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. 

Generic Board Games - Part 2

Here are some more generic gameboards. See original post on Generic Board Games for explanation on what these are and more on how to use them.

Ocean Treasure

Ocean Treasure

 This easy-to-make gameboard used pictures cut from a children's book. Yes, I do cut books. Check out my blog on that topic. 

Who Wants to be a Millionaire

Who Wants to be a Millionaire

Any skill cards can be used here. Age levels can easily be mixed as each child gets questions from his own selected skill cards. Children may even be reviewing/drilling very different subjects. Check out here how to make and play this fun game.

Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail

This quick and easy-to-make gameboard was created to review a book on ....you guessed it - The Oregon Trail. 

The cute wagon is from bulletin board border strip. The path path is Avery 3/4" brown circle stickers. The special spaces along the path a filefolder label stickers.

I don't know if you are able to read the special spaces, so here are what we chose to put on them. In order that they appear along the path:

Big River - need even number to cross.
Sight Buffalo - lose one turn to hunt.
Indian Attack - lose one turn.
and finally: Oregon Territory.

Animal Mania

Animal Mania

The pictures were again cut from a book. This book was a favorite for cutting animals. It was an old Golden workbook, the kind we would find near grocery check-outs. I still on rare occasions find this at garage sales--often in FREE boxes as all the pages have been done. But the pictures are so nice for games and other projects the children enjoy. 

Notice that the stickers that were once white have changed over all these years, but the game is still a good one. Children always love animal related games, even if we are drilling "boring" multiplication tables. 

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Not having a television except for video watching, I had not seen this show until it had become a popular hit. Visiting my son, I saw it for the first time with his family. His kids were excited about watching it, though they are young and most of the questions were way beyond their education. But what interested me the most was that they still watched the whole show cheering on the contestant and shouting advice about answers and how to use his "lifelines."

As I thought about this show more in the days to come and thought about its appeal to these children, I figured there had to be a way to make this game and use it for their education.

TO MAKE:
I wanted something a little different than a traditional board game. I decided to use library pockets (You know those card holders in the back of library books, before many libraries went completely to using computers to track books.) I cut these in half, and taped them to make two pockets out of each one, as I needed smaller pockets. I wrapped the pocket portion in clear Contact paper to make it more durable.

Then I glued these in three rows (five in each row) on a pretty blue file folder. I used some file folder labels that were trimmed in blue below each one to indicate the level of question. I used the same levels as they do on the show: $100; $200; $300; $500; $1,000; $2,000; $4,000; $8,000; $16,000; $32,000; $64,000; $125,000; $250,000; $500,000; and $1,000,000. I put a gold sticker on the $1,000 and $32,000 pockets to indicate these as safe levels (Once reached this progress can not be lost.)

Now for the part that became the biggest hit with the kids: I used flat wooden spoons (The kind you can get at stores when you buy a malt cup or single serving of ice cream.) to make their playing pieces. These fit nicely into the pockets. To personalize each, I cut a snapshot of the child and glued his picture to the stick. I made some extra "players" in case a friend comes and wishes to play. He could chose from the Big Bird or Winnie the Pooh game pieces.

I made some special "lifeline" cards:
50/50 - The question will be rephrased as a True/False question or a choice of two answers will be given.

HELP - The player may ask anyone available for help...this can include calling Grandma on the phone.

BOOK - The player may get any book in the house and look up information.

NEW QUESTION - The player may choose to receive a completely new question.

HINT - The player will be given an age appropriate clue.

At the beginning of the game, these "lifeline" cards will be shuffled and three dealt to each player OR players may select three of their choice....some players like different ones than others.

For the game that I gave to my son's family, I included two sets of question cards I had from a trivia game that I bought at a used curriculum sale. I gave them the set for first graders and second graders as these were the right ages for the boys. However, I later made them some cards fitting more with things they are actually working on.....but they were so excited and wanted the game NOW.

TO PLAY:

Play is similar to the game show. However, we wanted all players to be able to play at the same time, not just one "contestant" (though this is a great game for the "only" child).

All players place their game piece in the first pocket. In turn each is asked a question and if successful, they move their game piece to the next level pocket. They may use their "lifeline" cards any time they choose for assistance with a question.

