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Toy Tuesday: Mancala


It's #toytuesday and mancala is one of my favorite toys for kids and adults! It's great for fine motor (hello in-hand translation skills!) and it's a motivating way to work on strategy and logic (what's up - executive functions?!). Mancala is also featured in my favorite movie "I Heart Huckabees" when the existential detectives host a mancala hour (can I plz have an invite?).

It's the simplicity of mancala that makes it fun to play. Once you get the hang of it, Mancala can have an almost meditative quality because of the repetition and predictability.

There are some beautiful mancala boards available for sale. I also found some great tutorials on making mancala boards with an egg carton, and then there is this lovely DIY ombre mancala board. Here's my version of a DIY mancala board using recycled materials and materials I had on hand. You can find the rules here.

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Materials:

  • 2-3 toilet paper rolls

  • Washi tape or markers to decorate

  • Hot glue gun

  • Cardboard

  • Sea shells, beans, beads, or other small objects for game play