Different every time and super easy to set up; Grandma’s Game is sure to be a firm favourite with children and parents (or grandparents) alike.
To set the game up, pick up an object in your home that has a definite place, for example, a toothbrush, then move it and place it out of context, in a spot that is normally occupied by a different object; the spot for the washing up liquid, perhaps. You should leave a note or possibly a small prize in the toothbrush holder. Then pick up the washing up liquid and move it to another spot, maybe to the coffee table where the remote control lives? The remote control gets put in the fridge, where the milk lives. The milk ends up in the toilet roll basket in the bathroom. The toilet roll sits on the welly rack.
Move as many objects as you wish, but make sure that there is a clear chain in place; the objects must link.
When you’ve had enough, give the children the final object – e.g. the wellington boot. Their task is to return it to it’s rightful place, where they will discover another object, completely out of place that needs to be taken back to its home too. And so on. The milk is returned to the fridge, where the remote control is discovered. The remote control is returned to the coffee table, where they find the washing up liquid. Each new object is discovered to peals of delight and exclamations of “Silly Grandma, why did she put the milk there?” When the final object is returned to it’s spot, a reward or message is discovered.
When the game is finished, the children can set up new trails for each other or for other family members.
This game can also be combined with encouraging the children to tidy up their belongings. Just build in some of the objects that are lying around the house into the chain of events and ‘Hey Presto!’