Bingo Games 4 - Area & Perimeter Bingo

Playing Cards

I choose a 16 square grid so there would not be an over abundance of information facing the player.

I was sure to include similar answers - such as 24" and 24 sq. in. I want them to understand the need for careful labeling of answers. I was also able to make sure they are acquainted with abbreviations. Any number of playing cards can be created, just making the responses in different locations. Remember not all problems will have a solution on each card.

Calling Cards

Here I drew pictures of the geometric shapes and gave the needs dimension. I wrote AREA or PERIMETER at the bottom of each card. 

I have the players keep a piece of paper handy for any calculations that may be necessary. 

I should have included a little number in a bottom corner of each calling card so that I could include an answer key. In that way I would not always have to be a part of the game.

SOLITAIRE PLAY is possible. Have the player select a card and then give them the assignment of finding a particular BINGO. For example, ask them to find the calling cards to make a BINGO across the top. They can simply use the calling card to cover the space as they find the right one. They may have to work through several additional calling cards before they find the ones needed.

Click to see other BINGO GAMES

OH NUTS! Deluxe - An Over-sized Gameboard

An over-sized gameboard just adds to the fun. 

Oh Nuts! was a favorite format of my children at home and in the classroom. It is still a winner with my grandchildren.

The original Oh Nuts! is played a little different than this DELUXE version. But one thing I learned about my children is that BIGGER IS OFTEN BETTER. They loved larger gameboards. When I made this gameboard, I decided to add the spinner, thus making ANY skill cards I had usable with it without adding OH NUTS CARDS.

TO MAKE:

I used three filefolders, two green and one blue. First, using duct tape, I taped one blue and one green filefolders together, making a large square board. Then, because I wanted it to look like a hill, I cut the second green filefolder and glued it along the taped edge over the blue filefolder.

I added the pictures of the chipmunk and the tree. Then I added the spinner and the black and white 3/4 inch circle stickers for a path. After I covered it with clear Contact paper, I added the arrow to the spinner.

TO PLAY:

The players all start with their markers on the chipmunk. The first player draws a skill card and answers it. If he is correct, he spins and moves his game piece accordingly.

If he spins "Oh Nuts!" he does not get to move and his turn ends.

The use of a spinner in this format allows use of any skill cards with the addition of OH NUTS! cards. 

However, if he spins a number and moves he has a decision to make. He may play again. The danger in playing again is: At anytime he incorrectly answers a skill card OR spins "Oh Nuts!" ALL progress on this turn is lost and he returns to the space where THIS turn began. (We would mark this space with a penny, as a player begins his turn.)

A player may continue his turn as long as he wants unless he answers incorrectly or spins "Oh Nuts!" When a player is satisfied with the progress he has made on a turn, he simply passes the play to the next player. THIS progress he can never lose.

The first player to reach the tree is the winner.

Click to see a Cooperative Play OH NUTS! Version

Oh Nuts! - a game for any skill

OH NUTS! is an exciting way to play and learn at the same time.

First a gameboard is needed. We have used several different versions of this. In the classroom, I drew two paths along the blackboard. They each had the same number of spaces. At home, we have made a cute board on a file folder, with only one path. We have also played this outdoors with spaces drawn on the blacktop and children used as playing pieces.

A deck of cards is the next thing that is needed. After deciding what skill is to be drilled, make a deck of about 50 or more cards asking questions, or showing the skill (clocks to tell the time, math facts to give the answer, coins to count, etc....) The deck of cards also needs OH NUTS! Cards. I usually have about 1/3 of the cards be OH NUTS! Cards. For these I have drawn a peanut and written the words OH NUTS! below it.

To Play:

A player draws a card and answers the question or solves the problem. If correct, he moves his game piece one space. Then he can decide if he wishes to go again. A player may keep moving one space for each correct response he gives. However, if he gives an incorrect answer or draws an OH NUTS! Card he must return to the place where this turn began (which we indicate with a penny on a file folder or a stone on the blacktop). Play continues until one player or team gets their game piece to the end of the path.

A STORY:

This was a favorite way to drill things in our classroom. I had OH NUTS! Cards for numerous skills. One day I announced that we would play Capitalization OH NUTS! after recess. I drew the path on the blackboard as soon as the children left the room for their break. I knew that the children would probably choose to play girls against the boys. After I took a short break, I went to call the children in. They were all extra excited about coming in and could not wait to begin the game.

While I had a great group of kids and they were usually cooperative, I should have expected something was up as they were TOO cooperative this day. They came in and immediately began lining up for the game, obviously having already decided it would be girls against the boys. Then they girls said, "the boys can go first." NOW I should really have gotten suspicious, but I didn't YET.

Matthew was first in line on the boys team, so I read the sentence on the first card, after Matt drew it. He decided that it needed three capitals to be correct. I said he was right, so one of the boys moved their game piece ahead three spaces. I asked Matt if he wished to go again and he did. Right, again and more spaces moved. He kept choosing to go again, even though I reminded him of the danger and chance that the next card could be an OH NUTS! Card. But he continued. By this time, I was getting suspicious, especially as all the class seemed to be trying to keep from laughing, and I had also noticed that Matt's mom, the principal of our little school, was watching the game from the doorway.

