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Games to Play With Grandchildren Under Ten

The joy of being a grandparent and spending time with grandchildren is often one of life̵7;s most treasured experiences. Likewise, many children adore spending time with their grandparents, who tend to let the rules slide a little and always seem to come up with fun activities. Grandparents don̵7;t have to be electronic whizzes to entertain their cyber inundated grandchildren. They can play some old-fashioned childhood games with their grandchildren -- games they used to play when they were children.

Simon Says
- Grandma or Grandpa starts out being Simon, the leader. Whatever Simon says, the group must do, as long as the activity is prefaced by the words, ̶0;Simon says.̶1; If Simon just commands ̶0;do this̶1; and does not say "Simon says," anyone who does the activity is out. It sounds easy, but after listening to five or six quick orders in a row, it is easy to forget that Simon must say, ̶0;Simon says,̶1; before you do anything. The last child left taking proper orders from Simon wins the game.
Pin the Tail on the Donkey
- ̶0;Pin the Tail on the Donkey̶1; is often played at children̵7;s birthday parties. However, the game has many variations. For instance, you can draw a clown face on a paper plate without the nose and hang it on the wall. Have the children take turns. Blindfold and spin each child gently around in a circle once before having each try to stick a red pom pom nose with tape on one end on the clown̵7;s face. The child who sticks the pom pom nose closest to the middle of the clown face wins.
I Spy
- ̶0;I Spy̶1; can be played indoors or outdoors. Grandma or Grandpa can start the game off by secretly observing a certain object in the area. For example, suppose the object is a Teddy bear. Grandma can say, ̶0;I spy with my little eyes something brown.̶1; The children look around and try to guess what Grandma sees. The child who guesses the Teddy bear gets to be the next to give clues starting with the words, I spy.̶1; The game does not really have a winner; it is just an engaging game to keep kids occupied.
Go Fish
- Each player gets four or five cards from a deck. The rest of the cards are spread in a big pile, face down, on the table. The players take turns asking each other for matching cards. Suppose Grandma has a ̶0;two.̶1; She asks her grandchild if he has a ̶0;two.̶1; If he does, he must give it to her and she puts the pair down face up in front of her. If he doesn̵7;t, he says, ̶0;go fish.̶1; Then, Grandma must take another card from the face down pile. The next player then asks someone for a card. The winner is the person who can complete the most pairs before all the cards are picked up.

Kids Games