Imagine you are looking for something to do by yourself. Maybe you are home alone or your family is busy doing other things. There are many fun games you can play by yourself that are entertaining and will stimulate your mind. You can even learn something by playing games. Playing games creates thinking strategies that can promote lifelong learning in unconscious ways. By playing games, learning can be fun and engaging.
A popular children’s game is Picture Memory. The game consists of pairs of matching picture cards. You mix up the pairs and then arrange them upside down. The goal is to find the pairs that go together by turning the cards over one at a time. You can even make your own cards with pictures of you, your family, favorite things, or drawings. All you need is thick paper such as cardboard, index cards, or construction paper. Decide how many pairs you want to make, divide the material into equal squares, and cut them out. Then you can add whatever pictures you want to the paper. You can match two of the same picture or in the same group. For example, if you have a picture of your mom and your dad you could match them together. If you need other ideas, you can cut pictures out of magazines, take more pictures, use colors, or any other object you think would be interesting. The possibilities are endless. This game allows you to explore your creative side and helps improve memory skills.
What Do They Look Like consists of listening to the radio and imagining what the DJs or announcers look like just by listening to their voices. Then look up their picture on the radio station website and see how they really look. This also works with the TV by shutting your eyes and changing the channel until you hear a voice you are not familiar with. This game helps you think abstractly and encourages you to use your imagination.
Language Swap involves changing the language on a well-known DVD. It is interesting to hear how different languages pronounce words and phrases. The object of this game is to guess what the characters are saying and what is going on in the movie. This game helps build awareness of other languages and may even help teach another language.
The Floor is Made of Lava is an easy favorite game among children. Use all types of different items as steppingstones to walk on them and not fall on the floor or “lava”. Pillows, couch cushions, blankets, potholders, oven mitts, towels, and any other objects you can walk on will work for this game. You can pretend you are running away from bad guys or looking for treasure. Let you imagination run wild and you can come up with any type of imaginary event. An addition to this game is using different materials to make a bridge. This game stimulates imagination, balance, and creativity.
Time Capsule Creation is a very interesting way to save your memories to come back to later or for someone else to find. You can use a shoebox or a plastic container to put a variety of your favorite things inside. If you do not want to put the actual item you can use a picture. You can also write a list of your favorite things such as: food, movie, TV show, video game, song, animal, color, number, and anything else you would like to add. You can put pictures of yourself, friends, and family as well. Do not forget to add the date before you close the box. After you put everything in the box, close it up tightly and bury it or put it in a safe place. It can be in your yard, a park, or even in your garage or attic. You can write yourself a note to come back to in a certain amount of years or you can leave it up to chance of you or someone else finding it. This game promotes creativity, memory, and thinking.
There are many other fun games you can play by yourself, just use your imagination and there is no limit. You can even invent your own games that you can show to your friends and family later.
