Easy Children's Games to Make

Tumbling Blocks

• Almost all children have had the pleasure of setting up dominoes and watching them fall. Create a set of wooden blocks all the same size and shape to set up your own tumbling patterns.

  Cut the blocks from pieces of 1 inch thick lumber. Rip the lumber on a table saw to 2 inches wide. Use a chop saw or mitre saw to cut the blocks to 3 inch lengths. Create two sets of several dozen blocks each. Make sure they are even in number. A hundred or more is best.

  Set up two designs of an equal number of blocks. Set each block 1 to 1 1/2 inches from the one in front of it. You can turn corners, make curves. Use books, rulers and other objects to create a roadbed for the blocks to sit on. Make your designs as elaborate as possible. Your goal will be to have the fastest tumble.

  When both sets of blocks are completely set up have someone call "ready, set, go" and have one person tip the first block of each design at the same time. The first design to completely tumble is the winner. Try different designs to determine the fastest one or combine all the blocks for one grand design. Use a stopwatch to test the speed of your designs.

Bean Bag Toss

• Bean bags are even easier and can be made by the kids themselves. You'll need a bag of beans, or dried rice, some ziploc baggies and a roll of duct tape. Fill about a quarter of a standard ziploc baggie with rice or beans. Close the baggie and fold it into a square, by folding it in half twice. Cut or tear off several strips of tape twice as long as the square.

  You can cover the square with the duct tape to make a rugged bean bag that will survive even the toughest game of target toss. Save empty containers, such as coffee cans to toss the bags into. Tape scores onto the outside of each can with smaller targets being worth more. Determine a line to toss from and keep score with pencil and paper or sidewalk chalk for an outside game. Use empty potato chip or other snack cans as targets to knock over. Use a similar scoring system. Bean bags can also be made from the toes of mismatched socks tied or sewn shut.