Tic-Tac-Toe!

The other day I came across this post for making a tic-tac-toe board. I thought it was adorable and the idea of having a game to take to the beach or out on the grass or even camping was appealing to me. This is easy to throw in the wash if it gets dirty and it eliminates the need for a writing implement, which is always a good thing for Lena since her implement tends to stray to objects other than paper-- in particular, her little sister. I am always on the lookout for something I can make for Zack, since he tends to be at the bottom of my "to sew for" list-- not because I don't want to, but there's so little to sew for a boy. I made a few changes to my version, mostly dealing with the pocket and how I made the lines (I used ribbon instead of fabric).

I picked up a twin sized flat sheet at Walmart for $5, some felt for about $2, and some gross grain ribbon. So, for under $10 we have a new game that I hope will last for a long time. I let Zack choose all of the colors and he coordinated very well. I know it looks patriotic, but that's a complete coincidence with the time frame. Without further ado, here is my version of tic-tac-toe.

Zack's favorite letter is "X" because of the sound it makes. We are learning phonics currently. His favorite color is also red, so it there's no question which letter he wants to "be."

He loves playing the game and wants to play it with everyone. Tricia played a few games with him today.

Is it any surprise that X wins a lot around here?

Here is the change I made to the pocket: rather than sewing a pocket onto the sheet, I folded up the bottom edge and created 3 pockets. One pocket to store the x's in, one for the o's and the other so that I can fold up the entire game like a quillow. The X and O that are on the pocket haven't been confusing to him as far as playing the game and getting 3 in a row, but I could see how they might be.

Here it is folded up and ready to be put away. The one thing I wish I had done was to put felt letters on this pocket to say "Tic-tac-toe." Especially since I am now having visions of creating more games in this manner. I may still add them on, but I can't use my machine to stitch them down now, so it will have to be hand stitching or fabric glue.

This is one project that I feel was definitely worth the time to make (it probably took me 3 hours to make). So, if you're looking for an easy project for the kids around your house, try this one out. It's been a huge hit here.