This simple paper trick featuring a tricky dot that doesn't want to move from its corner engages the mind and distracts kids from getting antsy when they have to wait! It's another idea to add to our list of 20 waiting games for kids that keep kids off screens.

Dot-in-the-Corner Puzzler

The set up to this brain teaser couldn't be simpler, and the puzzling trick also has some benefits for little minds!

Just like Mobius strips and the circle-to-square brain teaser, the dot-in-the-corner paper cutting trick helps develop the following skills:

• Visual perception
• Mathematical understanding
• Fine motor
• Problem solving and analysis

Below the instructions and solution video, you'll find some helpful tips when using this brain teaser in the classroom.

What you need:

The dot-in-the-corner printable.

Scissors

Stopwatch (optional; only if you are very mean)

Instructions

Step 1. Print out the paper cutting trick. Fill out the form and we'll send it right over to you.

Alternatively, you can easily draw your own version. The location of the dot need not be exact, as long as the paper is square and the dot is in the upper right hand corner.

Step 2. Trick your friends

Hand your friends the square of paper with the dot and a pair of scissors. Give them these instructions:

"Cut the square so that you have exactly two pieces of paper. Now, rearrange the two pieces so that the dot is the center, but the two pieces still form a square."

Step 3. Wait and watch

Take a step back, perhaps start a stopwatch. Observe to see if they can figure it out and how long it takes them to do it!

If you can't figure it out on your own, watch our video to see the solution! (*note, if you have trouble viewing the video below, you can watch it on our youtube channel)

Step 4. Fool your friends with more paper tricks!

Tips for Teachers & Parents

Instruct the child not to cut the paper until they are sure of the solution. Since they will inevitably make an incorrect cut, it can help to have more than one puzzle on hand. Our printable includes four puzzles for this reason.

If you make your own dot-in-the-corner puzzle, the dot doesn't have to be in a precise location, as long as it's in a corner. However, the location will affect exactly where the child must make the cuts.

There is mathematics at play here. Although the paper puzzle is square, the cut will not be exactly square, or the dot won't end up in the middle of the paper. You can encourage inquiry by asking:

• Where would the dot need to be if you cut out exactly ¼ square from the corner?
• How would your cut(s) have to be different if the dot moved up or down? Left or right?

It's unlikely a child could eyeball the cut to get a dot exactly in the center, as long as they get the concept.

For older kids, you could turn this into a geometry problem using graph paper and equations to figure out the exact measurements, but that is beyond my pay grade. I'll leave figuring that conundrum to the math teachers out there.

The post Dot-in-the-Corner Brain Teaser appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

The next theme week of math camp is "patterns and math art," one of my very favorite subjects! But before you go, be sure to hop over to Coffee Cups and Crayons for another geometry math activity (using grapes no less!) to tide you over until next Thursday.

Previous camp mathematics fun: 

• Counting game to teach subtraction
• Magic squares

The post T Puzzle (Boggle Your Mathematical Mind) appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

Brain teaser puzzle instructions:

What you need:

8 tokens in two different colors. You could use coins (e.g. four nickels and four pennies) or game pieces (checkers tokens are perfect).

Set up:

Line up the tokens in a row so that four of the first color are followed by four of the second color. For example: orange-orange-orange-orange-blue-blue-blue-blue.

Objective:

Move the colored tokens so that they end in alternating colors. For example: orange-blue-orange-blue-orange-blue-orange-blue.

Rules:

• You are only allowed four moves.
• You must move two adjacent tokens at a time.

I'll give you a minute to try it and solve it before I show you the solution.

....

....

....

Did you solve it?

Watch the video or scroll down for the solution to our fun and quick brain teaser puzzle.

Quick Brain Teaser Solution:

I've numbered the tokens so that it is easier to see the answer. The tokens start out lined up as orange1-orange2-orange3-orange4-blue5-blue6-blue7-blue8.

First move: move 2 and 3 to the end.

Second move: move 5 and 6 to the space that was left between 1 and 4.

Third move: move 8 and 2 to the space that was left between 4 and 7.

Final move: move 1 & 5 to the empty spot.

TA DA!

Don't you feel smart, now?

Try this quick brain teaser for beginners with your children and then then have your child give the puzzle to another grown up and see what happens!

More brain teasers

Kids love to stump their parents or other family members. It gives kids confidence when they see adults working hard on something they have already solved. In fact, brain teasers and puzzles are great party tricks for family gatherings. They are a fun change from the normal board game and charades party fare and a guarantee for lots of laughs.

