LidTop Slide
Your child will investigate pushes of different directions and strengths. They will try to reach a target. They will observe the results of their pushes. The goal is to reach all three target shapes.
Materials
How to Play LidTop Slide
The goal of the game is to push their lid into each shape one time. Here are the rules:
- Players take turns. One push is one turn.
- Players who accidentally push the lid all the way off the game board get an extra try.
- Players who push the lid into another lid on the board lose 1 point.
- All lids must slide on the paper, and all lids must stay on the game board. (No throwing the lids.)
- Players can decide how to keep score. For example, they may decide to give 2 points for reaching a shape. An adult can help younger players decide.
- Keep hands off the game board during play.
Play LidTop Slide
Create a LidTop Slide game board by drawing a circle, rectangle, and triangle on the cardboard. Tape the game board to the floor or a tabletop. Have one counter (bingo chip, coin, etc.) for each player. If possible, each counter should look different. Have one lid for players to share.
Show your child the LidTop Slide game board and the lid. Together, name the shapes on the board: circle, triangle, rectangle. Show your child how to set their lid on the start line. Your child can choose a target shape and put their counter inside the shape to mark it.
Your child decides how hard to push their lid and what direction to push. They give the lid one push. If the lid misses the target shape, your child moves their counter to the spot where the lid stopped. On their next turn, your child will place the lid at the marked spot and then push the lid toward their target shape.
If the lid stops inside the target shape, that’s great! On your child’s next turn, they will choose a new shape to be their target. Then it is the next player’s turn!
Keep playing until one player has reached all three target shapes. Encourage your child to predict what will happen when they use a strong, weak, or medium push.
Encourage your child to share what they notice about how the lid moves when they push it. What type of push is best when a shape is close to the start line? What type of push is best when a shape is far from the start line?
Explore Further
Try these different ways to play LidTop Slide for even more fun!
- This version is similar to the basketball shooting game P-I-G (a shorter version of H-O-R-S-E). Name where you want the lid to land. Place the counter in that shape. Place the lid at the start line. Slide the lid on the game board toward the shape you want the lid to land in. If the lid lands where you want it to land, give yourself 2 points. If the lid does not land where you want it to land, you get a P. Continue playing the game until you have landed the lid in each shape at least once. If you do so, you win the game. If you spell P-I-G before you land the lid in each shape, you lose the game.
- Give a value to each shape on the board. For example, the triangle is worth 2 points, the rectangle is worth 4 points, and the circle is worth 6 points. Slide the lid onto each shape once to score a total of 12. Next, slide the lid onto any shape you choose in order to get an exact final total of 20. The game is over once you have scored a total of exactly 20 and you have landed the lid in each shape at least once.
We hope you had fun together! Snap a photo of you and your child doing the activity and share it with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. We’d love to see how it turned out!
Want more “Hero Elementary” activities? Check out the Shrinking Shadows activity and the Sounds High and Low activity to continue the fun!
Photographs by Nikki Brooks.
Science