Our spring snows are here, and I know much of the county is experiencing rainy cold weather. Here’s a great indoor game for those restless-can’t-go-outside days.
Magnetic fishing is a very easy game to make. As a bonus, it can be a great learning tool, and it helps with hand eye coordination. You will need a stick or pencil for your fishing rod. Tie a short string onto one end. On the other end of the string, tie a fairly strong magnet. Now, you just need something to catch.
For fish, you can either draw simple fish shapes on construction paper, or you can go all out and print off beautiful clip art fish. If you attach a paper clip or two to the fish, the child can then catch the fish with their magnetic fishing rod.
What’s great about this game is how versatile it is. You can teach colors by having the fish different colors. You can put letters or numbers on the fish. Your “fish” could even be shapes. You can put reading words, or spelling words, or math facts on the fish, too. If you want to practice matching you could have two fish of the same color or shape. You can make ten fish with the numbers for the child to arrange. Or practice math by adding up the numbers on the fish. I love how open-ended and easily changeable this game can be.
You can put your fishing pond in a shoe box, or a bucket or even just behind the sofa. As always, keep safety in mind and make sure the child is old enough to not swallow the magnet or the paper clips. And of course you should always be careful with strings, too.
I’ve never known a kid who wasn’t delighted with this game. It makes being stuck inside just a little easier.
More Indoor Fun:
Frugal Indoor Fun: Host a Party