So last christmas, my brother Rob had the best gift idea for my mom. He made BIG BANANAGRAMS. Each tile is now 12"x12".
Of course my brother bit off more than he could chew, so he didn't finish painting all of the letters for Christmas. What better time to finish this amazing gift? Mother's day. Almost 6 months later.
But we are all so glad he finished. This has been one of the best ways to spend an afternoon. Here we are in my mom's backyard.
Now, you still get the mental challenge from the original game, with the added bonus of some exercise! And the best part? You don't even realize you are exercising. Well, until the game is over and you are covered in sweat.
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| 'ivy' by the ivy |
Next, we are taking them to the beach!
xo, Lark
My grandson has learning disabilities both auditory and visual...taking this idea to his school. Why can't learning be fun! Also why not a math type game with add, subtract, multiply and divide....divide the square with a number on top half, dots indicating the number like dominos on lower half....one step futher incorporate color like 1-10 red, 11-20 green etc. Or even numbers one color and odd numbers another. My mind is spinning. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMy grandson has learning disabilities both auditory and visual...taking this idea to his school. Why can't learning be fun! Also why not a math type game with add, subtract, multiply and divide....divide the square with a number on top half, dots indicating the number like dominos on lower half....one step futher incorporate color like 1-10 red, 11-20 green etc. Or even numbers one color and odd numbers another. My mind is spinning. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi Mimi! That is a great idea!! It's fun, interactive and you're still learning all at the same time! Thanks for the comment, and I'd love to see pictures.
ReplyDeleteall best.
Are the letters just done on paper...these look sturdy. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa! They are actually made with masonite which makes them very durable. The downside to that is that they are quite heavy to carry around in stacks. Individually, they are fine. If we were to do this project again, we would probably go with luan, a lighter weight plywood. Good luck! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Lark! This looks like such a great game - thanks for sharing it. I want to use it as an icebreaker game for a volleyball tournament with 6 teams. I'm just worried about the amount of ground space I need. Could I make the letters 4" x 4"? And if I use the heavier masonite like you used, do you think the letters would stay flat on the ground? I don't want them to blow or get knocked out of sequence easily. I'm thinking if I reduced them to this size, I would need about 55 to 60 sq feet. Does that sound right to you? Or maybe I should make them 6" x 6"?
Deletehow many letters do you make of each??
ReplyDeleteHi Teenage Years! Thanks for your interest and comment! There are 144 "tiles." And I went ahead and found out how many of each letter you need.
Delete2: J, K, Q, X, Z
3: B, C, F, H, M, P, V, W, Y
4: G
5: L
6: D, S, U
8: N
9: T, R
11: O
12: I
13: A
18: E
Thank You !!!!
DeleteWhat material are the tiles made of? This is the coolest Idea!
ReplyDeleteHi Spencer! Thanks for your comment! They are made of masonite, but this material gets pretty heavy when you start carrying the tiles in stacks. If we were to make them again, we would go with luan, a lighter weight plywood :)
DeleteLove this idea! I have one more question (because most of them were already answered. lol) How exactly did you get the letters on there? Was it painted? And did you use a stencil or just free hand them??? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Kari! Thanks for your comment! The letters were just handpainted. It's easier, no stencils!
DeleteI have not heard of bannagram? What are the rules?
ReplyDeleteI have not heard of bannagram? What are the rules?
ReplyDeleteHere are the rules- http://www.toycrossing.com/bananagrams/rules.shtml
DeleteThanks Brandi!
DeleteThis is amazing!! Thank you so much for the inspiration - My hubby LOVES bananagrams so I'd like to do this with all our family for his 30th this year. Were you able to find precut 12" by 12" squares or did you have to cut them out? I like the idea of a light plywood but am not confident cutting them all out one by one!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle! I am so glad you are inspired :) My brother did cut the squares himself using a table saw. You could probably find the squares precut, but I'm guessing they would be more expensive. Good luck!!
DeleteThanks so much - I'll give it a shot!
DeleteI've just purchased the sheets of plywood (pre-painted white)and my dad is helping me cut them into 26cm squares tomorrow. Rather than the mammoth job of painting, I've just got a reasonable quote from a sign-writer for precut vinyl stickers - so hopefully these babies will be weatherproof for a few years! THanks for the inspiration - I love how happy the golden retriever is in your photos!
DeleteGreat idea with the vinyl stickers!! And thanks again Michelle for letting me know how this has inspired you to make your own set! And yes, Solly just wanted to play right along with us!
DeleteThis is really cool! it has also given me an idea for giant scrabble. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer! Yeah, scrabble would definitely work, too!
DeleteHow many can play at one time with the amount of letters you used?
ReplyDeleteHi Whit! The rules for bananagrams says 2-8 players, but when we play outside like this, we do teams. This makes it fun because someone can be the runner to get a new tile when "peel" is yelled and the others can stay and make sense of all the letters! I think this day, we had 3 people on each team, but more or less would work, too.
DeleteI love Bananagrams and this idea is awesome! We will be working with a group of eighteen 22&23 year olds this summer. We have to have ideas to keep them entertained for several hours a day for almost three weeks. So I will definitely make these, we have lots of open space so it will be perfect! Thank you for the wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nona for your comment! I think this will be perfect for them. Have fun!
DeleteI absolutely love Bananagrams! I bought it for my husband's stocking last Christmas after finding it in a toy store. It was the perfect size and we like games, so I thought, what the heck! I had NO idea what we were getting ourselves into. We played non-stop for hours on Christmas day when he opened it up. We played so often that we had to start doing categories (food & drink, animals, etc) to slow ourselves down. Giant Bananagrams seems like a perfect next step to up our game. Thanks for posting!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amber! Sounds like we would get along really well! Another way to alter the game is to put restrictions on word size: so only 4 letter words, or 5, or 6.... Much harder! Have fun!
DeleteOh my goodness! This is awesome! I'm the self-proclaimed Bananagrams champion of the world and I can't get anyone to play with me because I'm so competitive. I would love this giant version! Does he sell them????
ReplyDeleteHi Bonita! You and my mom sound very similar!! And I talked to my brother and he is interested in selling them!
DeleteHi saw this as I was browsing HGTV Website. Was wondering how much your brother would sell these for. I have a future son in law I would love to have some for his Birthday.
DeleteThis is a great idea. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks T. Family! Have fun!
DeleteHey there, Was just wondering what was the thickness of the luan wood used. Will start making a set come monday... Wayyyyy to cool
ReplyDeleteHi Joel, we used masonite that was probably 1/4 inch- it's pretty thin. But I was recommending that people used luan so they won't be as heavy :)
DeleteGot here via A Holy Experience. This is a FABULOUS idea!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elizabeth! Hope you'll stick around!
DeleteHi, this is a wonderful idea. I work with individuals with cognitive delays and this looks like a super fun way to learn. For the first attempt I'm going to get paper plates invite people to paint the letters. Thanks so much for sharing this great idea!
ReplyDeleteHi Midge! That's a great alternative :) and I think this will definitely help with cognitive delays. Have fun!
DeleteHi, this is a wonderful idea. I work with individuals with cognitive delays and this looks like a super fun way to learn. For the first attempt I'm going to get paper plates invite people to paint the letters. Thanks so much for sharing this great idea!
ReplyDeleteSaw this on Pinterest-what an awesome idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dawn!
DeleteI'm making them this weekend for a Father's Day party. I have walkout with a two story deck. I will pair some of the older individuals with younger and have them call the letters, words, and locations from the deck to join in the fun!
ReplyDelete