Sticks and Stones

Title: Sticks and Stones
Description: Check out this outdoor game option using only sticks and stones!
Length of Activity: 10 minutes to several hours
Age: 3-adult
Button: Start the Activity

Sticks and Stones

Supplies and Tools Needed:
● Sticks, twigs, or small branches
● Rocks
● Marker or chalk

Game 1: Tic-Tac-Toe (2 players)

Step 1: Gather 10 flat-ish stones. Using your marker or chalk, draw ‘X’s on 5 of them and ‘O’s on the other 5.

Step 2: Now gather 4 twigs or sticks that are roughly the same length. Lay 2 of the sticks on the ground or table so that two are about a foot apart and vertically aligned, then lay the other two horizontally so that they cross the two vertical sticks and are about the same space apart. You should have 9 square spaces.

Step 2: Divide the rocks so that one player has the ‘X’s and one player has the ‘O’s and take turns placing the rocks face up in the squares. The first one to get three of their letters in a row wins!

Taking it Deeper
Do you know the old nursery rhyme “Sticks and Stones”? It goes like this: “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” What do you think that means? Is it true? Can words hurt?

Further Reading
This is a really cute little storybook about two friends named Stick and Stone and if you are looking for something for an older child, try this powerful poem by Ruby Redford and then consider talking about the power our words have on the people around us.