Marble Hide-And-Seek

Preschoolers love to hide-and-seek. So why not try a little hide-and-seek game with marbles? Just how quick are their eyes and memory? Test them with this game of hide-and-seek.

What You Will Need

Three Dixie cups or small paper cups
A small object, such as a marble
Table or flat surface

How to Play

Step 1: Show your preschooler the object you will be hiding.

Step 2: Place the object under one of the cups. Tell your preschooler to keep their eye on the cup with the object under it.

Step 3: Scramble the cups once or twice.

Step 4: Ask your preschooler to guess which cup the object is under.

Step 5: Take turns allowing your preschooler to move the cups and you guess where it is.

Lost your marbles? You can find them again at Amazon.com.

How to Liven it Up

Use food, such as a grape, cracker or Cheerios, as the hidden object. (Pepperidge Farms Fish work great.) When your preschooler finds it, s/he gets to eat it! What a great way to enjoy snack time!

Game Tip

Move the cups slowly and move only one position before asking your preschooler to tell you where the object is located. Once s/he gets the hang of it, increase the speed and/or the number of positions you move the object.

Here's an Idea...

This is a great, compact game that is easily transported to restaurants and doctor's offices. Turn boring time into quality time - pack it up in a Ziplock bag and keep it where you can grab on your way out the door.

Alternate Game Version

Once you're done playing hide-and-seek with the object, discuss over, under, inside, outside by placing the object on top of, inside, beside, and under the cups. You can also use several objects to demonstrate empty and full.

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I'm Stacey Lloyd, the Executive Editor and one of many writers for PreschoolRock.com. I enjoy writing about preschoolers, and reading your ideas and experiences with your preschooler. If you have any suggestions, ideas or questions about this site, please contact me.

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