My son loves bees. He also loves games. So when I saw a way to combine his two loves into a great educational game, I leaped at the chance. All I had to do was raid my kids craft supplies (all from the dollar store – of course!) and the recycling bin to get everything I needed to churn out a whole colony of counting bees. Learn how to make the game and more than seven ways to play with it on my site, Creative Green Living. [how to make a bee themed counting game]

Project estimate:

• Clothespins, on hand or $1
• Yellow and  black pipe cleaners, on hand
• Yellow Pom Poms, on hand or $1 and up
• Wire cutters, on hand or $1 and up
• Googley eyes, on hand
• Hot glue gun, on hand or $1 and up
• Wax paper, on hand
• Scissors, on hand
• Scrap cardboard, on hand
• Permanent marker, on hand

Total: Free and up!

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We’re not the only crafters out there who are excited about shark week – and not surprisingly, one of those  other crafters is Jeanette from Paper Plate Shark Jaws and Off the Cuff Cooking.  She is joining us today to share a shark matching game that is fun for the whole family, along with several sets of rules so that you can adjust the game to challenge kids of all ages.  Make sure you stop by her blogs for more inspiration!

Shark Matching Memory Game

by Jeanette Strole Parks

This game has different skill levels, and can be played on the floor or a large table or, for a fun outdoor game, on a flat area of grass or a driveway.

Project estimate:

• 18 square paper plates, $1 and up
• Clear packing tape, on hand or $1
• Free printables (download below):
  • Print-outs of Shark illustrations, make two per shark-illustration for a total of 12*
  • Print-outs of Word-Play pictures, make one, per illustration, for a total of 6*

Total: $1 and up

Cut out the print-outs along the outlined square on the page.

Line up the cut-out image in the center of a paper plate, and carefully tear off 6 1/2 ” strips of packing tape, and work your way from top to bottom to adhere it completely to the paper plate; try not to leave any gaps, since this will prolong the life of your memory game if the illustration can’t get any moisture or dirt on it.

When all 18 images have been cut and taped, this game can be played a few different ways, much like a traditional “memory” game:

Rules:
Version 1. For very young kids, just leave the plates all face-up [3 rows of 6, or 2 rows of 9], and have the child(ren) take turns looking at the different illustrations and matching the sharks to each other.  You can also show them how the Word-Play cards use the same words in the names of the sharks. (For instance, the lemon image with the lemon sharks, and so on.)  This one is easiest since they don’t have to actually remember where the plates are, but just study the words and images until they’ve all been matched up.

Version 2. For the next variation, flip them all over, but only use the shark images. This version uses 12 plates.  Each player takes a turn finding matching pairs of sharks, turning over 2 plates per turn, and if they’re not matching, they flip them back over again.  When a match is found, the player who found it takes the matching plates out of the game and stacks them by him or her.  At this point, the other player(s) take their turn(s). Play until all plates have been matched. Whoever has the most matches at the end wins.

Version 3.  Alternatively, just use single Shark plates along with their corresponding Word-Play plates for a total of 12 plates. Follow the same rules as above.

Version 4. Full game is the 2 Shark plates AND the Word-Play plates, and to complete each turn, each player turns over 3 plates.  All three have to match on one turn to win that turn.  Follow all other rules as above.

*Illustrations are copyright of Jeanette Parks / PaperPlateSharkJaws.com and may only be printed for home use to create this game or craft activity.

Click on the images below to enlarge them, then right-click to save them to your computer for printing.

More shark crafts:
Follow Mrs. Greene’s board Shark Week! on Pinterest.

The post Tutorial: Shark Memory Game appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Who can resist hula hoops from the Dollar Store? I love them! Another thing I love is making up fun games for my kids at an inexpensive price. With four hula hoops I was able to make a fun shark ball game which entertained the entire neighborhood, including kids of all ages.  This would make a great activity at a shark-themed birthday party, or just a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Project estimate:

• 4 hula hoops of different sizes, $4
• Ball, on hand or $1
• Clear tape, on hand
• Barbecue skewers, on hand
• Construction paper, on hand

Total: $4.00 and up

This is very easy and has just a few steps to complete. First you need to located the area on the hula hoop where it joins. It is taped so all you’ll need to do is cut the tape and pull at the join to make it come apart. I took the outer ribbon off to make mine look more shark-like. I can honestly say I’ve never seen a shark with stripes.

After the ribbon is removed you’ll need to secure the silver covering with a small piece of tape at the end so it doesn’t come unraveled as well.

I let my kids decorate the shark however they wanted, and they came up with a pretty fun look. The created teeth with a bunch of paper triangles; the eyes were made by tracing bowls and cups onto paper to make circles; the fin was created with two pieces of construction paper and two barbecue skewers to hold it upright.  To create a tail, we used two sections of the remaining hula hoop.

Once they had finished decorating and decided where they wanted it placed, I took wooden barbecue skewers and pushed them into the ground. I then placed the end of the hula hoops over the skewers to hold them in place.  Repeat for each hoop.

The kids created two games using the shark. For the first game, they kicked a ball through the hoops. They would see who could hit the tail fin in the back.

The other game they invented was a fun obstacle course. They had a blast with this fun, $4.00 craft!

More shark crafts:
Follow Mrs. Greene’s board Shark Week! on Pinterest.

