Kid-Made Foosball Game

Hi guys! I hope everyone's week is off to a good start. Thing One did a fun project last week that I thought your favorite kids might be interested in. We found this idea at Frugal Fun 4 Boys (find their post here). We made a few of our own adaptations and still had it turn out great! I like when the kids make something that they can use or play with after the glue dries (as opposed to just throwing it away, because the craft time is over). 

Here's our modified supply list:

Build You Own Foosball Game

1 pair scissors and 1 exacto knife

1 shoe box

2 wooden skewers

small piece of duct tape

1 piece of paper + crayons, pencils or something to draw with

1 glue stick

2 water bottle caps

2 pipecleaners

10 cheerios

1 foam soccer ball (a ping pong ball or bouncy ball would also work well)

I did the cutting on this project and Thing one did the rest. Here's what you do: 

• cut out goals on both ends of the shoe box. Use the ball you are using to measure a minimum height for the skewers --the ball has to be able to easily pass under them. 
• Then use the knife to cut an x on both sides of the box, and the middle of the bottle cap. Poke the skewer through both sides of the box. Use scissors to cut the sharp tip off the skewer, then slide the bottle cap onto one end of the skewer. The bottle cap keeps the skewer from slipping out in the heat of play! 
• Use the cardboard that you cut out for the goals to make the backing of the players. Have the kids draw players, cut them out and glue them onto the cardboard
• Use a little piece of duct tape to tape them to the skewer, leaving just a little clearance for spinning. 

See the end caps in action here and our first mis-measured hole. : )

We also added a way to keep score, just for fun. We loaded 5 cheerios on a pipe cleaner and then poked them through both sides of the box (make an x withe the exact knife again). Pull tight to make it flat and wrap over the edge of the box. You can cut off the tails or tape them to the outside of the box. Then choose your team and you're good to go! If you wanted to you could have kid paint the bottom the box green before you start. 

Thing One loved this activity! We had everything on hand, so we got to re-use some things, and it don't cost us a dime; our favorite kind of fun.  :)

You are loved!