I recently purchased some shoes that came in this strange shoebox that opens on the side instead of the top. I started to throw it away. I normally save my shoeboxes for projects. But what on earth could I use this box for? I decided to turn to Pinterest for inspiration.
The original idea that I found was a game called "Feed The Penguin" at littlefamilyfun.com.
Dr. X is crazy about cats. So I decided to make a "Feed The Kitty" game. I wanted to make something that Dr. X and Super E could both do. That's a pretty tall order considering one is a preteen and the other is a toddler. But where there's a will, there's a way.
I started by cutting the top off of my box. Then, I wrapped it in orange construction paper.
I drew out my kitty in three different parts: back legs, body and front legs, and head. Click here for back legs template. Click here for body template. Click here for head template.
I cut out the different parts. I glued down the back legs first.
Next, I glued on the body.
Then, I glued on the head.
Once the glue was dry, I cut out the mouth with an X-acto knife. I cut out two white triangles for teeth and glued them to the inside of the box.
Every kitty needs a tail. I had an extra large pipe cleaner that was black and white. I painted it orange and poked one end through the back of the box.
I wasn't happy with the kitty's eyes. I decided to paint over the black lines. I ended up painting the whole kitty.
I drew up some fish on construction paper and cut them out. I laminated them with contact paper. Then I cut them out again. I have to admit, this was a tedious job. I was trying to save contact paper by cutting them out first and then laminating them. I'm cheap like that. I made four of each color of construction paper. Why four? It's just a nice, even number. I stuck a paper clip on each fish for a mouth. I cut a piece of yarn and glued one end to a wooden dowel and the other to a magnet.
And just to add a cute touch, I cut out a little worm and glued over the yarn and magnet.
Dr. X uses the coffee table as a boat.
I used wet erase markers (you could also use dry erase markers) to write math facts or vocabulary words on the fish. 
Sometimes we just fish and call out answers. If correct, the fish can be fed to the kitty. If incorrect, the fish is thrown back.
We also play a game of Go Fish "literally". I write a fact on one fish and the answer on another until all of the fish have something on them. Each player gets 5 fish - face down. The remaining fish are placed face down on the floor. Each player checks their fish to see if they have any matches. Player one asks player two for a fish to match one they have in their hand. If player two doesn't have this fish then player one has to fish from the "pond". If they get a match, they get to go again. If not, it's player two's turn. Play continues until someone runs out of fish. This player is the winner.
The fishing game was a little advanced for Super E. But he will catch a few fish with my help. As we take them off of the fishing pole I tell him the color of the fish and let him feed it to the kitty. As he gets older we can do shapes, numbers, and letters.
I decided to make Super E some mice to feed the kitty. I used Pom Poms because they come in different colors. I glued on pieces of yarn for tales.
I only had white yarn, so I colored the tails with Sharpies to match the color of the mice. I was planning on using google eyes but didn't have any small enough. I ended up just painting black dots on for the eyes.
I gave Super E some tongs and showed him how to pick up the mice and feed them to kitty. He hasn't quite gotten the hang of this yet. He can do it with my help but, on his own, he prefers to use his hands. He thought feeding the kitty was so funny! Each time he picked up a new mouse I would tell him the color.
I decided to put the mice in a bowl and give Super E a spoon to feed the kitty. He loved this idea! He was much better with the spoon than he was with the tongs.
The game is a huge hit at our house for both young and older! Hope you have as much fun with this as we have!
I would love to hear from you and know how yours turns out.
Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.
Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.