Matt continued until he had completed the path and the whole class exploded in laughter...it seems the joke was on ME. With the help of Matt's mom, they had sneaked in during recess, and removed all the OH NUTS! Cards from the deck. While I had caught on to what was going on, I gave no clue that I had.

We all had a good laugh and often in the following years they would remind me of the good joke they had pulled on me. 

 Check out A Cooperative Version of OH NUTS!

and OH NUTS! Deluxe

Bingo Games 3 - Count 'Em Bingo & a BONUS TIP

Count 'em Bingo 

Calling Cards - By gridding out a sheet and making all the cards together it is much faster to cover with clear Contact paper or laminate. Then quick to cut apart.

 The pictures were cut from a simple math page in one of those workbooks for children you can buy most anywhere...but don't forget the best spot to find these is FREE boxes at rummage sales.

Playing Cards - Use a simple grid. Here I used only 16 spaces because I wanted more room.  Write the needed numbers in a mixed up order. Not every card will have each number. I added a little picture (from the same book) to each playing card just to make them look nicer. Besides sometimes it is the picture that captures the child and it will become their "favorite" card.

SPECIAL TIP - One of the most frustrating things for little ones when they play BINGO is bumping their playing card and messing it all up. SO....here is an easy solution.

Make up a plastic sleeve with pieces of velcro strategically placed so they will be in each section of the grid. You can see from the next two pictures what this looks like. 

Rather than cover or laminate the playing cards, they will be placed in plastic sleeves (page protectors). The Velcro is on the outside. In this way you can use the sleeves for all your BINGO games. Since I have several different grids I use (9 spaces - 25 spaces) I have made these plastic sleeves to match each size and spacing.

As you can see, the Velcro is placed to match up with each BINGO space. 

I have used the matching Velcro pieces on small poker-like chips so they can be used as markers. 

TIP You do not need to make dozens of these plastic sleeves with Velcro. Just make one for each type of grid you may use. Unless, of course, you have multiple young players that may need this added help.

Now you can use these for any BINGO games you may make. Since I now put all my BINGO playing cards in plastic sleeves, it is quick and easy to take one out and put it in one of these special sleeves if it is needed or wanted by a player. 

Bingo Games 2 - A MISTAKE

Begins With...Bingo

PROBLEM - This game is not made in the best way and I want to explain why and save you problems as you make games for your children.

Bingo Card

Calling Cards

Now for the PROBLEM...

The information should be reversed. The child is working on mastering the sounds of the letters. When he is facing an entire page of letters (as on the above playing card) it can be overwhelming. 

It would be much better for the letters to be on the calling cards which get looked at one at a time. I would show the child the card and ask him the sound. When he has correctly given the sound for the letter it will be easy for him to find the picture that begins with that sound.

Another example of how I made this same mistake is when I first made Coin Bingo. Read about it  under point 4 in this post.

Making this Game  The pictures were cut from a phonics workbook. Rather than do pages and pages where the child must identify the beginning letter sound, we will just play a simple game such as this. 

Bingo Games 1 - Beginning Bird Bingo

Beginning Bird Bingo

Using pictures or stickers of birds (or other animals) create some bingo game playing cards. Vary the position of the birds on each card. Not every bird must be on each card. 

To create the calling cards use colored card stock divided into sections as I have done here. Posterboard pieces or index cards cut in half also work fine.

I like to create full sheets like this and then cover them with clear Contact paper BEFORE I cut them apart....much less cutting time this way. The Contact paper makes them more durable. If using posterboard this is not so necessary.

Junk Mail to Gameboard

Place Value - Disney

Ones - Tens - Hundreds Places

Sorry that this is blurry. I didn't realize it until I uploaded it and, of course, it was now too late since it had all been torn apart.

Here is the junk mail we received to join a Disney video club. We get packets like this regularly. So I decided it was time to actually use this for more than letting the three year old have fun with the stickers.

Using a couple punches I have, I got these pictures off the informational pages. I will use them to be the theme of the game.

Sorry this is also a little blurry. I will have to be more careful.

There was a page of stickers. These were the movies that could be chosen. I will use them for the spaces along the path. At first, I thought I would cut off the numbers, but changed my mind. We will use the numbers for another type of game. (see below.)

Here are the stickers and the punched pictures forming the path. 

Thinking that the gameboard path looked a little difficult to follow, I added some simple lines to make the path clearer to follow.

GENERIC GAMEBOARD - Using this as a generic gameboard was my first intention and it will work well for almost any skill. I think younger children will enjoy seeing some of their favorite Disney characters and movies along the path.

PLACE VALUE DISNEY - Following the format of Duck Pond we will drill the ones, tens, and hundreds places using the numbers on the movie stickers. All I needed to add were a number to the START space (I chose the 3-digit number 123) and a spinner. The spinner will have just 3 spaces on it instead of four like shown on the Duck Pond game.

This means we all have to look at "junk mail" a little differently from now on. There are game possibilities everywhere we look.