The post Quick Brain Teaser Puzzle For Kids (and Grown-Ups) appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

Simple, DIY games are very satisfying for kids and can often be played on the spur of the moment or on the go much more easily than board games. Ruma is a simple but surprisingly challenging game (more on that below!) My 10 year old played it on his own, but we also had a few face offs (see our video below). It keeps their brain active and they won't want to stop until they discover the solution.

What you need:

• Paper
• Pen
• Counters (we used buttons)

Make the board:

Divide a 10 inch strip of paper into 5 equal sections. We made 2 game boards. One is 10 x 2, the other is 10 x 3. Measurements don't need to be exact. Write "Ruma" in the final end section.

Objective: to get all the counters into the "Ruma" section.

Set up: place 2 counters in each of the empty sections.

How to play:

Pick up counters from any square and drop them, one by one into each section (similar to Mancala) towards the Ruma square. This is called "sowing the seeds".

What comes next depends on where your last counter falls.

If your last counter falls into Ruma then you move again, sowing seeds starting from the square of your choice.

If your last counter falls into an empty space, you lose.

If your last counter falls into a space already occupied by one or more counters, pick up all the counters from that square and continue sowing the seeds.

Good to know:

There is only one solution that will get all the counters into the Ruma square. There is a mathematical reason for this, but it is way above my head - ha ha ha. See the video if you want the solution. It was quite challenging for me, although I do not profess to be particularly adept at games like this!

It is fun, though, and my 10 year old and I did not want to give up. Even after we solved the game, it was not always easy to remember the exact steps, so even after your kids win, ask them to try and repeat the feat.

Watch a the new and improved (!) video of how to play. First I demonstrate how to lose (ha ha ha) but then you can watch a mother-son face off, plus at the very end I reveal the solution!

More DIY games we love:

• Tapatan, a 3 in a row game
• Dara: 3 in a row with a challenging twist!!
• Len Choa, a leopard and tiger hunt game
• Peg solitaire game
• Tower of Hanoi, logic puzzle

The post Tchuka Ruma: Solitaire Game for Kids appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

What are the benefits of word games?

I have sorted the games into the following three categories below:

• Thinking word games that require no-prep, some are pen and paper games
• Word board games (Actually none of them use a board, ha ha ha)
• Sight word games, particularly good for the classroom

So, what are you waiting for, start playing! (Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made through these links may earn commission.)

Word Games and Vocabulary Games

What I love about all the word game ideas in this section is that they are free word games!They are travel friendly, and even older kids will enjoy them. Play them on the go! Play them when you are stuck in traffic! Play them while you wait in line at the DMV! Improve your kids vocabulary whenever and wherever you want.

Words within A Word

Words within a word is probably my favorite on the list, and it's great for teachers in the classroom. Write out a long word on a piece of paper or a white board, if you have one. Set a timer for 3-5 minutes and challenge kids to come up with as many smaller words as they can using only the letters in the designated word.

For example, if the word is "onomatopoeia": poem, name, top, pot, ate, etc.

Unscramble

You will need a pen and paper for this word puzzle.  Write a list of 10 words, but instead of spelling them correctly, mix up the letters and challenge your child to unscramble them. To make it a little more fun, select all words from a single category. For example: kcae, kieooc, epi, ssertde, eci mreac becomes cake, cookie, pie, dessert, ice cream.

TIP: for younger kids choose only 3-5 letter words. I also have a frozen version of this game to play in the bathtub! For older kids, try taking 2 word phrases and scrambling them together as if they are one word.

The Minister's Cat

You can play this game with 2 or more players and it's great for learning new words! The first person starts off by describing the minister's cat with an adjective that begins with the letter "A." For example, "The minister's cat is an angry cat." The next player uses an adjective with the first letter "B," and so on through the alphabet. "The minister's cat is a bulbous cat." "The minister's cat is a cantankerous cat."

VARIATION: The Minister's Cat is also a memory game. Players must remember all the adjectives in order as they are added to the game. Using the above example, the second player would say, "The minister's cat is an angry, bulbous cat."  The third, "The minister's cat is an angry, bulbous, cantankerous cat."

MORE: Memory Games for Kids

Hink Pink

Hink Pinks are rhyming word puzzles. One person thinks of a two word rhyme and gives a two word description. The other player then must guess the "Hink Pink." For example, if one person says, "angry boy", the other player responds, "mad lad." Or, "wet canine" becomes "soggy doggy."