Any time a player wishes, he may quit and keep the money he has won. I made some fun money and pay the children. They can keep this money forever.....I just print some more. If a child, misses a question, he must return to the last "safe" pocket and collect that amount of money. He may, however, remain in the game...he simply must start at the beginning again.

When I was playing with the grandchildren the first time, and Kris made a mistake, he was heartbroken, but the pain seemed less as he received some fun money and realized that he was not out of the game...that he could start fresh again, with new "lifeline" cards. As it turned out, Kris was forced to start over more often than his older brother Kyle, however, Kris ended up with more money when we quit playing for the day. They left their game pieces right in the pockets so they could start up in the same places the next time we played....which turned out being within an hour as they were excited to get back to winning more money.

This game is fun for the whole family. Each member can be playing at his own level as the questions can come from cards made/selected especially for each one. Mom and Dad can participate too...get the questions from an adult trivia game for them to use.

Cutting Books to Make Games

Yes, you heard me right!

I do cut pictures from books. 

Many of the books are children's workbooks. They often have the best pictures. Especially if you are looking for pictures for a phonics game, grab a phonics workbook. I save pages from the children's workbooks when they have good pictures on them. I have taught the children to be careful of writing on the pictures. Even when I taught in the classroom, the students were careful to not mess up the pictures. They knew that I would use some of the pages to make games for them to play.

I love when I find some of my favorite workbooks at garage sales and often in the FREE box. People feel because the pages have been done, the books are worthless. Even if I only can use a few of the pictures, I am sure to grab it.

I will also buy books, knowing I am going to put them straight into my cutting box. These, of course, I hope to get for 25 cents. 

Generic Board Games 101

What is a Generic Game Board?

The simple answer is it is a game playing board that has no educational skill directly a part of the board.

As example, if you are working to teach your child colors and needed a simple game, you would probably choose Candyland. The colors are on the skill cards and also a part of the playing board.

However, if your child no longer needs this basic skill, Candyland can become a generic gameboard. New skill cards would need to be provided. Maybe the child would draw a card with a letter on it and be required to give the sound it makes, a word that begins with that letter, or the name of the letter. After giving a correct response, the child would draw one of the Candyland cards and that would indicate how far he could move. The skill is no longer a part of the board.

This leaves the possibility that the format (method of play) is still Candyland by its rules, but so many skills could be used to play the game.

Simply grab ANY game skill cards you may have or even flashcards and use the Candyland board and rules and have some fun drilling the skill.

Examples of Generic Gameboards

Save the Princess

Save the Princess

Using a blue filefolder I attached the two pictures. These are notepads I had on hand and seemed a natural for my daughter who was princess crazy at the time. The spaces are 3/4" circle stickers that can be purchased at most big box stores or office supply shops. After attaching the pictures, adding the name to the knight's shield, and creating the path, I covered both halves of the filefolder with clear Contact paper. Next I attached some fun gems I had in my crafting supplies. I notice that a few of the gems have disappeared over the years, but the board is still usable for my granddaughters. 

To Play: Players select a game piece and place it on the knight. In turn, players give a response to a skill card. When they have given a correct answer (even if help is needed), they shake a die and move the indicated number of spaces.

Generic Worm Board

Generic Worm Board

Using a red filefolder, I drew the path using a circle template. I added the simplistic art work and wording. No need to cover this gameboard as there is nothing special to protect. If the gameboard wears out it is easy enough to remake.

To Play: This is a great board for younger players as the spaces are large. It is also a fun time to use some of our larger game pieces. After placing their chosen pieces on start, players would take turns responding to whatever skill cards we had selected for play. Dice or spinners could be used to decide how far a player may move.

Coral Reef

Coral Reef

I chose a blue filefolder to represent water. The stickers along the path are reinforcement stickers for the holes in notebook paper. I like them because they look like bubbles and are something a little different.  Easy to add a fun theme to this game using the fish stickers.

To Play: If you notice that there are some fish along the path this game could be played like Candyland - sort of. Cards with matching stickers would be place among the skill cards. If one of these cards is drawn, then the player would not give an answer, nor would he shake a die to see how far he would move. He would simply move to the corresponding space. This could be a forward or backward move. I usually find that having two of each matching stickers within the cards makes for a fun game. 

The play could simply ignore these sticker spaces and just consider them as added decoration to the game.

