BINGO! In this activity, children make a Bingo game by creating their own cards, bingo balls and a decorated box to hold the balls. Playing bingo allows children to practice letter and number recognition while having fun!

Materials:

• An empty box (choose a box that allows for the size of bingo balls you’ll be using). 
• Bingo balls – these can be made using ping-pong balls, golf balls, styrofoam balls, etc. Basically anything that you can write numbers on.
• Paper or cardboard for creating Bingo cards.
• Scissors or an X-Acto knife.
• Ruler and drawing materials (crayons, markers, pencil crayons, etc.) 
• Fabric or paper to cover the Bingo box itself if desired.
• Small objects (coins, small pieces of paper, etc.) to mark off numbers on your Bingo card as they are called.

Process:

• Using scissors or an X-Acto knife, cut a hole at the top of the box big enough for one of your Bingo balls to pass through (this step should be done by an adult, or with adult supervision).
• Decorate the box if desired.
• Draw a 5 x 5 grid onto your paper or cardboard bingo cards. Be sure to write BINGO across the top so that each column falls under each of the letters.
• Fill the grid in with numbers, one number per square and make sure to create a corresponding ball with the same number on it. You can make the centre square a free space if you like.
• Create enough cards for everybody playing.
• Add balls to the box, and dispense one at a time.
• Mark off numbers as they are called under a specific row.

Tip: Children can get creative and choose a different word than BINGO for the top of their card.