DIY Board Game for Kids Inspired by Stick Man by Julia Donaldson

I’m super excited for the opportunity to join the 2018 Storybook Advent put on by Rainy Day Mum, and I was even more excited when I realized I got to do an activity around Stick Man! Stick Man is one of our family’s favorite Christmas books. Our kids loved seeing Stick Man’s perseverance in the face of constant challenges, and Stick Man ultimately prevailing and getting to help Santa and find his way home is such a heartwarming ending. The recurring question and comment that came up while reading the book in our house was “Why didn’t anyone help Stick Man before Santa?” or “I wish we could help Stick Man”. That was the thought that inspired this Kids Love Sticks printable board game and coloring activity.

What You'll Find on This Page

About Kids Love Sticks Board Game

The Kids Love Sticks board game gives kids the opportunity to help a stick friend head on an adventure and find its way back home! However there are many challenges for the Stick along the way, dogs, rivers, and swans are there to try to stop the stick from getting home. Kids will have to use their imagination to help get their Stick out of ‘sticky’ situations.

Kids love Sticks is played as a storytelling game where the adult gets to narrate as the child moves the piece. It can also be played with multiple kids as a ‘race to the finish’ where everyone is trying to get their own stick friend home first. Since the game board is also for coloring, we found it worked best to print one for each kid. When you’re ready to play, take turns rolling a die, advancing the stick and seeing where the adventure takes you and your child!

Materials Needed to make this DIY Board Game Inspired by Stick Man

The PDF includes the game rules and game board, which you’ll need to be able to print out. – Scroll down to find your downloadable Kids Love Stick Board Game and Rules.

Players will need to find a small stick or twig to represent their stick friend during the game.

One, 6 sided die is the only additional item needed to play the game.

If you don’t have any spare die, you can borrow one from a different game. The game board also makes a great coloring activity.

Crayons, markers, or colored pencils are a great addition to set the kids up beautifying the game board while you read the (very brief!) rules.

Learning Benefits of Playing Kids Love Sticks

The number one benefit of Kids Love Sticks (or any other board game for that matter) is fun. This is a fast paced game with storytelling that is sure to hold your toddlers/preschoolers attention. While fun is important, there are also some great skills that will be taught and/or reinforced through the game. Toddler will learn the concept of a die and counting from 1 to 6. Preschoolers will learn and reinforce their ability to count/recognize numbers 1 through 6. They will work on communication skills and thinking creatively to solve problems.

Designing and testing this game with the help of my littles was a blast for us this holiday season, and I hope you have as much or more fun playing the Kids Love Sticks board game this holiday season!

Please comment and let me know what you think of the game, and share it with friends and family this holiday season!

<<< Download your Game and Rules here >>>

Tyler blogs at kidsloveboardgames.com. Kids Love Board Games is a blog focused on the benefits of playing family board games, gameschooling, as well as board game recommendations and reviews.

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