Categories Game

What You Need:

• Pencils for each player
• Paper for each player

What You Do:

1. Have your child draw a grid with seven boxes going across and seven boxes going down. Leave enough room so that several words can be written in each box.
2. Choose a letter for the top of each column.
3. Once your kid has filled in the columns, have him fill out the rows! Along the left, list seven categories. Some ideas for categories are: sports, fruits, shapes, colors, names, or countries.
4. Give your child about 5 minutes to fill in as many boxes as he can. For example, in the sports row, letter S column, he might write "snowboarding" or "soccer."
5. When you're finished, go over his answers. If you'd like, brainstorm some options for the blank spaces that had your child stumped.

This is a nice game to have up your sleeve for long waits at the doctor's office, a summer road trip, or any time you need to bust some boredom with very few supplies on hand. It gives kids practice writing, grouping, and thinking. When it comes to this game, filling in boxes will help your child learn to think outside of the box!