Rating: Medium
Supplies: Cellophane, stepping ‘stones’
Remember that game you used to play as a child, the one where you jump from one item of furniture to the next and wouldn't touch the ground because it was hot lava. Well this obstacle is reminiscent of that, with some noisy things added in for good measure.
Below is an explanation of how we've set up the obstacle, but as always, adapt this to meet your family and home situation.
First the lava. Cellophane is noisy! Grocery sacks are too, so brainstorm what you’ve got on hand that can be spread around the floor. The idea is if the kids slip into the lava, they might risk waking you up from the noise. For our trap, we decided to make lava out of some small balloons and cellophane. The balloons hold the cellophane off the ground which makes for louder crinkling from the cellophane if they fall.
Next the stepping stones. This could be so many things. Consider what you have at home and what will be the right challenge for your children. You could use wooden blocks or 2x4’s or 4x4’s cut into 6 inch steps are a good option. Or you could even use throw pillows – they are bigger, but a bit more wobbly to balance on. If the kids are young, some sturdy boxes or books might work too.
Consider the placement of the stones and how far apart they should be so it’s possible, yet challenging.
For the slightly older child, I love the idea of the stones being just far enough apart, that they need the help of a sibling behind or in front of them.
In the second example, we've placed a beam across a few boxes. You could give them a shorter beam, and they would need to move it from the the first and second box, to the second to third box until they make it across the lava pit.
We love this trap! And hope you will too.
To make this obstacle easier...
1. Place stones closer together.
2. Arrange the noisy lava to allow for some error.
To make this obstacle more difficult...
1. Spread the stones apart.
2. Make the stones small or hard to balance on.
3. Maximize the risk of noise. Attach a bell to the boxes or blocks, so if they don’t step carefully, it’ll jingle.