Free Religious File Folder Games

A friend at church recently asked me about the file folder games my kids use during meetings.  We got them from my sister in law as a present a few years ago and she got them from Finch Family Games.

But that got me thinking about free file folder games for church, and I found some great ones for little children on sugar doodle.  Here are links to a few of them:

The Birth of Jesus Christ

I have a Body

Heavenly Father Has a Plan for Me

Sacrament File Folder Game

I am a Child of God

I am Thankful for Water


Enjoy!

More Free File Folder Games

(photo courtesy of File Folder Farm)

Recently one of my readers, Nia, let me know of a blog, File Folder Farm, she has started where she shares great file folder games for free. Print some off, cut them out and attach to a file folder and you are set with a quiet activity for your child to do.

You can use Velcro or magnets, or simply use the games on a flat surface so the pieces don't slide off the folder. For a longer life, I'd recommend laminating them or covering them in contact paper.
I love that you can sort the file folder games by age group, making it easy to find games appropriate for your child. And her designs are so cute!

File Folder Outline Games

Here's a quick file folder game.
-dump out your "junk drawer" or collect small items from around the house.
(I used a crayon, glow-in-the-dark star, key chain, screw, pen cap, paper clip, whistle and quarter)
-trace the items on a file folder (or on a piece of paper)
-have fun finding where everything goes!
NOTE: this game may contain small pieces and small children should be supervised during play!

The Magnetic Backing for Magnetic File Folder Games

The website where you can buy shim to make file folder games magnetic is back and running. You can visit it here. The cans run around 23 dollars each, and will make quite a few file folders.

PS: My sister-in-law bought the Steel Shim .002 6"X100" and said it lasted through at least 20 file folder games with more left over.

There was and Old Woman who Swallowed a Fly

Back in December I went to a Ready to Lean workshop (see previous post about these free workshops) at our local grocery store about rhyme and repetition. The class was really fun (and I came home with two free books!) and we made a file folder game of the old lady who swallowed a fly story. I finally colored and put mine together the other day, and it is a huge hit with my one year old. (He enjoys putting the cards in the tummy of the old lady.) The handouts to make the file folder game are available on the PBS's Ready to Learn website, so here's how to do it:
Materials:
-printouts on cardstock
-file folder
-scissors
-contact paper
-crayons or markers
-extra cardstock
-envelop to hold the cards

-You'll need to print out the PDF found here. (It's 3 pages)
-Copy the printouts onto cardstock (or just print them out on it if possible)
-Color the old lady
-Attach the words of the story to the inside of the file folder like this:-Cut out the hole on the old lady's dress and cut a matching hole in the front of the file. Glue the old lady onto the cover of the file.
-cut out the animal cards. As you read the story your child will put the cards into the old woman's tummy.
-attach the envelop to the back of the file folder to hold the animal cards:
-You could call is good now, or if you want you can use the extra cardstock to make a little pouch to catch the animal cards in the old woman's tummy. Here's an example of what that would look like:
-Now you're ready to read the story over and over again! Hey, repetition helps kids learn!

PS: For another version of a file folder game for the same story, try this PDF! It's a drawing of the old woman with shapes for the animals. Kids place the animals on the right spot during the story.

Magnetic File Folder Games!

My sister-in-law gave me some file folder games for Christmas that are amazing, and the neatest thing is...they are magnetic! I've been wanting to post about these for a while, but the website of the company where she bought her magnetic backing has not been working. The other day I thought of trying to make my own with magnets I have around the house and a file folder game I have had for a while and never put together. Here's what I did:

-I always keep the thin magnets that come on the front of phone books (I'm not sure if this is the case everywhere) because they might come in handy sometime. I dug them out and used them for the magnets behind my file folder game. They worked great because they are so thin.
-For the detachable past of the game I used contact paper and then attached normal magnets with a hot glue gun.
-The fun thing about magnetic file folder games is that they are quiet (no Velcro attaching and detaching) and if the child gets the object in about the right place, it stays!
-Here's what "Grandpa's Garden"(a color matching game) looks like with the magnets (the first picture shows the sizes I cut to go behind the paper, the second picture shows the little magnets to hold the pieces on).

Hopefully the website that sells shim, a paper thin roll of metal, will be up and working soon. Until then, good luck making home-made magnetic file folders!

PS: The games I received were printed from a CD by Finch Family Games. You have to buy the CDs for about $15 dollars each, but they are amazing! Almost all of them are religious in nature, and teach basic skills. For example, "Time to go to the temple" has the kids match up a clock face to the typed time...something that took me a long time to learn!

File Folder Games

My sister-in-law emailed me about file folder games: activities that kids can do (mostly independently, depending on their age) that are contained in a file folder. How neat! There are lots of resources on the Internet, and many cost money, but I tried to find a few that are free. If you're really into them you can find ones to purchase and print online or books also (I'd check the local library first- Provo City has a few "Vanilla Manila Folder Games for Young Children" is one). And once you look at a few you just might come up with some great ideas for your own file folder games.

File Folder Games from MormonChic: Noah's Ark, Dress the Bear, Family History, Flower Garden, and a few matching games.

FileFolderHeaven: They have free games and ones to purchase.

Positively Autism: Scroll down for a few printable games

These are just a few of the many resources out there. If you find a site you love, please let us know!