Lydia, from Valdosta, Georgia, USA, created this great cardboard arcade. Let’s take a look at it…
What did you do?
When in lockdown and trying to stay busy, My daughter created her own arcade in her room. She is 10 years old and decided to go onto Pinterest to look for ideas to stay busy. She found some fun ideas on how to create her own ring toss, claw machine game, skeet ball and vending machine using items we already had laying around the house.
We had some old cardboard boxes and lots of colorful duct tape for her, which were the two primary supplies for this project. She also decided to make her carnival a superhero theme and went online looking for coloring superhero print outs. After printing and coloring the superheroes, she used them throughout her arcade games to add some flare.
The skeet ball arcade game is the most fun. At first she started randomly cutting circles into the cardboard boxes that she had taped together. But, after asking for mom’s help, we were able to make corrections. These corrections were to first find the ball she wanted to use for the skeet ball game and then measuring the ball onto the cardboard to properly gain the correct shape and size (slightly larger than the actual ball, but not by much). This made for a more uniform appearance and the ability for the ball to fall into the new holes made.
For the skeet ball game, you must also slant the cardboard sightly upward. So you need to have a somewhat large area to display it, as well as the ability to prop it up a bit towards the end with the holes.
The vending machine and claw game were fun to make and she used wax paper instead of Plexiglas that she used for the claw machine. In hindsight, she would’ve used the Plexiglas for the vending machine as well.
The duct tape worked great for creating the rings for the ring toss as well as holding all the cardboard together for all of the projects.
It took an entire day to make and has provided lots of fun entertainment for the entire family. She’s made tickets and tokens as well to add to the carnival experience. It’s been a lot of fun!
Do you have any other projects planned?
Her next project is making her own board game.
Tell the Housebound With Kids community a bit about yourself…
Lilly is my 10-year-old daughter. She loves volleyball, swimming, and playing barbies. With the lock down, she has been enjoying crafting more and learning new skills such as cooking dinners for the entire family all by herself and baking.
How are you finding being housebound so far?
Together, we started off with tons of baking and puzzles/games, family campouts, tent/fort making and crafts. We also exercised a lot and had little to no screen time. As lockdown has progressed, screen time has increased and we have trouble being even more creative than we were at the beginning. We all feel somewhat like we used all of our good creative ideas all at the beginning of being housebound, so we are always looking for new ways to feel inspired. We have greatly enjoyed the slower pace and having the opportunity to be with one another more.
Do you have any tips for other parents?
Keep a schedule somewhat. If you have breakfast, reading/quiet time, screen time, lunch, outdoor play time/indoor play, dinner, family game night, etc. it makes expectations consistent as well as creates a sense of normalcy. Making a bucket list of things to do as a family, new skills to learn, meals to cook together, etc. has really helped us when we are looking for something to do. Simply refer to the bucket list.
I love looking out at our neighborhood and seeing families outside with one another. Our neighbors have all practiced great social distancing, but we are able to wave at one another when taking walks and bike rides. Seeing families together playing catch, sitting outside with one another, and just being together has been so inspiring. It’s been a blessing in disguise and a great way for the world to gain a sense of family again.
