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When I was growing up there was a show on PBS called Zoom. It was created almost entirely by children and included games, plays, recipes, jokes, experiments and informal chats. Who would think that years and years later I would be watching a screen, doing those same activities with my grandkids using a platform called Zoom! If you are looking for fun zoom kids games to use with your grandkids, we’re sharing 33 of them for you to choose from!
1. Virtual Story time
Pick a favorite book, or have your grandchild select one from your ‘library’. Make sure to use different voices for the characters or if you have time, add in a physical prop that matches the theme. For younger grandkids, picture books work well as do photo albums of people they know. For older grandkids, chapter books can be read back and forth over multiple zooms.
2. Zoom Bingo
Create or find a bingo template. You can email them their own set, or use an online option. You could also email a couple of bingo cards they can print out and use while you are the caller.. This is a simple game with endless variations that younger kids can enjoy too! If you’d like to make it more educational, you could make a card with number recognition, certain categories of objects, prepositions, or sight words.
3. Scavenger Hunt
Give the grandkids a list of things to find around their house (e.g., something blue, a favorite toy, something round). They’ll have a blast running around finding items, and you can make it as easy or as challenging as you’d like. Try your best to name items they have access to, such as a stuffed animal, something blue, a spoon. Make sure you clear this with your grown kids first, and also lay the ground rules about putting everything back where they found it!
4. Draw Together
Grab some paper and pencils, crayons or markers and draw together. You could follow along with a YouTube drawing tutorial, or try a fun drawing prompt like “Draw a dragon,” or “Draw what you think I look like.” Sharing your drawings afterward can lead to some fun conversations!
5. Playdoh Together
Make sure you each have a can of play-doh. Then have fun creating. You can work on similar objects, like making a snake or donut, or have a guessing game with clues to identfy each others creations.
5. Show and Tell
Let your grandkids show off their favorite toys, recent artwork, or even a new skill they’ve learned. Younger kids can show you their favorite stuffy, or a toy they are currently having fun with. You can join in by showing something special to you as well—a favorite recipe, an old photo, or a hobby you love. Maybe you even have an item that was special to you when you were their age!
6. Cook Together
With older kids, try cooking together! Select a simple recipe like cookies, sandwiches, or smoothies, and make it together in your respective kitchens. This is a great way to teach basic cooking skills, or pass on a family favorite. Then sit and chat while you enjoy your food!
7. Pictionary
All you need is a whiteboard tool on Zoom (or just paper) and some imagination! You could always use a physical individual size whiteboard as well. Take turns drawing while the other guesses what it is. It’s a great way to practice creativity and have a few laughs along the way. For younger kids, narrow the field by naming a category, such as shapes, farm animals, something on the playground etc…
8. Memory Lane
Share stories from your childhood. Grandkids love hearing about the “olden days,” and you might be surprised by how curious they are about your life when you were their age. Make sure to keep them simple and relatable! Share about pets, favorite snacks, or an old photo of you doing something they will relate to. It’s a meaningful way to connect and pass on family history. You know your grandchild best, if it works better you may want to add in something like a coloring page while you talk. For example, I could send my grandkids a flower coloring page, and while we color, I could share with them about how on our first date (a high school dance), Papa forgot to order flowers and his mom saved the day by cutting up her violets and turning them into a beautiful flower wrist corsage!
9. Science Experiments
Simple science experiments are fun and educational! You can find easy ones like making a baking soda volcano or creating a rainbow with water and food coloring. For older kids, make sure you have your grown kids permission, and that you both have the materials ahead of time.
10. Building Challenge
Each of you can select somethng to build with: blocks, legos, toothpicks and marshmallows – whatever you have. It’s a great activity for little engineers!
11. Sing-Along
Preschoolers love songs with lots of movement. Classics like “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” “The Wheels on the Bus,” or “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” are perfect for a Zoom sing-along. Encourage them to stand up and act out the movements while you sing together, and you can do those movements right along with them!
12. Karaoke Party
Host a Zoom karaoke session by sharing your screen and playing some karaoke videos from YouTube. Pick songs the kids love, and don’t be shy—belt out those tunes and have a virtual dance party!
13. Dance Party
Preschoolers have tons of energy, and what better way to burn it off than a virtual dance party? Put on some music and dance together. You can even play “Freeze Dance,” where you stop the music suddenly and everyone has to freeze in place. This game is guaranteed to get lots of giggles!
Bonus: Grandma’s (or Grandpa’s) Talent Show
Host a family talent show where everyone, including you, gets to perform something fun—whether it’s a magic trick, singing, or a special dance. It’s a great way to see each other’s talents and enjoy a few performances! Tip from experience: Set a timer for each performance!
14. Puppet Show
If you have a few puppets (or even stuffed animals), put on a little puppet show for your grandkids. You can make the puppets talk, sing, and even ask questions. Let the grandkids join in by grabbing their own toys and making them part of the show!
15. Charades
Send a list of scenarios or objects to act out ahead of time. They can cut them apart, and place them in a bowl to choose from. You do the same. If you don’t have a chance to do that, just take turns acting out a place, thing, or activity and have the other person guess. One of my grandkids favorite games is Charades for Kids. It really is so much fun and does not require reading. It would be worth it to purchase multiple games and have one at each of your homes. Can you tell we play this a lot?
Fall Fun on Zoom Kids Games
As the weather cools down and the leaves begin to change, it’s a perfect time to bring some fall-themed fun into your Zoom kids games with your grandkids. From seasonal crafts to cozy stories, here are some creative ideas to celebrate the fall season together—even from a distance.
