Category: Games

This is a good game for all ages, but especially elementary school kids. You’ll want a group of at least 5 people. I use this game for class parties at the school at least once per year.

Supplies: Masking tape and socks for every player (Hopefully most of them are already wearing their own socks!) Socks that come above the ankle work the best. Ankle socks come off too quickly.

Game Instructions:

Create a large square or rectangle with masking tape on the floor. It should be large enough for your group to crawl around, chasing each other, but small enough that everyone is still fairly close together. (At school, I usually make a 12′ square.) The object of the game is to be the last person with a sock on. No one can hold onto their socks. No one can pull a sock back up if it’s partially off. Everyone has to stay on their knees or bum. If anyone is caught on their feet, they are out of the game. As soon as both socks are pulled off a person, they must leave the square. They can sit on the outside of the square and cheer. I also tell the kids that if I think anyone is playing too rough, I have the right to pull them from the game. At school, we’ll play several rounds with 6 kids in each round, then have a winners’ round to declare a champion.

This is a good game for ages 5+. You’ll want a group of 4-10 people.

Supplies: 1 Deck of cards, a spoon for all but one person participating. If you have 8 people, you’ll need 7 spoons.

Game Instructions: This is the classic game of Spoons but with an element of Hide and Seek thrown in the mix.

First, I will describe the standard game of Spoons: Divide your cards into stacks of each number. (stack of Aces, 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, and so on). Set aside the royals. You will need a set of one number for each person playing. If you have 6 players, you will use six numbers (like cards 2-7). Shuffle these cards, then deal 4 to each player. Place spoons in the middle of the group- one less than the number of players. So, if you have 6 players, place 5 spoons in the middle. The players then begin passing their cards, one at a time clockwise. They pick up a card and they can choose to keep it or pass it to the next player. Once someone has four cards of the same number, they quietly pick up a spoon. The other players try to pick up spoons quickly. The person left without a spoon gets an S (like in the basketball game Horse). A player is out of the game when they have spelled SPOONS. For a shorter game, spell FUN.

In Ultimate Spoons, you need an extra person (who is not playing) to hide the spoons in the house. They hide them all together. Once a player has four cards of the same number, they take off looking for the spoons. The others join in and the person left without a spoon receives a letter. Note: When a player finds the spoons, he takes one but does not tell the other players where they are hidden.