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How to make spinners for games with things you probably have at home


How to make spinners with things you probably have at home - Tea Time Monkeys

A lot of kids’ games have spinners to play. Children love making them spin, and they are a fun alternative to dice.

When I started making games for my classes, I searched around to see how I could make a spinner with things I had at home. It’s actually really easy to do with only a few materials. And because it’s so easy, you can also have kids make their own DIY game spinners in class to take home!


You can use any of these methods to play Tea Time Monkeys spinner games. Check them out in FREE RESOURCES or our SHOP!




4 DIFFERENT WAYS TO MAKE A DIY GAME SPINNER AT HOME:


1. A Split-Pin and Paper Clip

Split-pin and paper clip DIY spinner - Tea Time Monkeys

This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to make a home-made spinner, and my personal favourite! Make a hole in the centre of the spinner. Take a split pin and insert it though the narrowest loop of a paper clip. Then push the split pin through the hole in the spinner.

Make sure not to push it through completely – ensure there is a small gap to allow the paper clip to spin freely. Turn the spinner over and open the two feet of the split pin to secure.

Split-pin and paper clip DIY spinner - Tea Time Monkeys


2. A Pencil

Pencil spinner - DIY game spinners - Tea Time Monkeys

This is probably the most basic way to make a spinner! Simply poke a pencil through your card game disc and spin it like a top. The good thing about this method is that every child in your class can have their own spinner. However, I have found that the hole in the middle of the card quickly starts to widen and the disc falls down, so you usually end up needing to tape it in place.


3. A Fidget Spinner (Hand Spinner)

Fidget Spinner DIY game spinner - Tea Time Monkeys

Here’s a fun idea for a DIY game spinner. Just mark one of the spokes of the fidget spinner with a sticker, paint, or a blob of play dough, sit it in the middle of your card game disc and spin.

I admit, unless you have a child at home you probably don’t have many fidget spinners lying around! Having said that, they are not expensive to buy and are pretty much everywhere nowadays. The main problem with this method is that the fidget spinners can take a long time to stop spinning, especially if they’re new! Using an old one would probably work better.



4. A DIY recycled spinner

You can also make a spinner out of recycled materials! You need a bottle top, an old CD, a toothpick and an old clear plastic food tray (like the ones used to package ham or cheese).

Stick the CD to the bottle top, then poke a toothpick through the centre. Cut a 1.5cm x 9cm strip from the food tray, punch a hole in one end and cut an arrow shape in the other. This is the base for any spinner games you want to play – just print your game discs on card, make a small hole in the middle and slot them onto the spinner.

DIY CD spinner - Biggabug



CHECK OUT SOME OF OUR FUN SPINNER GAMES!


Free Spinner Games:


Winter Clothes Spinner Game - Free Printable - Tea Time Monkeys

Winter Clothes Spinner Game – Free Printable

Ice-cream Spinner Game Printable - Tea Time Monkeys

Ice-cream Spinner Game Printable


Spinner Games in Store:


Weather Bingo - Editable Dice/Spinner Game - Tea Time Monkeys

WEATHER BINGO – An EDITABLE Dice / Spinner Game with Craftivity

Hungry Penguin - Fishing Game - Tea Time Monkeys

Hungry Penguin! – Colours and Shapes Fishing Game

Stocking Surprise - Matching Game - Tea Time Monkeys

Christmas Stocking Surprise! Toy Words Matching Game

Feelings Bingo - Editable Dice/Spinner Game - Tea Time Monkeys

FEELINGS BINGO – An EDITABLE Dice / Spinner Game with Craftivity





Please read our FAQ for full info about how you can use our materials.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emma says

    3 June, 2020 at 6:46 pm

    Can you make a DIY for card board games in videos? I would really love it and I will be really interested that I can rate this site a 5 and give u some money. Thanks so much 🙂

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      6 June, 2020 at 5:21 pm

      Hi! Drop me an email to [email protected] with any specific ideas you have and I’ll see what I can do 😉

      Reply

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