Play With Words, Not Matches

Still searching for a few minutes to burrow away and write,
I set up two games for today's quiet time.


Here is Mixed Up Many:

We drew pictures of people,

cut each paper into tops, 

middles and bottoms,

punched holes 

and snapped them together 

with binder rings

on cardboard. 

Voila! 

To my writing friends:  


Surely this is a plot recipe
just drooling to be used.

Scribble story bones onto paper,
clip into rings,
mix till ready,
serve!

The next game is Play With Words, Not Matches:

This is great for rainy days 

and Mama-is-desperate-to-write moments.

I hunted through the house 

for treasures,

scooped everything into a basket,

then wrote each word on 

recycled art cards. 

 

  

The girls had to draw a card, read the word 

and tape it to its match.

Their favorite part: the tape. 

So simple, yet so entertaining!

For my writer and artist friends:

This can be converted to Kim's Game,
from Rudyard Kipling's Kim.

Have someone fill a tray or basket with dissimilar treasures.
(My kid "helpers" do this for me all day long without being asked.)

Study the tray for twenty seconds, then whisk it away.
Try to remember each thing and its placement on the tray.
This is great for sharpening your detail memory.

They're now playing dollhouse with the boots.

And my writing moments?
I had so much fun playing games
I forgot to write.