Sculptapalooza While Snowed In

Winter conditions can be unpredictable. You never really know what to expect. Well, while visiting my niece and nephews in Virginia I got caught up in inclement weather. I could barely recognize my car under several blankets of snow. Being snowed in is one thing. Being snowed in with a pre-teen and his younger siblings is another.

It was clear that I wasn't going anywhere for a few days. I had to cancel several meetings. This made for the perfect opportunity to try out a new board game. A board game was going to be a hard sell against smartphones and tablets. Luckily for me, wifi went out. How convenient.

This game is basically charades with sticky beads. Or playfoam as its called. You have to create what is on the cards using only the playfoam. Its a hands on game so young children will love it. The 6 year old was sold. He just loved making a gooey mess. My 9 year old niece Isabella had no idea what charades was and did not see the fun at first. After a little explaining, she was all in. And then for the 12 year old.

Derrick is cooler than ice and acted as if he was doing charity work when agreeing to play. Great. We had enough people to create two teams. It was the girls against the boys. Jacob spilled out the entire box all across the hardwood floors. That was a good inventory check. Isabella read out the instructions from the detailed flyer. Derrick was our time keeper with the hourglass. Everything was set.

I have to say that these kids have an amazing imagination when they are coerced into using it. In this instance, the weather made them think outside of electronics. Their sculptures were vivid and we could tell what they were attempting to convey. Auntie Ashley wasn't so great at this. I found out that I'm not so wonderful at creating things with my hands. Not very good at all. For the most part, they spent majority of the time mocking my masterpieces. How fun!

Overall, this is a great activity for kids to engage with parents and other kids. A few of the cards were difficult to explain to the 6 year old but he certainly did better than expected. I highly reccommend this game to any household with multiple children. Cut off their electronics and it will be a hit!

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