That love for sharks seems to grow as summer approaches, making summer the the perfect time for shark games for kids and other shark themed activities. 

Whether you’re looking for activities for Shark Week, a shark birthday party, or you’re like me and have a child that loves sharks, these shark party games for kids will be big hits all year long.

Affiliate links have been provided below for your convenience.  See my full disclosure policy here. 

 If your child loves sharks, they will also love these shark crafts and activities.

And for more shark games for preschoolers, check out my Baby Shark Party Games. 

Kids Shark Games

Shark Toss and Catch Game — This one is fun for pool parties or on dry land.

Ocean Buddies Party Game — Kids will love the colorful and friendly sea animals in this fun twist to the classic pin the tail on the donkey game.

Inflatable Feed the Shark Game — Children of all ages will have fun with this over-sized inflatable game where you toss disks to feed the sharks.

Save the Sea Animals — This DIY party game is perfect for little ones as well as older children.  And since water is involved, you know they’ll have fun.  

Inflatable Shark Bean Bag Toss — Score points by tossing the included bean bag fish into the hungry shark’s mouth.

Shaky Shark — Use one of the 4 included fishing poles to swipe as many pieces from the shark’s mouth as you can before time runs out.

Plush Shark Bait Game — Players will have fun taking turns rolling the die and racing to “feed” their bait pieces to the hungry shark.

DIY Shark Party Games

Personalize your party in style with the following fun DIY Shark Party Games.

• Walk the Plank — The kids will have fun trying to keep their balance in this easy to set up party game.  
• Keep the Sharks Away —  Who can resist batting a balloon around?  Turn that fun into a shark-themed game with this DIY idea.
• DIY Feed the Shark Game — Kids will love this simple DIY party game.  As a bonus you can use it as a fun photo prop at the party.   

Why play these shark games with the kids?

• Playing games helps younger children learn to take turns.  And in taking turns, your child will learn patience, too.
• Games encourage children problem solve, think creatively, and think ahead.
• Family game time helps develop social skills and strengthens the family bond.
• Family game time also helps kids understand that there are consequences for their actions.  Sometimes the consequences are good (like they get to move ahead 2 spaces) and sometimes the consequences aren’t so good (like you have to go back to the start).

Whichever one you choose, these shark party games for kids will provide hours of smiles and family fun.

More shark ideas for kids you’ll love:

• 40+ Shark Crafts & Activities for Shark Week
• “Jawsome” Shark Books
• Make Your Own Shark Cake

Get more fun ideas like this delivered to your email twice a month by subscribing to our newsletter. 

The post Fun Shark Party Games for Kids first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Whatever the occasion, if you are looking for fun ocean themed party games, this one will have them cheering each other on.

You may also want to check out these fun shark games for kids.

No matter what party, you just can’t beat a few fun games for kids.  

We had lots of fun playing this simple game as one of our shark party games for my son’s birthday party.  It works great for a wide range of ages, from toddler to elementary school aged kids.

For more wacky summer fun, check out this water wing game. 

Save the Sea Animals — Ocean Themed Party Game

Affiliate links have been used below.  See my full disclosure for more details. 

You will need:

• 1 large plastic tub, kiddie pool, or storage container
• Collection of small plastic sea animals
• Sand buckets and shovels (1 bucket and shovel for each team you will have)
• Can of shaving cream
• Water

To play, place plastic sea animals into your plastic tub or kiddie pool.  

Fill the container part way with water, making sure to at least cover the animals.

Then spray shaving cream on top, covering the animals so they can’t be seen.  

Divide kids into teams, making sure each team has a plastic sand bucket and shovel.

Line the teams up behind the buckets.  We had our buckets about 12 feet away from the plastic tub of animals, but you could make the distance longer or shorter depending on the age of the kids.  

Tell the players that it is their job to save the sea animals from the pollution (shaving cream).  They must use the shovel to scoop up the animals and carry them back to their bucket without dropping them.  

