Maker Monday: Easy steps for kids to create a homemade card game

Hello, Kidsburgh families: We’ve got another fun and easy “Let’s Try” Maker Monday project, courtesy of our creative friends at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Your kids can do this free maker activity with items you may have around the house or can get at a dollar store.

This week’s project will teach your kids how to create a homemade card game while working on their language skills. You’ll find all the details on materials and instructions right here, and you can follow along on the video below to learn each step.

A note to kid makers: Please work with a parent or caregiver as you begin a project, and always be very careful when using tools of any kind — including scissors.

Maker Monday materials you’ll need:

• index cards
• pens or markers
• colored pencils
• any kind of paper to write your poetry on

Instructions:

• Gather 20 index cards or other thin cardboard (you can cut 10 index cards in half to save paper!)
• On the first 10 cards, write items you discover while using your SENSES. These can be 2 things you can smell, 2 things you can taste, 2 textures you can touch, 2 things you can hear and 2 colors you can see.
• On the second 10 cards, write the names of THINGS or other nouns. These can be 2 things you really like, 2 things you don’t like, 2 people you know, 2 things in your bedroom, and 2 places you’ve been.
• Quick tip: Now use your colored pencils to illustrate and decorate all of your cards.
• Now flip all your cards so the blank side is facing up. Mix them up, so you don’t know which ones they are.
• Grab your writing paper and pick 5 random cards (keep them face down).
• Then flip those 5 cards over and select 2 or 3 (or more) of them to use as inspiration for a poem you write.
• You can do this with a friend, each picking 5 cards and then working on your own poems. Have fun reading them to each other when you’re finished!

Want more at-home fun creating cool stuff and making beautiful things? Check out more Maker Monday projects right here.

Do you have an idea for a Maker Monday craft project? If so, please share it with Kidsburgh! Send your maker activities to info@kidsburgh.org.