Hink Pink examples: shy fly, funny bunny, slow crow, big wig.

TIP: If players are having trouble coming up with hink pinks, write down a bunch of hink pinks on individual slips of paper and place in a jar for players to draw out on their turn.

Human Thesaurus

Choose a simple word like "beautiful." Think of as many synonyms as you can. If playing with others, you can set a timer and trade off with different words, or write words down and see who can come up with the most.

Storytelling Word by Word

Start a story with a single word. The next player says that word and builds the story with another word. The next player says the first two words, adds a third, and so on. Alternatively, you can build sentence by sentence. TIP: keep sentences short.

Hangman

This classic word game probably needs no introduction! One person thinks of a word and draws dashes along a paper to represent each letter in the word. Above the dashes he draws platform and stand. The other person guesses one letter at a time. If the letter is in the word, the first person fills in the blank(s). If not, the incorrect letter is written below and the first person draws one body part at a time.  If the person guesses the word before the body is completed (head, torso, 2 arms, 2 legs), he wins, if not -- well, he loses.

Word Board Games

You can find some really wonderful word "board" games to play with kids, either for family game night or in the classroom. I put "board" in quotation marks because none of these games use an actual board!

Boggle

Boggle is such a classic game and the shaking sound when mixing up all the letter cubes brings back great memories of playing the game way back when I was a kid.

Find it: Boggle | Boggle Jr.

Word-A-Round

Word-a-round is a relatively new game but great for kids who already know how to spell fairly fluently. It's also an excellent travel game. Each round card contains words spelled in a circle. Players race to decipher the words before anyone else!

Find it: Word-A-Round

Bananagrams

This classic game is very similar to Scrabble, but without the board. Plus, it comes in a cute banana-shaped pouch! When the kids were younger and had few spelling skills, we played as teams, with each adult paired with a child. Now there is a version for developing spellers.

Find it: Bananagrams classic | My First Bananagrams (ages 4 and up)

MORE: Best Tile Games for Family Game Night

Quiddler

Quiddler is a lesser known card game that we've had great fun playing. Read more about Quiddler in my game of the month feature.

Find it: Quiddler | Quiddler Jr.

Sight Word Games

If you are working specifically on sight words with your kids and students, try using these diy sight words games and sight word board games to make learning more fun.

DIY and Printable Sight Word Games

The Measured Mom has a ton of free printable sight word games. Start with this one right here!

Sight Words Dominoes from No Time for Flashcards

Sight Words Pancakes from Playdough to Plato.

Sight Words BINGO with Dolch Words from The Activity Mom

Zingo!

Zingo, Sight Words Edition. The original Zingo is an excellent classic game for pre-readers and early readers and this sight word edition is a must-have addition to the family of games. The Zingo games definitely take the pain out of memorizing sight words and give kids the confidence they need to improve their reading skills.

Other fun literacy ideas: 

• Indoor and outdoor literacy games
• ABC books for kids that parents will enjoy, too!
• Picture books about words that share a love of language

The post 16 Word Games for Kids and Families appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

Picture the scene. It's Thanksgiving, you didn't burn the turkey, the cranberries are wiggling in all their gelatinous glory and the rolls are only slightly burned on the edges. Everyone sits down, says grace and starts shoveling the food in their mouths. But then, Cousin Eddie and Uncle Gus start arguing about politics. How do you stop them? With a hilarious riddle or brain-busting scrambled word, that's how!

It's so important to be able to have some screen-free Thanksgiving activities that everyone will love, and these will make everyone smile and stop talking about politics!

MORE: It's almost time to print out these rebus puzzles for your Christmas advent calendar.

Use them as ice-breakers. When guests arrive, kids ask them to "pay the toll" by answering a riddle.

Start dinner conversations. Place a riddle, scrambled word or rebus at each guest's place at the table, along with one of these darling Thanksgiving place cards. After a toast or grace, go around the table asking riddles. Or, have a contest to see who can solve his scrambled word or rebus first. The winner gets an extra piece of pie. Alternatively, place the riddles and puzzles in a jar and pass it around the table.

Keep the kids busy. Tell the kids they have to solve all the scrambled words before they can eat. Just kidding. Maybe. But do use them to keep kids busy instead of listening to them ask when dinner is going to be ready.

Laugh yourselves silly after eating too much. Place the individual charades clues in a hat or bowl and have a rollicking good time. Don't know how to play charades? Find instructions here.

If you want more rebus puzzles, we've got more printable sheets in our Lunch Box Wuzzles post.