16. Leaf Show and Tell
Ask your grandkids to collect colorful fall leaves from their yard or a nearby park. During your Zoom call, they can show you their favorite finds, and you can compare the different colors and shapes. If you have access to fall leaves in your area, you can show them some of yours as well. It’s a great way to connect with nature together!
17. Fall Storytime
There are so many wonderful fall-themed books that you can read together. Choose from classics like The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown or Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. You could even tell stories about what fall was like when you were a child—raking leaves, trick-or-treating, or making cider.
18. Pumpkin Drawing Contest
Host a virtual pumpkin drawing contest where everyone gets to design their own pumpkin. Grab some orange paper (or draw your own pumpkin shape) and have fun adding faces, decorations, or patterns. You could even make it more fun by dressing up the pumpkins with fall-themed accessories or spooky details. Share your creations at the end!
19. Fall-Themed Scavenger Hunt
Create a fall-themed scavenger hunt for your grandkids. They can search for items around the house like “something orange,” “a warm blanket,” or “a pumpkin decoration.” For younger kids, you can add easy items like “a leaf” or “a picture of a tree.” It’s a fun way to celebrate fall from home!
20. Zoom Costume Party
If Halloween is approaching, throw a virtual costume party! Everyone can dress up, show off their costumes, and maybe even do a mini trick-or-treat where you show off (or eat) your favorite candies. You could also make this a fall-themed costume party with everyone dressed as their favorite fall character—like a scarecrow, pumpkin, or woodland creature.
21. Thankfulness Tree
Create a “Thankfulness Tree” together on Zoom. You can draw a tree on a piece of paper and have the grandkids tell you things they’re thankful for, which you’ll write on “leaves” (cut out from paper). They can make their own version at home if they want. As you add to the tree each week, it becomes a meaningful way to celebrate fall and gratitude.
Fun Card Games to Play on Zoom with Grandkids
A deck of cards offers endless possibilities for zoom kids games, whether you’re playing games, doing magic tricks, or even teaching a bit of math. Here are some engaging and easy card games that work great over Zoom!
22. Go Fish
This classic game is perfect for playing over Zoom, and it’s great for all ages. Both you and your grandkids will need a deck, but you can play as if you’re sharing one. The rules are simple: ask each other for specific cards to make pairs. If you don’t have the card the other person asks for, tell them to “Go Fish” and pick a card from your pile. Keep track of your pairs until all the cards are gone!
23. War
War is another simple game you can play over Zoom. Each of you flips over the top card of your deck at the same time, and the person with the higher card wins the round. You don’t need to reshuffle or keep track of your opponent’s cards; just compare each round for a quick and easy game. This game is great for preschoolers learning number order too!
24. Card Magic Tricks
Impress your grandkids by learning a simple card trick to perform over Zoom! There are plenty of beginner card tricks that are easy to learn, like the “Pick a Card” trick, where you magically guess the card they’ve chosen. You could also teach them a simple magic trick and practice it together for fun. This is a popular one for my husband and the girls. Now they are learing how to do the tricks too!
25. Solitaire Together
If your grandkids enjoy playing independently but still want to feel connected, you can each play a game of Solitaire with your own deck and check in with each other as you go. You could even race to see who finishes first!
26. 21 (Blackjack)
Blackjack is easy to play over Zoom and teaches counting skills. Take turns being the dealer by shuffling and dealing cards for yourself and your grandkids. You can even track scores over a few rounds to see who gets the most “21s” by the end of the game.
27. Higher or Lower
This guessing game is super simple for younger kids. You show them a card, and they guess if the next card you draw will be higher or lower in value. You can take turns being the one to draw the cards and make the guesses, or keep score to see who gets the most right!
Bonus: Math with Cards
Turn card games into learning opportunities. For younger grandkids, you can work on number recognition by playing a game where they have to identify the card you show. For older grandkids, you can practice addition or subtraction by drawing two cards and adding or subtracting their values as quickly as possible.
Sometimes, you only have a few minutes to connect, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun! Here are some short and sweet zoom kids games you can do with your grandkids over Zoom in 5 minutes or less.
5 Minutes or Less Zoom Kids Games
28. Rapid-Fire Questions
Take turns asking each other quick, silly questions like “What’s your favorite animal?” or “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” For older kids set a timer, and see how many questions and answers you get through in a set amount of time. Don’t forget to take turns being ‘the questioner’. This game helps you get to know each other better and can lead to some funny answers!
29. Quick Draw
Set a timer for 1 minute and challenge each other to draw something specific (like a cat, house, or tree). When the timer goes off, show each other your masterpieces!
30. Guess the Sound
Pick an object nearby, like a set of keys or a book, and make a sound with it off-camera. Have your grandkids guess what made the sound. You can switch roles and let them do the same. It’s a quick and easy game that’s perfect for preschoolers.
31. Speed Scavenger Hunt
Give your grandkids one or two things to find in their house, like something red or something soft. They’ll race to find it and bring it back to show you. It’s a fun way to get them moving and laughing, even if you only have a few minutes.
32. Rock, Paper, Scissors
Play a few rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors over Zoom. You can even turn it into a “best out of three” challenge for a quick burst of fun. Younger kids love this simple game, and it’s a great way to get them engaged quickly.
33. Tell Me a Joke
Take turns sharing the funniest joke you can think of. This is a great way to brighten their day in just a few minutes!
So there are a few fun zoom kids games you can do with your grandkids in 5 minutes or less. They are perfect for quick check-ins or when you want to add a little fun to a short conversation.
You’ll be sure to brighten their day, and yours, in just a few minutes!
So here’s to Zoom. ZoomGames, ZoomBooks, ZoomCreations, ZoomEats, ZoomChats and a whole lot of fun with our grandkids!