On the Island

Directions:

Here's a game that will test your family's memory as well as their powers of imagination.

The first player says, "I see an island, and on that island is . . ." and fills in an object, for instance, "a purple pineapple tree." The second player repeats, "I see an island, and on that island is a purple pineapple tree" and then adds something of his or her own—for example, "a seven-foot-tall pirate." The next player repeats the sentence with the previous items, adds something of his or her own, and so on. See who can remember the longest list and who can contribute the silliest items.

An alternative way to play, especially for older children, is to have all of the items relate to one theme—say, a tropical storm. The list might then include "lemonade rain, sky-splitting thunder, falling blue coconuts, a tent with a leak in it," and so on. When the game is finished, players can tell a story that incorporates all of the items from the memory list. Younger kids can draw a picture of what happens on the imaginary island.

Those coconuts must have been quite a sight!

More on: Imagination Play

Excerpted from:

© 2005 by Steve and Ruth Bennett. Excerpted from 365 Unplugged Family Fun Activities with permission of its publisher, Perseus Books Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

To order this book visit perseusbooksgroup.com.