Friday, January 27, 2012

Magnetic Snowman Hangman [Spelling Practice]


Okay, okay, so my son didn’t really hang our snowman (that's kind of morbid), but he did build it gradually with each letter he guessed incorrectly in my mystery word. I began with a few of the spelling words my son’s teacher sent home and progressed to a few words of my choosing – the current season (winter) and a favorite toy (ninjago).

To make our game, I created a snowman body and some attire. (Download a 1-page PDF of the snowman I made here.)



Then, I printed them on a sheet of sticker paper and attached it to an 8½- x 11-inch piece of magnet paper (a 3-pack runs about $5 at local craft stores). 

The magnet paper is thin enough to cut through so I got busy with the scissors cutting all of the shapes out. 

Yes, the stick arms ARE a pain to cut out, but it's totally worth it.

One of the shapes I made is an oval game label. It worked perfectly to hold a piece of notebook paper on our refrigerator. 

On the paper were the blanks I’d drawn, one for each letter in the word I was thinking of.

Under the blanks, I recorded the letters he guessed that weren’t in the mystery word (to keep him from guessing them twice).

I’m not going to lie; I gave him hints – sometimes the number of vowels or other clues – to keep him from getting frustrated.

This was so much fun!


NOTE: Our printer’s color ink was pretty depleted, hence our snowman has a pink carrot nose and blue (instead of green) scarf. We still think he's pretty cute though.

19 comments:

  1. Very good idea - I really like this one! :)

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  2. Great idea! My boys would dig this game! Your printables are always so cute. What program do you use to make them?

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    1. I use Microsoft Publisher, Rachel. It came with the Microsoft Office suite of products and was already on my machine, unbeknownst to me until a friend pointed it out. It's pretty intuitive and easy to save files as a PDF. Thanks for the compliment!

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  3. Great idea! My oldest will enjoy the game and my youngest will simply enjoy dressing the snowman. thanks!

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  4. I like the idea too! Should play some hangman here on paper :)

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  5. What a great activity and printable. I think my little girl will like this activity. I just pinned it. Thanks for linking up to fun frugal friday. Please come again. : )

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  6. So clever... as usual :) I'm loving your ideas and am your newest follower on GFC & FB!!! I've also pinned this. Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Sharing Saturday.

    ~MiaB
    www.mamamiasheart2heart.com

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  7. Love this what a change to add the hangman game to it!

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  8. Love this hangman alternative! Thanks for sharing your printable, too - and for linking up to Learning Laboratory at Mama Smiles =)

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  9. This is super cute! Stopping by from the Mama Smiles link up! Thanks for sharing.

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  10. What a fun idea! Thanks for linking up to the Afterschool Blog Hop!

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  11. ADORABLE! I bet this would be a fantastic way to practice spelling words. We will be doing this today!!! I've never been keen on the word "hangman" though... It is too morbid for me! We may call it something else =) Any catchy ideas???

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    1. Amanda, think about doing the opposite of hangman. Put the snowman together. With each letter kids guess wrong, one body part is removed. You could rename this "melting snowman word game," or something like that. Have fun!! (And thanks for following!)

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  12. Cute idea! Thanks for sharing at {Free} Printables Linky Party.

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  13. Thanks for sharing. We've been playing hangman everyday with my 6 year old. My 2 year old has invented her own game and says a letter then puts on one of the magnets. Lots of fun for both of them!

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  14. I just wanted to stop by and let know I featured this SUPER cool idea at TGIF this week (http://livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com/2012/02/tgif-linky-party-15.html)! Thanks for sharing with all of us!! As you have been featured more than once email me at livinglifeintentionallyblog @gmail.com for your featured more than once button =-) I look forward to seeing you linked up again this week!!
    Beth =-)

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  15. This is BEYOND fantastic! Pinning it...and this is totally inspiring me for spring activities!!! Thanks for linking up to Thrifty Thursday! Hope to see you this week also!

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  16. Well you've done it again! You got the second most clicked link at Thrifty Thursday this week! I'll be posting it tomorrow, be sure to check it out!

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