At-Home Angry Birds

The school Spring Fair is coming up.  As room parent, it's my job to pick a "booth" or rather, a game, that kids can play at the fair.   I had the idea that I would set up an Angry Bird table.  There's actually a wealth of information on the web about how to make your own Angry Bird live action game.  Some of it is helpful - some, not so much.  One guy built a HUGE Angry Bird set in his backyard with, like a 5 ft slingshot.  Crazy!

I already had blocks.  But that was about it. 

I looked at the plastic Angry Bird games that they had at Target and they seemed a little too flimsy for an outdoors game.  (The wind would blow them over, yanno.)  Plus, I was trying to spend as little as possible. 

I got lucky and found 2 hackey sacks at a tag sale for 25 cents.  Can't beat that!  So I painted them.  I used little blue squares to paint the piggie faces on.  And Magoo and I went out to the park to search for a branch that would make a good slingshot.

You should have seen me out in the back yard with my hatchet, chopping the extra pieces off the wood.  Then I got my grandfather's fishing knife and peeled the bark off it.  Oh - I was quite the pioneer woman!  Magoo and I went out shopping for rubber bands and other stretchy materials - because the stretch is very important.  I made a cup out of felt, tried out several different widths and lengths of elastic until I came up with something that worked pretty well.

I could shoot it.  I could knock all the blocks down in two shots.  Oh - the pride.

Problem was ... Magoo could not.  The slingshot is too big for him.  Also, it takes a certain amount of coordination to hold it steady with one arm, aim with the other, and release the ball without your fingers getting in the way.  And if Magoo - a coordinated third grader - was having problems, the kindergarteners were never gonna be able to do it.

So, the plan this weekend is to make a catapult.  I've been gathering supplies around the house and we're going to try to make it a family weekend project.  I'll update here on Monday.

Have a great weekend, everyone!