I’ve told you about Camp Primo? That’s Cousin Camp or Grandma Camp to the uninformed. My parents host Camp Primo every summer for all two of their grandkids. To add to the fun, they host a Camp Primo Retreat in the fall/winter. This year it was Camp Primo: The Winter Wonderland Retreat.

They strung their living room with Christmas lights, made snowflake crafts, sewed fleece hats on the sewing machine, made snowglobes from mason jars and even went to a petting zoo. But my favorite thing they did was play BINGO. And not just any BINGO. Oh no, this was “It’s A Wonderful Life BINGO!”

The campers girls are 5 and 3. They’d never seen the movie It’s a Wonderful Life and in keeping with the theme, my mom thought this would be a good movie. However, it is VERY long, in black and white and WITHOUT a princess. So, she made a BINGO card with pictures of scenes from the movie.

Grandmama introducing BINGO to the girls!

As the girls settled into their giant bed on the floor with popcorn and M&Ms, they also had to pay attention to their BINGO cards. As every scene played, they put a sticker over the picture. They had to cover every picture in order to win. And of course, everyone was a winner!

Isn’t this a great idea? When the girls are with their grandparents, it’s usually a free for all. So, even though they’d fall asleep watching a movie at home—at the grandparent’s house they are more apt to run around and jump on the bed. Playing BINGO made them have to sit down and stay in their beds. Plus, it helped them stay focused on the story.

I think you could use it in so many other ways:

• To help a younger kid pay attention while older kids and/or family watch a movie together.
• Using pictures of sites you will pass on a road trip.
• Have a BINGO card for a long un-kid-friendly event that your kids must attend and stay quiet.
• Play at a slumber party to keep kids in their beds.

What creative ways do you help your kids pay attention?

Want more fun tips? Visit Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family!

bingo photo by hownowdesign

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