If they drop the creature, have them go back and try again with a new animal.  

Once a child’s delivers a sea animal to their bucket, they should pass the shovel to the next person in line.

Play continues until all the figures our out of the shaving cream and water.  

The team with the most animals in their bucket, wins.

For younger children, you could just finish with, “Yeah!  we saved all the animals!” and not announce a winner.

 ***

Increase the Challenge for the Ocean Animals Party Game

• Have players wear an inner tube around their waist or arm floats when its their turn.  Or, for older children, you could use a pair of swim flippers.
• Use different sized animals.  It’s hard to get more than one large animal on the shovel at a time!
• Toss in a handful of seashells with the animals.  The shaving cream makes it hard to see what you’re really scooping up.
• Tell players they must keep one arm behind their back when it’s their turn.
• If players drop a sea animal, don’t let them pick it back up.

You may also like:

• Educational Shark Games
• How to Make  Shark Cake 
• Frozen Shaving Cream Sensory Play 

The post Save the Sea Animals! Simple Party Game for Summer first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Sometimes when we are driving in the car the kids start to pick on each other.  (Shocking, I know!)  The other day, as they continued to torment each other, I decided to try something new, a simple verbal memory game that quickly became a hit.

I told them both we were going to play a listening game, so they had to be quiet so they could hear.

Then I listed three animals (cow, dog, horse) and asked the 5 year-old to repeat them to me in the same order.

I made a HUGE deal when he got them right, and then I gave the 6 year-old a turn, naming off three different animals (cat, pig, chicken).

Pretty soon they were hooked!

To make it more interesting I varied the lists, giving them lists of animals, numbers, shapes, colors, letters, vehicles…whatever came to mind as I drove.

After a few rounds I increased the list to include four items.  The 5 year-old was super proud of himself each time he got them right.

And the best part?  They were no longer fighting!  In fact, they were helping each other!

This game is easily modified for kids of different ages and abilities.

For younger children you may want to start off by just listing two animals.  For older children you could make lists of five or more items.  You could also ask them to give each other a list to repeat!

For a few rounds I had my 5 year-old repeat the numbers of our street address.  (You could also use parts of your phone number to help little ones start to learn it!)

Have a game you do to help keep the peace in the car?  I’d love to hear about it!  After all, we could all use a new trick!

The post Verbal Memory Game first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

This week we had Girl Scout day camp.  There were lots of crafts and several games, but the one thing that the girls in our group of 6-8 year-olds kept wanting to go back to was the amazing spider web maze!

My 6 year-old enjoyed it so much that I’m planning to create our own version at home.

Want to build your own spider web maze?

All you need is plenty of yarn and a place to build it!

At camp we  had plenty of trees, and the group of 4 trees that were near the cabin  were set up just perfectly to create our large maze.  It allowed enough room for 10 or so girls to travel through the maze at a time.

At home I have a couple trees in mind that I plan to use, along with a fence post so it will be in a triangular set up. Our trees aren’t spaced out quite as far, but since there’s just 2 “spiders” who will be going through it, it doesn’t have to be as large as the one at camp.

You could also try using a post from a swing set, lawn chairs, etc. to create an area to string your web outside.  Or, gather up the kitchen chairs and make an indoor version on a rainy day!

Once you have your area chosen you will simply tie one end of the yarn to your first tree (or a post on your chair, etc.). Then walk the yarn to the next object you are using and wrap it around.  Continue this pattern, criss-crossing the yarn and having the layers go at different heights until the web is the size you want.  (At camp we used more than one ball of yarn.  When we ran out we just tied the new ball onto the end where we left off and continued wrapping.)

When you are finished, be sure to leave enough to tie off the end around one of your trees, etc.

Then it’s time to play!

Kids will have a blast going over and under the yarn to get through the maze!

If you have a little one that’s really into spider webs, you may want to check out our sandy spider web craft, paper plate spider web, and our spider web game!  

The post Spider Web Maze first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.