1. Name That Tune
Hum a familiar song (“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” “Old McDonald,” etc.), and see if your child can identity and name it.
2. What’s Missing?
This is a great one to do at the table at a restaurant. Take a few objects — a fork, spoon, and sugar packet, for example — and tell your kid to take a careful look at the collection. Then cover the items with a napkin, and remove one of the items without him being able to see which one (lift the end of the napkin nearest you for cover as you withdraw the item). Now remove the napkin altogether, and ask your child to name which item is missing.
3. Who Am I?
Pick an animal, and then let your kid ask questions to try to get at your identity. E.g., “Do you roar?” “Do you live somewhere cold or hot?” “Are you furry?”
4. Touch Something That Is…
Ask your child if he can touch something that is X color. “Can you touch something that is red?” “Can you touch something blue?” He can touch anything within his reach — the table, his clothes, your clothes, etc. If it’s someplace where he can walk around without bothering other people, you can make the game mobile.
5. Shape Hunt
Ask your kid if she can see anything in her environment with a certain shape. “What do you see that’s a circle?” “What do you see that’s a triangle?”
6. I Spy
Classic entertainment that’s good for the slightly older kid who’s able to process the idea behind this guessing game. Pick an object both you and your kid can see, and then say, “I spy something, and it’s ____.” If your child has a basic understanding of the alphabet and a modest vocabulary, fill in the blank with a letter. “I spy something, and it begins with the letter C.” It can help to sound it out: “Ca-Ca-Ca.” For the preliterate set who knows only their colors or shapes, substitute those categories instead. You can also describe the object’s properties: “I spy something, and it’s rough and scaly/smooth and shiny.”
7. What Is Different?
You do need a pencil and paper for this, but that shouldn’t be a problem since like all great men in history, you’ve adopted the habit of carrying a pocket notebook with you. Divide a piece of paper into a quadrant. In three squares, draw the same shapes/pictures/pattern. In the fourth square, draw something different. So for example, you could draw dogs in three of the squares and a cat in the fourth, or a triangle in three of the squares, and a diamond in another. Have your kid point to the panel that differs from the rest. The more advanced your child, the harder you can make it; try doing 5 circles in three of the squares, and 6 in the fourth, or different patterns like XXOOXX in three squares, and XXOXX in the fourth.
8. Simple Riddles
Come up with easy riddles for your child to solve. For example: “I have four legs and am covered in fluffy white wool. What am I?” or “I’m shaped like a circle, I have two hands, and numbers all around me. What am I?”
You can find a whole treasury of riddles for kids of all ages here.
9. Hidden in the Hand
Let your kid see your open, empty hands. Then put an object like a coin in one of your hands and close both of them. Put your hands behind your back and switch the object back and forth between them. Bring your closed hands back in front of you, and ask your child to guess which one is holding the object.
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