Life-Size Chutes & Ladders

I cannot claim the genius of this idea, those props have to go to Amy at her blog, The Show Me Librarian. Last fall we offered Life-Size Candyland and Clue at our library and the kids had a blast. If you’re thinking about adding this type of programming, Chutes & Ladders was by far the easiest of the three.

For Life-Size Chutes & Ladders I used masking tape (a lot of masking tape), cardstock in bright colors, and yarn.  We also created some really neat spinners using old DVDs and DVD cases (of which we have plenty).  We ended up with a really small number of kids, but the kids who played had an awesome time.

We made a board of about 50 squares with five ladders and five chutes and the kids lived for those ladders and were so upset when they had to slide down the chutes. Each child got a spinner and as they came in, I gave them a nametag with their name and a number to help me know what order the kids were in. We had only about eight kids, if you have any more, I would suggest starting simultaneous games so the kids wouldn’t have to wait too long for their turn. Having the individual spinners, definitely sped up the process between the kids’ turns which makes everyone much happier.