Answers to scrambled words: stuffing, gravy, pumpkin pie, cranberries, green beans, gathering, cooking, casserole, turkey, thankful, Mayflower, pilgrims, overeat, cornucopia, harvest, families

Answers to rebuses: falling leaves, green beans, talk turkey, count your blessings, mashed potatoes, clean up, thankful, sweet potato

The post Thanksgiving Puzzles, Rebuses and Riddles appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

These Halloween themed riddles and rebuses won't spook your kids, but they will make them laugh. The rebus puzzles will stretch their brains and make them think, putting their language and visual skills to the test. The riddles work on word play and puns. Who knew Halloween could be so educational?

How to Make Halloween Brain Teasers

How to Use the Halloween Brain Teasers

You could solve the rebuses all at once (answers at the bottom of this post) and tell each other the riddles in one giant giggle session, but here are some further suggestions. It's totally up to you!

• place them in Halloween party favor bags
• hand them out with other treats to trick-or-treaters
• use them in classroom Halloween parties or as brain breaks
• after cutting them apart put them in a jar and draw one out with your kids every morning during the run-up to Halloween

More printable rebuses!

Love rebuses? We've got a few more ideas for you, complete with free printables, of course.

• DIY brain teaser advent calendar
• Lunch box brain teasers
• Thanksgiving rebus puzzles

Answers to rebuses: candy, pumpkin patch, scarecrow, dress up, werewolf, ghost town, full moon, witching hour.

The post Halloween Brain Teasers for Kids: Rebuses and Riddles appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

There is a lot of sensory engagement going on when solving this rope and bead puzzle. Kids have to focus on their sense of touch to guide and manipulate the bead and not let the strings get tangled up. But not only are they working on those fine motor skills, they also have to exercise patience while working on logical thinking skills.

Some versions of the puzzle use rings instead of beads, but it's the same concept. You may remember these types of string and ring or bead puzzles from your own childhood. They have been around since the beginning of time and while there are many puzzles with very, very complicated solutions, this is a good starter puzzle for younger kids and you can offer a couple of hints to help them along. (More on that in a minute.)

How to Make a String and Bead Puzzle

To learn how to make the puzzle watch the how-to video, or read the written instructions below. This short video shows you how to make the puzzle, and at the end I show you the puzzle solution. (You can only watch the solution after you have tried to solve it on your own. Sorry, that's the rule.)

Under the written instructions I've included hints on how to solve the puzzle.

You will need: 

• Cardboard
• Hole punch (Optional, a scissors will also work)
• String
• Bead or ring
• Scissors

Solving the Puzzle

Objective: Move bead from one side of the string to the other.

3 hints to give your kids: (ONLY after they've given it the ol' college try)

1. Pull the loop forward.
2. Pull all four strands forward through the center hole.
3. Follow the string with the bead.

The best part is that after kids solve the puzzle they will feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment and be eager to hone their skills on another brain puzzler!

More Old-Fashioned Puzzles

• Make and solve the famous T-Puzzle!
• This triangle puzzle will stump your kids
• How to turn two circles into a square

The post More Old School Fun: String and Bead Puzzle appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

(Note: this post contains affiliate links that earn from qualifying purchases.)

The best part about this brain teaser calendar is that it costs nothing and even though it's a DIY advent calendar, it takes no time at all to whip up. No fuss, no muss. A few moments of time now translates into 24 days of fun this December, that's a seriously good return on your investment.

Each brain teaser in this advent calendars is a word puzzle, also known as a rebus. You solve the puzzle by looking for positional, color, size and image clues to determine the common phrase the puzzle represents.

For example, can you guess the following rebus?

That's right! It's "back to back."

Just like our limerick advent calendar, our printable is totally free. It includes 24 brain tickling word puzzles, one for each day of December in the countdown to Christmas.

Note: if you want to add more puzzles to the mix, feel free to print out our lunch box word puzzles!

Because this advent calendar cost you nothing and only 5 minutes of your time, you will definitely want to give your kids' brains an additional boost with our poetry advent calendar (with printable!).

Or, improve sibling relationships and foster gratitude with this sibling kindness advent calendar.

The post Make Your Own Brain Teaser Advent Calendar appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.

We happen to have a rather larger than average collection of solitary logic games for kids for precisely the reasons I outlined above. (Also because we are game addicts.) Today I'm sharing a gift guide list of awesome games. Each of these brain teasing logic puzzle games makes kids smarter and has been a quality investment in my children's future and my sanity.