Speedway

Speedway

This gameboard was made extra large using two filefolders taped together on the reverse side. The spaces are pieces of colored paper cut and glued to the board in an oval path. I then covered the board using 4 pieces of Contact paper.

To Play: Players begin on START and, in turn, answer a skill card and move after shaking a die. The player then follows the directions on the landed on space. Because of the interesting directions play can go forward and backward, even returning to START. However, because there are 4 WIN spaces on the path the game can be over very quickly or last for quite awhile. Cars make for fun game pieces.

Feel free to join Games For Learning on FaceBook if you have questions about these games. 

I will be sharing some more generic gameboard examples.

Money Train Board Game

For those youngsters learning to count money.

This is a gameboard that I drew. It can be made as simple or fancy as you wish. Here is what I did:

A simple board would to be to find a picture of a train (optional) and just make a path for the train to follow. You can make any theme for your game and give it a different name and have it fit your child's interests or a unit you are currently doing. On each segment write amounts. Higher amounts can be used for children with greater ability.

TO PLAY:

Players, in turn, shake a die (or spin a spinner) to find out how many spaces they will move. They collect that amount (or lose if the space indicates that). 

We use real coins from a mixture for this game.

I like using real coins as I have never found play coins I like well enough. These dollars are great as they look like real money that has been Xeroxed and shrunk.

As they play, I also encourage the children to exchange their small coins for larger coins and eventually into dollars. This helps them practice the equivalents. 

We play to see who has the most money when all players reach the end. We also celebrate each player reaching the end. I don't like putting too much emphasis on having a winner, as there then must be losers....and no one wants to be one of them.

Books I Will Use to Make Games

I went through my cutting box and found some great books in there. Here are three books that will make some fun learning games. 


BOOK 1:

This is one I found in a FREE box at a garage. Because all of the stickers have been already placed on the fold-out mural I assume the people felt it was no longer of value. But, I assure you, I quickly grabbed it!

 

The stickers are reusable so I will be able to remove them from the mural.

The back of each section of the mural has a picture of the animal and a brief bit of information that I may be able to use as I create a game using this book. Also thinking I may copy this information and picture and put it on game cards. Purpose??? Not sure yet.










BOOK 2:

Not sure where I got this one, but likely a garage sale. This is loaded with wonderful pictures and tons of information. 

As you can see the pictures are bright and colorful and all the birds are clearly identified. There are several pages similar to this one.

This page of pictures of the eggs of different birds should make an interesting addition to a game. A possibility I think of as I type is these could be used as the spaces on a board game. 

This awesome page with the sketches of the beaks/bills and feet of different types of birds will be a great addition to a game. It actually could be two different sorting type games.  We could use pictures from the book on cards and sort into pockets according to the beak/bill or feet. These kinds of activities get the children thinking. It is less about "right" answers and more about having them use their eyes and reasoning skills. 












Book 3:  

This book also has reusable stickers which will make some nice addition to game boards or cards.

As you can see, the layouts are awesome! There are ones for several different habitats. I will probably use these as the game boards.  I will simply mount them on the file folders to make them more durable. 

I hope this gives a bit of an idea of why I collect books to put into my cutting box. These books will be played with over and over once they become games and they will provide much learning fun.  

Walk, Swim, Fly, or Hop

A game for the little ones to take a look at the way animals move.

The Game Board:

I usually use colored file folders to make games more attractive, but we need to remember that manila is a color too. In this case it seemed to be exactly the right color to set off the green stickers and the animal pictures.

THE PATH: Using 3/4" green stickers I created a path. I used pictures cut from some animal books to decorate the board. CUT A BOOK? Yes, I do cut books. I will tell all about cutting books in a future post. 

On the spaces are the letters W, S, F, or H. They, of course, stand for Walk, Swim, Fly, or Hop. 

Here is a close-up of the path:

The Cards:

More pictures CUT FROM BOOKS. 

After the pictures are cut and pasted on the cards, I cover the cards with clear Contact paper. Laminating would be good if you have one available.

To Play:

The animal cards are shuffled and placed in a draw pile.

Each player places a game piece at the beginning of the path. 

In turn, players draw a card, name the animal and then decide how that animal normally moves. He then places his game piece on the next space with the letter that begins the word that describes how his animal moves.

This is a good game to introduce children to new animals. Letting them see the pictures and figure out how the animal moves.