| Coming up with ideas for kid's party games isn't | | | | down in front of them and then get 2 minutes to |
| always easy. The real trouble is often however | | | | view all the objects on the tray. Do not allow the |
| that we can try so hard to be clever that we | | | | children to pick up the objects but you could turn |
| miss some really great easy games that are right | | | | the tray every so often. |
| under our noses. | | | | You then remove the tray and the children, |
| Kims Game is one of those - | | | | working in their teams, have 4 minutes to |
| This game is named after the young spy | | | | remember as many items as possible. Their adult |
| character in Rudyard Kipling's famous book Kim. | | | | helper acts as secretary recording their answers |
| It's a simple memory game, easy to set up and | | | | on a sheet of paper. |
| very popular with children. | | | | After 4 minutes (or less if they run out of ideas) |
| In advance you need to prepare a tray with a | | | | read out the complete list of items. The team |
| number of objects (for 7 year olds about 25 | | | | with the most correctly remembered items on |
| objects is about right). | | | | their sheet wins. |
| Common objects might include: comb, pen, pencil, | | | | If you wanted, rather than writing the answers |
| screwdriver, train ticket, wallet, mobile phone, | | | | down, you could also have teams calling out an |
| tennis ball, marble, candle stick, key, paper clip, | | | | item they have remembered in turn, until one |
| scrubbing brush, thimble, toy car, matchbox, coin, | | | | team cannot think of any more. |
| ruler, watch, fir cone, playing card, water pistol, | | | | Kim's Game is a real winner at kid's parties. |
| dinner fork etc. You really can include anything | | | | Children particularly like it because it's nice and |
| you wish. It can be fun to add a couple of unusual | | | | simple to understand. It also makes a perfect |
| objects ie a tin of baked beans or garden gnome | | | | way of calming down a party after some more |
| amongst the more common items. | | | | boisterous games. |
| Divide your children into teams of between 4 and | | | | So at your next kids party do give Kim's Game a |
| 8, you may like to assign an adult helper to each | | | | go and remember the great memory game that |
| team (older children could work on their own). The | | | | is right under your nose! |
| children sit in a circle with the tray of objects put | | | | |