Fun Educational Games using Velcro

I *HEART* VELCRO®.  I Love it.   Growing up my Mother used it all the time.  To this day, I still use the Christmas Tree Advent Calendar she made me where she colored the sticky-back VELCRO® dots red, to look like ornaments.  {snicker}  It was the perfect solution and made the tree still look festive throughout the month while you’re waiting to Velcro on the rest of the ornaments.

So yes, my mother passed on her love of VELCRO® to me and I’ve been using it my entire adult life.  Why? I adore the versatility of it’s uses.  I also like how quick and EASY it is to use.  Today is the first day in a two part series I’m running here on Tip Junkie using VELCRO® since it’s so useful and really is a solution to so many problems.  Thank goodness I was born after it’s invention!

What Can You Make With VELCRO® ?

Before I was even pregnant with my first child, I made TONS of educational games for my boys.  TONS!  I bet I have the largest collection of laminated file folder games on the planet. {snicker}   It was so important to me to be able to have educational games that were really easy for my future kids to use.  I used the sticky-back VELCRO® on almost all of them.

Here are a few examples of games I’ve made with VELCRO®.  Would you believe these file folder games are over 13 years old and went through 3 boys?!?  If that’s not durable, then I don’t know what is.  HA!

I’ve made board games, matching games, roll with dice games, pin the tail on things games;  you name it, I’ve made it!  All of the games I’ve made work really well for home, church, or travel because we don’t have to worry about lost pieces, or pieces that move around the game board and frustrate my kids.  I found a solution to these problems using VELCRO®.   It solved the problem by adhering the game pieces to the board allowing for repositioning, and it’s not sticky.

How To Apply

To use the VELCRO®, simply peel off the backs of the top and bottom piece  and stick them down where you’d like them to be.  For games like these, one side goes on the game board, with other other side on the backside of the game piece.  I like to use the circular disks as shown above for my games ~ ‘cuz they’re cute!

When I first started putting together games for my boys to play that I thought were educational as well as entertaining, I had to come up with a way to make sure all of my hard work didn’t get lost.  I knew from experience that I needed to think of a way to make the pieces stay in place without leaving a sticky reside.  That’s where the VELCRO® came in handy.

The VELCRO® was a great solution because:

• it secures the pieces in place for storage.
• it shows my boys where to look for game pieces to be deposited.
• if a game piece is secured in the wrong spot, it’s as easy as 1-2-3 to reposition.

I have literally a hundred games like these that have helped to keep my boys entertained, educated them on a topic, and have helped us bond as Mother and Son.  They are easy to make and great fun for children.  All you need is a few file folders, some scissors, a color copier, and VELCRO®.

Do you make games for your children?
What tips do you have for making them long lasting and useful?

Next week I’m going to showcase one of my favorite walls in my home.  I’ll be sharing how to design a “picture frame” wall and then hang the frames using VELCRO® pictures hangers!  {{squealing}}

*You can purchase VELCRO® on Amazon, and at many retail stores across the nation like Staples, Home Depot and Walmart.

Disclosure:  VELCRO® was kind enough to sponsor this series.  I love sharing tips to make things easier with you!