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. 

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. 

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.  

#3 - More Questions Answered about Game Making

Here are the remaining questions I was asked:

Other random questions
- What supplies should I always have on hand so I can make a board game or card game at a moment's notice?
- Where is the best place to buy contact paper? Also, you mention patterned contact paper for things like your math cards. Where do you buy that? Is it really expensive?

Taking them one at a time...

- What supplies should I always have on hand so I can make a board game or card game at a moment's notice?

My supplies began as a basket I kept handy. It contained things like:
file folders
Contact paper
cardstock in several colors
3/4" circle stickers
decorative stickers I started collecting
and the usual crafting supplies - scissors, pencils, permanent markers, watercolor markers, colored pencils, rulers, etc.

Some tips about these things. 

File folders - come in a wide variety of colors which make gameboards more fun. Remember that that manilla is a color too! They can be purchased at WalMart (and when I say WalMart I mean any of those type stores). Office supply stores have them as well. You can buy larger boxes of single color file folders at the office supply stores. They cost less this way and there is a large selection of colors. Consider getting with some friends and each purchasing one color and then sharing them. Some friends and I did this with a lot of our supplies.

Clear Contact paper can be purchased in many places. I found my best prices at WalMart. I always had a good supply on hand as I never knew when I would get into a big game-making binge!

Colored cardstock is now readily available in mixed colored packages at WalMart. When I began making games I went to print shops in order to get some good varieties without having to buy a large amount of any one color. Later I started buying reams of different colors at office supply stores - again sharing with friends.

3/4" circle stickers are so nice for making the spaces along a path. They are neat and quick to use. They also come in lots of colors. They can be purchased in multi-color packets at WalMart. To get larger packets and more color selection, check out office supply stores.

Decorative stickers are fun to collect. The children loved checking out stickers every time we would see a display. They add quick, easy, colorful, and fun decoration to a game board. Children love to play a game where they selected the stickers. Stickers may be themed around an interest or unit (such as horses, butterflies, vehicles, or animals). Children like games that are decorated with their favorite characters (Sesame Street, Thomas the Train, Spiderman, or Cinderella). Other stickers may just be pretty or fun (balloons, kites, flowers, or gems). Stickers are inexpensive and your extras can be traded with friends (or given to the children for their sticker collections).

The pictures on this gameboard were cut from a children's workbook and the castle from a picture book.

The crafting supplies (scissors, markers, etc.) are things we all usually have around the house. But here I want to make my MOST IMPORTANT TIP....

Make up YOUR OWN SUPPLY BASKET. I had MY scissors, MY markers, MY colored pencils, ...you get the idea. The children knew that they were never to touch MY basket on punishment of ______. I wouldn't even tell them what I might do if they touched my basket. But it inspired them to leave my things alone.  The reason is simple. If you don't have all the supplies you need in one place, you can spend all your time looking for them. I wanted to be able to work on games at a minute's notice. Sometimes I only had a few minutes, but I could make progress if I didn't have to waste time looking for a scissors that worked well.

- Where is the best place to buy contact paper? Also, you mention patterned contact paper for things like your math cards. Where do you buy that? Is it really expensive?

I have already mentioned that I found the best prices usually at WalMart for Contact paper.

The patterned Contact paper was located right by the clear in the same section as the shelf paper in the household department at most stores. I liked to pick a small pattern as it made pretty backs for card decks. It cost the same about as the clear. It would be expensive to purchase a patterned paper for just the backs of one deck. But you have to remember I was making LOTS of games. I bought several different patterns and, again, I would share with friends.

Notice the patterned Contact paper on the back of these cards.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT TIP -- remember to watch for all these things at garage sales and thrift stores. I have found partial rolls of Contact paper for just a few cents. Stickers (both the circle stickers and decorative ones) are often found (sometimes even unopened packages). I also have found file folders.

Don't forget the sharing with friends. This was also a great time for us moms to get together and talk about other things we were doing in our homeschools. We would share supplies, trade game ideas, and cutting boxes....

Oh, speaking of cutting boxes....This is ANOTHER BIG TIP... Keep a cutting box. Old workbooks (especially for phonics) with nice pictures are so helpful when making games. Children's picture books provide awesome pictures for decoration. Yes, I do cut up books. These are often torn, worn out, or duplicate books. I have find wonderful books in FREE boxes at garage sales. Some of the pages may be torn or missing, or all the pages have been done in the workbook, but the pictures are what I want. I have even purchased books at sales or thrift stores just to put into my cutting box because of the good pictures in them.

This game shows pictures from a book I paid full price for....

The pictures in this sticker/workbook were so darling I bought more than one copy of this book. I have made many games using the pictures from these books. I remember being so excited to find a copy in a garage sale FREE box. People often didn't understand my excitement over tattered books I would find...but my friends did when I would share at a game making day.

If you have any further questions, post a comment or email me at cole102486@yahoo.com.

Have fun game making.