Hot Lava

If you are like me, you’re always looking for activities to do with the grandkids.

Always.

The game Hot Lava is a fun challenging game that grandchildren enjoy playing.

And, it’s a game that young grandkids and teenaged ones can play together.

Sweet.

Hot Lava is easy to prepare for, too.

All you need are pieces of paper or cardboard large enough for a person to stand on. (If you want, you could also use paper plates.)

Divide your grandchildren into two teams. Give each grandchild a piece of paper.

Have the grandchildren line up and then stand on their piece of paper. Give the first person in the line the extra piece of paper.

Tell your grandchildren that they are standing on the edge of a hot lava field. They have to cross it to the other side. (Show them where the end of the hot lava field is so they know how far they have to go.)

The only safe way to walk across the hot lava is by stepping on the ‘safe stones’ (those pieces of paper). If they fall off their safe stone or accidentally step onto the hot lava (anywhere but on a piece of paper) the whole team has to go back to the starting line and start all over.

The object is to be the first team to make it across the hot lava field.

When the signal to start is given, the first person takes the extra piece of paper she is holding and puts it down on the ground in front of her and steps on it. She then picks up the paper that she was standing on and hands it to the next person in line.

The next person places the extra piece of paper on the ground in front of her and stands on it. She picks up the piece of paper that she used to be standing on and hands it to the person next in line.

When the last person has used the extra paper to make a step forward, the extra piece of paper is passed up the line to the first person in the line.

Play continues until one team has made it across the hot lava field.

Speed is important in this game. The faster the participants can move forward the faster they get to the end of the lava field and the faster they will win.

HOWEVER!

Stepping ONLY on the pieces of paper is critical. If a team member decides to take a huge step forward but ‘falls’ off their safe stone that is not good because that sends the whole team back to the starting line.

Grandkids also need to keep in mind that their steps forward need to be big enough to move the team forward but not so big that they can’t reach the piece of paper they just stepped off of or too big that they can’t hand the extra paper to the next team member.

If you want, you can tell them this before they start playing. Or, you can let them find that out as a natural consequence of playing the game.

You can play hot lava at family gatherings, birthday or holiday parties, or family reunions.

I hope you enjoy playing these games with your grandkids!

(Lava photo credit: image49672 via photopin)