Games with Clothes Pegs

Count out twenty clothes pegs. Clip them all over your child’s clothes. Time your child and see how long it takes him/her to pull all twenty pegs off their clothes.

1. Give each child/family member five clothes pegs.
2. Pin the five clothes pegs on your own clothes and assume a position in the room (make sure to have boundaries).
3. On “go” have everybody try to take off the other players’ clothes pegs while still keeping theirs on.

Each player receives five clothes pegs. Decide on three forbidden words (e.g. your child’s name, a toy, “television” etc.). Pin the five pegs on a string necklace. If a player catches another player saying a “forbidden” word, s/he gets to take one of that player’s clothes pegs. Play can continue for as long as you wish.

Number match up:

1. Number clothes pegs from 1-10.
2. Use your clothes peg number match board (provided).
3. Let your child match the numbered peg to the number on the board.
4. Make this more difficult by introducing some addition and subtraction problems. Stick some problems (e.g. 2 + 3 – you can print these on pieces of cardboard and stick it on the clothes pegs with prestik to change it up) on the clothes peg and let your child match it to the number (5) on the board (provided).

Alphabet match up:

1. Number the clothes pegs from A-Z.
2. Let your child match the letters to the peg letter match board (provided).
3. Number the clothes pegs from a-z.
4. Let your child match the letters to the peg letter match board (provided).
5. Let your child match the capital letters to the lower case and then the lower case to the capital letters.
6. Make this more difficult by giving your child a word and s/he has to match the letter the word start with (or the letter the word end with, or the letter your child hears in the middle) to the clothes peg letter match board.

Clothespin jug game:

1. Fill a jug with a layer of rocks to keep it from tipping over.
2. Your child should be blindfolded with five clothes pegs pinned to his/her clothes.
3. Direct your child to the jug and have him/her find the clothes pegs on his/her clothes and dropping them into the jug.

After completing the clothespin jug game. String a horizontal line as high as your child’s head. Let him/her pick up the pegs out of the jug and stick them on the line. Time your child to see how fast s/he can get all the pegs on the line.

Clothespeg catapult:

1. Glue a bottle cap to the tip of a craft stick and then glue the craft stick halfway onto the clothes peg.
2. Stick the clothes peg with prestik firmly onto a table.
3. Put some mini marshamallows/grapes/marbles into the bottle cap.
4. Let your child push down on the bottle cap with his/her index finger and launch the projectile (for extra fun mon/dad can try to catch the projectile with their mouths!!).

Butterfly snacks:

1. Let your child decorate one side of a clothes peg with paint, puffy paint or glitter glue and let the paint dry.
2. Glue to small googly eyes near the gripping end of the clothes peg.
3. Fill a snack size zip-lock bag with fruit (e.g. grapes), biltong, biscuits until it is a little over half full.
4. Seal the bag, cinch it with your fingers and clip it with the clothespeg.
5. Next, fold down/curl the tips of a 15cm length of pipe cleaner, then bend the entire piece in half. Clip the pipe cleaner in the clothespin.

Clothes peg planter:

1. Give your child the bottom of an empty tuna tin (make sure it is cleaned and that there are no sharp edges.
2. Let your child clip clothespins all around the rim of the can.
3. Place a small plant inside the tuna tin.
4. Let your child cut hearts or other shapes from construction paper and tuck it between the clothes pins.
5. You can also drop a glass votive and tea light inside and use these as an interesting candle holder too.

Clothespin airplanes:

1. You will need a clothes peg, a wooden craft bead, 2 mini craft sticks and 2 large craft sticks.
2. Paint the clothespin and crafting sticks (in colors of your choosing).
3. Once everything has dried, use glue to glue the wings (use the two large craft sticks and glue one at the top and one at the bottom of the clothes peg,), propeller (glue a mini craft stick on the tip of the clothes peg with the wooded bead in the middle) and rudder (glue the second mini craft stick on the gripping side of the clothes peg).

Place a number of 5 cent coins on the edge of a shoe box or table with about 3mm extending. Let your child pick up the five cents with a clothes peg and place them into a money box.

Animal magnets:

1. Let your child cut out the pieces of craft foam and glue all the parts of the animal together.
2. Glue the animal to the clothes peg and stick the piece of magnet to the other side.