This fun Anagram Challenge game can be adapted to suit all ages - from just learning to read, to adult.
First, you will need the letters making up the names of the Chinese zodiac animals. We've made it simple by providing a printable (below) but you could also find appropriate scrabble tiles, magnetic letters or montessori letter tiles. You may also want to print out our Chinese Zodiac Cards or Chinese Zodiac Poster according to the game version you decide to play.
Game 1, for one younger child
Choose one of the printables listed above and study the spellings of the various animals of the Chinese zodiac. Print and cut out our letter tiles (or assemble your own letters) and give your child the letters which make up one of the animals, challenging him to re-arrange the letters correctly and tell you the animals' name.
Game 2, for two or more younger children
Print and cut out our letter tiles and our Chinese Zodiac Cards. Put the letters in a pile in the middle of the table. Shuffle the cards and hand one to each child. The child must then find the correct letters and spell their animal correctly.
Game 3, for all ages
Pile the letters in the centre of the table, and print and cut out the Chinese Zodiac Cards. Deal each player one of the cards and turn it over on the table in front of them. Now, starting with the youngest, take turns to take the first letter of your word, then the second, and so on. When one word is finished, take another card and start on that word. When all the cards are dealt out, the first player to complete this remaining word is the winner.
Game 4, for older children and adults
Pile the letters in the centre of the table. When you call "go", everyone must take one letter at a time, in the right order, and try to spell as many of the Chinese Zodiac names as they can on the table in front of them. Keep an eye out to make sure that no other players are trying to spell the same word, or you will have to negotiate a swap of letters somehow!
