This easy to build message in a bottle game is a fun activity to help improve spelling skills.
The kids will have fun playing this message in a bottle game and the good news is that it takes very little time to put together – the kids can even help! For this game you’ll need a cleaned bottle, scissors, glue, a pad of paper and this free printable.
For this message in a bottle game, the free printable includes 3 pages. The first page is simply all the letters of the alphabet. You’ll want to print this out (maybe even a few copies) and cut out the letters so you can place them in the bottle. The second page is a listing of themes. Print these on a colored sheet of paper so they are easily identified when in the bottle. The last page is the printable “Message in a Bottle” label for the bottle. Simply print this, cut it out to fit the bottle and glue (or tape) it in place.
How to Play the Message in a Bottle Game:
Here’s how the game works, the kids must first choose a theme out of the bottle (if these are printed in a different color, they are easy to identify in the bottle). Let’s say the theme is “Animals”. You then set a timer and the kids must pour out a handful of letters from the bottle. They then quickly use these letters (each piece of paper with a letter on it can only be used once in each round, but there is more than 1 paper for each letter) to spell out as many words as they can that are associated with this theme. For example, for the “Animals” theme, they may spell out cat, dog, horse, turtle, cow, pig, etc. When the timer rings, see how many words they were able to create using the letters they had. You can then put all of the letters back into the bottle for the next round. The kids would then pick a new theme and the game would start over.
The message in a bottle game themes are:
Places to Visit | Animals | Famous People |
Family Members | Sports | TV Shows |
Shapes & Colors | Movies | Cartoons |
Famous Animals | Occupations | School Subjects |
National Holidays | School Supplies | Vehicle Types |
Sports Teams | Foods | Games |
Have your kids ever invented any fun games for themselves?
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