Giddy for spring? Try these games celebrating light and color!
Although we are still very much in the throes of colder weather, this week we had a couple of days that hinted at the spring that is at the end of this frozen tunnel! This inspired us to come up with some ideas for activities and games that you can do and play with your small humans to bring some light and color to wherever you are, regardless of how much light or warmth you have right now.
📷 Window Pinhole Camera
A pinhole camera is one of the most simple cameras that can be made and can be used as a cool way to safely view solar eclipses. But did you know that you can turn any room with windows into a pinhole camera? Block out all of the light with curtains or dark paper except for 1 window. Cover this window with a piece of dark paper and cut out a hole about the size of a ten-cent piece. Now get a light colored piece of paper and catch the light that is coming through the hole in the paper. Since you are now inside of a pinhole camera, you should see whatever is on the other side of the window! Try it out with other windows and see what "pictures" you can take.
🌈 Rainbow of Us
Have you and your small humans each choose 1-3 colors to represent how you are feeling right now. Using only these colors, draw a picture together of: yourselves, what you see outside your window, your favorite animals, or anything else that your imagination inspires.
🧃 Secondary Colors Only!
Set up a station with colored water or juices that are the primary colors (yellow, blue, and red). Pick a secondary color (green, purple, or orange) and together with your small humans, figure out what colors and quantities you need to make the correct drink order.
🧶 Yarn Laser Field
Using some brightly colored yarn, create an obstacle course where you have to navigate from one side to the other without touching the yarn "lasers" in order to rescue a stuffed animal (or other object) on the other side. For extra challenge, add in a flashlight "spotlight". If it's shining on them, they have to freeze until the spotlight is off.
🔦 Flashlight Scavenger Tag
Traditional flashlight tag may be difficult to play with only a couple of players or in smaller spaces, so try a variation that uses objects instead of people. Grab a few stuffed animals, toys, a fun cup, or anything else you might have that isn't easily broken and line them up. These are our "players". Have your small human(s) close their eyes and count to 20 while you hide the players around the play space. Once the timer is up, your small human(s) will now need to search the play space to find all of the players, ideally with a flashlight but this could work just as easily in the daytime without one.
✨ Custom Constellations
Using a piece of dark paper and a paperclip to poke holes in it, create a constellation that you can see when you shine light through one side of it. Then, come up with a story for your constellation, just like the big ones in the night sky!
We hope that you give some of these ideas a try as we all wait for Spring to come into full swing!
For more fun, say hello on instagram @playfollies!