With a little imagination, nearly anything can be made into a simple game. You can use kitchen items and dried foods, or coins, beads, and recyclable items. These types of simple games make great boredom busters any time, but they also work great to fill time or keep kids busy while you make other preparations during parties.
Penny Pitch
*Supervision is required for young children due to the use of small items that could be swallowed.
Use large muffin tins as game boards and have children pitch pennies into the muffin cups. There are different ways to play and different ways to keep score.
Game #1
Set the muffin tin down lengthwise and have two children stand a slight distance from it. Give them each the same number of pennies. Have them take turns tossing pennies into the muffin cups. Award a certain number of points for each cup. For example, award one point for the nearest cup, two for the next, etc. The child with the highest score wins.
Game #2
Have children line up and take individual turns tossing pennies into the pan (or set up two pans). You can award points, or you can simply count to see who was able to toss the most items into the pan overall.
Game #3
Instead of pennies, try colored beads or dried beans. You can award different points for different colors. You can also use margarine tubs or small cups instead of muffin pans.
Game #4
To make things more challenging for bigger kids, have them toss while wearing a blindfold, or have the stand with their backs to the pan/cups and toss backwards.
*Gather up a selection of items from around your home and see what kinds of great ideas you are your kids can come up with for new games!