The post Tutorial: Hula Hoop Shark Game appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

A while back i spotted some mini dry erase boards in the school supply section at Dollar Tree and I knew that there had to be some clever uses for them.  All the way across the country, Breanna at Dollar Store Mom saw the same set of dry erase boards and was inspired to make a Newlywed Game activity out of them!  It’s a perfect setup for two couples since the boards come in packages of four, and with Breanna’s free printable you’ll have everything you need for a night of fun and laughter.  [how to host a “Newlywed Game” night]

Project estimate:

• Dry erase boards, $1
• Dry erase markers, on hand or $1
• Printable, free

Total:  $1 and up

The post Host a “Newlywed Game” Night appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Tic-Tac-Toe to Go: $2

Nikki at Salty Pineapple made this to-go version of tic-tac-toe. You can use plastic figurines found at the dollar store (Cowboys vs. Indians? Army men vs. Dinosaurs?) and take this game with you for instant fun on the go. Click here for The Salty Pineapple’s Tutorial.

Counting Game: $1

Reader Ann at Two Red Heads and a Boy-le made this cool counting game out of a dollar store shadow box. So cool! Get the details here.

Tic-Tac-Toe: $1

The same shadow box becomes a Tic-Tac-Toe game, by Katrina at Sevin Family.

Rubber Band Gun: $.25-ish

Nikki at Salty Pineapple made these fun rubber band guns for a game at her son’s birthday party. Details here.

Airplane Runway: $1 or less

Noelle from Reynolds R Us made this cute little play runway for her son (all with just her glue gun! no sewing!). I think it would be fun to make one out of a dollar store placemat and scrap fabric. Get the info here.

The post Roundup: Games and Toys to Make appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I so love this simple and brilliant idea by my friend Marie at the Craftzine blog. Since it’s still cold outside, your dollar store (and every other store on the planet, pretty much) will probably have these magic stretch gloves, so pick up a few pairs to make a fun Velcro catch game. Kids of all ages will enjoy this game, and it looks like it would be a great way to expend some energy when it’s too icky to go outside. Marie just came up with another twist on the game, too, using a hat to catch the ball with. [click here for Velcro Catch Ball how-to]

If you can’t find the round self-stick Velcro at the dollar store, try cutting your own circles and gluing them on. You can also use diaper tabs from disposable diapers in place of Velcro.

Project Estimate:

• Magic knit gloves (or hat), $1
• Wiffle balls, $1
• Round self-stick Velcro, $1 and up

Total: $3

The post Make a Velcro Catch Ball Game appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Fishing Game by Maxylola: $3 and up

This cool fishing game is made from a secret ingredient. Can you guess what it is? You’ll be amazed when you find out. Thanks to Cassi at the Crafty Crow for this awesome find. (And when you click over to Maxylola, you will see a Google Translate frame at the top because the original blog is in Spanish.)

Old Crayons Made New by Nora at Fun to Be Frugal: FREE and up

Recycle old broken crayons into kid-friendly (and break-resistant) melted fun crayons.

Recycling Robot by Eva from Handmade Beginnings: FREE

I love this little robot made from a recycled soda bottle, duct tape and markers. Eva’s daughter likes to cut up paper, so Eva made this cute robot for her daughter to feed with the bits of paper. My preschool and toddler sons would LOVE one of these (maybe we’ll just make one tomorrow!). Cute, easy, and free. Win win win.

Felt Food: Latke by Meira at Birkat Chaverim: FREE

Add a latke to your child’s felt food kitchen – cute!

The post Roundup: Kids’ Toys and Games appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Kids love to play “memory” – the game where you lay out a bunch of cards face down, turn over two sets of cards at a time and try to make a match. Heck, I still kind of like it! Jess at The Adventures of Rory and Jess and Sadie made this super pretty and modern wooden version of the game using unfinished wooden squares and scrapbook paper. I love how it turned out, and it looks like it could be a real heirloom, too! What a fantastic idea for a birthday or holiday gift! [click here for project instructions]

Project Estimate:

• 16 wooden squares ($.30 each), $4.80
• Scrapbook paper, on hand or $.20 each
• Mod Podge, on hand
• Foam brush, on hand

Total: $5

The post Make a Wooden Memory Game appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Jolanthe from Homeschool Creations came up with this simple color-matching game made from dollar store stuff. I’m sure my son would LOVE this game (and he always wants to play games!) Parents with younger children KNOW they need to have lots of tricks in their bag to keep the little ones learning and entertained (or learning while they’re entertained!) [how to make a paperclip matching set]

It would be fun to start a little box of learning “toys” – we can start with this one! Or, add this to your in-the-car diversion kit.

Project Estimate:

• Pack of colored foam sheets, $1
• Colored paper clips, $1
• Brad, on hand

Total: $2 (make many and give to your stay-at-home mom & dad friends, or use extra supplies for future projects)

The post Make a Color Matching Game appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Scrumdilly Do has a great idea for making a game out of plastic egg halves and leftover jellybeans! Perfect reuse for all those eggs your kiddos collected during the egg hunt! You already got your plastic eggs at the dollar store, right? You have more than enough jellybeans for a round of memory, right?

Parents, if you haven’t checked Scrumdilly Do before, you definitely should! It’s a colorful and fun spot on the internet full of good activities for kiddos.

Project Estimate:

• Plastic eggs, on hand
• Jellybeans or other candy, on hand

Total cost: FREE

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