(Note: this post contains affiliate links that earn commission from qualifying purchases.)

Best Single Player Logic Games

Here are some of the best single player logic games, all of which my kids and I love:

Find it: ThinkFun Rush Hour (ages 7+) | Rush Hour, Jr. (ages 4+) | Extra challenge cards

Rush Hour has long been my top game recommendation for kids. I've bought the original, or the version for younger kids, Rush Hour, Jr., for more birthday presents than I can count. Challenge cards in several levels each display puzzles that kids solve by rearranging the vehicles to drive the red truck off the board. Splendid.

UPDATE: ThinkFun now has My First Rush Hour for preschoolers! It's so great it was featured as a game of the month.

Find it: Balance Beans

Balance Beans is a math logic game that uses puzzle cards organized by skill level. Each puzzle involves setting up the red beans and then figuring out which beans to add to the see-saw in order to make it balance. It is actually more challenging than it sounds. But the thing that sold me is that each puzzle can also be solved by algebra. That's right! Algebra! Which is why my 11-year-old math nerd enjoyed it so much. Although older sibling may enjoy the game, stick to ages 5-8 for gift giving.

Find it: Colorku | Expansion packs

Colorku is a colorful, oversized version of Sudoku. We have gotten so much mileage out of this game. Even though it was pricey, it was totally worth it. My son has spent many independent play hours improving his thinking skills with this game over the years. The wooden board and marbles are a pleasure to use. Challenge cards come in different levels and expansion packs are available. Ages 8 and up.

Find it: Katamino

If you are looking for an heirloom quality game for your kids that will continue to be a fun challenge into their adult years, look no further. This puzzle game can be played as a single player game or with 2 players, making it very versatile. Ages 6 and up.

Find it: Camelot, Jr. 

This one player logic game has wooden pieces that are lovely for little hands to hold. Challenge cards contain puzzles that kids solve by creating pathways between the princess and prince. Bonus: kids can use the blocks as part of their pretend play. Ages 4 and up.

Similar games:

• Castle Logix, ages 4 and up; we featured it as a game of the month
• Day and Night, for ages 2 and up
• Smart Car, ages 4 and up

Find it: Code Master

This single player game consists of an avatar game piece with 4 crystals, a book of guide scrolls, colored tokens and a map book. The player choses a skill level and a map, and attempts to navigate the map by creating a sequence of actions based on placement of tokens. The object of each challenge is to collect the required crystals and land on the end portal.  Code Master is excellent for developing visual perception and deductive reasoning skills. Ages 8 and up.

Find it: Little Red Riding Hood | Three Little Piggies

This award-winning, fairy tale logic game merges storytelling with logical thinking! The game includes a story book, plus 48 challenging puzzles. Kids strive to get Little Red to grandma's house before the wolf gets there! Not a fan of Little Red Riding Hood? Three Little Piggies is a very similar game. Ages 4 and up.

Find it: Simon Electric Memory Game | Simon Travel Version

Do you remember this marvelous game? I love leaving our Simon game lying aroud to be rediscovered by the kids on a rainy day. They always rise to the challenge and although it's not silent, it sure keeps them occupied. And I know they are stretching their memory, visual perception and attention skills. Win-win! Ages 7 and up.

Find it: Block by Block 

Block by Block is an excellent logic game to take on your travels. It is a 3D puzzle game. Kids must solve puzzles by arranging the blocks in the formations illustrated on the challenge cards. Also check out the colorful version this game: Shape by Shape. Ages 7 and up.

Find it: SET

SET is a family card game, but it is very versatile and can also be enjoyed by a single player. The player aims to gather "sets" of cards based on logical rules. We featured it as a game of the month, so hop over there to learn more if you want! Ages 6 and up.

Find it: Logic Links 

Logic links is a great hands on single player logic game in which kids exercise spatial and logical deductive reasoning skills and they solve clues in order to put colored discs in the right order. We got so much use out of this game and it really stretches those thinking skills! Ages 6 and up.

Find it: IQ Link | IQ Twist | IQ Focus

When you want a portable puzzle that will work those thinking muscles on the go and which doesn't use a screen to entertain, these two logic games are exactly what you need. From personal experience I know the IQ family of games will also keep kids busy on long trips! Games are played by solving puzzles by fitting irregularly shaped pieces on the game board. Ages 6-8 and up.

The post Gift Guide for Kids: Best Single Player Logic Games appeared first on What Do We Do All Day.