sheet and 6 Category Punch Cards.

The download of Category Games is only $4.99.  Remember this is a digital download. You will receive a link to download the game via email immediately following payment.

Watch the video to view sample pages from Category Games.

Top 5 Family Christmas Traditions

Throughout the years, our large family has participated in different Christmas traditions.  There is something so comforting about family traditions.  They can strengthen a family bond, create stability, provide familiarity and increase emotional ties.  Here are my top 5 family Christmas traditions:

1.  BAKE COOKIES TOGETHER - The taste of the cookie dough, the smells in the house and the tasty final result always make it worthwhile.  Sure you could do without the mess but you will instilling a love of cooking and cookies all at the same time!  Pass some on to friends and extended family and you will certainly bring some holiday cheer to that person.  

My mother bakes so many different kinds of cookies every year and hands out trays of the grand assortment.  Each of us has our favorites that get eaten right away.  Sometimes it is a classic peanut blossom cookie but for others it may be her ginger cookies or my personally favorite the peanut chews.  

2.  HOMEMADE SECRET SANTA - For years, we did not exchange gifts with the extended family (ie nieces and nephews, cousins, etc).  It was just too large of a crowd.  Last year we decided to start a homemade secret santa gift exchange.  If you were interested in participating your name goes into the hat.  Every one then picks a name out of the hat.  The one rule is that the present has to be homemade.  We had all sorts of gifts last year from homemade hot cocoa mix to paper weights to paintings.  It was so fun to see what everyone created for each other and to see some people were much more talented that we thought.

3.  CUTTING DOWN THE CHRISTMAS TREE - This is definitely one of my most favorite activities although each year it becomes harder to find the time (which is sad...).    When I was a child, we would go and shop for a fresh Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.  I was the youngest of 7 and money was tight so my dad wanted to get a good deal on a tree.  I think part of the fun was just for him to haggle with the tree guy to knock a few bucks off the cost of the tree.  I have great memories of going with my dad.  For many years it was just him and I who would go together to pick out the perfect tree. 

Now going with my husband and 6 kids I still find it very comforting although we don't go on Christmas Eve.  There is nothing like watching my husband teach the children how to cut the tree down and the youngest ones yelling "timber".  I have many great pictures of the kids helping to carry/drag the tree back to the car.  And lots of funny memories of how bad we tie the tree to the top of the car (hint: don't follow us we seriously stink at tying the tree down).  

4.  CHRISTMAS GAMES/SONGS - When we all get together at my sister's house on Christmas day we try to participate in a group game.  For the last two years we have played the Name Game (the directions for this game will have to be in another blog post so stay tuned).  One year I created a family scavenger hunt for the kids.  There were quiz questions about family members and the kids had to solve who was who.  This year we will try the Christmas Doodle Find game and see who will hold the record for the shortest amount of time to find all the Christmas pictures.  I also plan on making a Christmas time line. Not sure how I will do this yet.

As the day starts to wind down, we all gather in the living room to sing Christmas carols. The last song is the 12 Days of Christmas where my parents (79 and 80 years old) are the Two Turtle Doves. I have been doing this as long as I can remember and I am 45 years old so that is one long Christmas tradition.  Except for the one year I missed when I was on bedrest when pregnant with our oldest daughter.  

5.  CHRISTMAS PAGEANT - For at least the past 8 years the children have participated in the Christmas pageant on Christmas Eve.  It is so beautiful each year to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas at mass listening to the children sing.  

What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

Christmas Doodle Find for Family Game Night

Christmas Doodle Find:  This 18 page PDF download is a Christmas seek and find game that includes 4 different game boards, 6 recording pages and also includes 5 find and color pages.  This game requires no preparation - just print and play!  In addition, there are directions included to create a travel version of the game.  Liven up the holiday family party or entertain the kids after the feast! Download a sample find and color page.  Regular Price: $2.99 - on sale for $1.99 until 12/31/15.