Simplifying Splat

What a long time between posts!  My Preppies have been a little crazy these past few weeks due to the torrential rain we have had almost the whole time they have been at school.  Wet weather lunches, missing out on PE and incessant mozzies mean that by the end of most days they have cabin fever and need to let off some steam.  They love to play games, and 'Splat!' is one of their favourites.

Do you play 'Splat!'?  If you don't, you should! The basic idea is that sight words are written onto creepy crawlies (flies, cockroaches etc.) and the kidlets are given fly swats. Mine are in the shape of hands and I got them years ago from Crazies or somewhere similar.  When one of the words is called the insect showing that word needs to be 'splatted' with the fly swat.  You can play it as a race (first to splat gets a point) or take turns around the circle.  It really helps them to quickly recognise their words and is great for kinaesthetic learners.

I used to have laminated flies that I would write words on with whiteboard marker.  I'd then change out the words weekly/fortnightly.  That started to drive me nuts, so then I typed the words onto the flies before laminating them.  Certainly a more permanent solution... but then I ended up with piles of cards that I was constantly trying to keep sorted into lists and lost flies that needed to be replaced so that all of the words were covered.  This year I've settled on 'Splat! Mats' - A3 sized laminated posters, organised into the sight word lists we cover each week. I can choose 1, 2 or 3 mats depending on the ability of the group playing the game and which words we need to revise.  At the end of the game they are clipped together and tucked away beside my filing cabinet!  Best of all is knowing that next year they will all be ready and waiting for the kidlets to play - no searching for lost flies or writing words in marker!

What games do your kids love? 

Lauren