Play six degrees with your teen

My husband and I have been playing a game we call six degrees (short for Six Degrees of Separation, of course) when we have to wait for our daughter at gymnastics, co-op, etc. One of us comes up with something—an actor, a song, or another piece of pop culture. The other person then has to come up with something connected to that person or thing, and you volley back and forth until you come back to the original person.

Sometimes it goes longer than six items and sometimes you never get back to the original person—in that case, the person who chose the person wins. And sometimes it gets out of control, especially when more than two people play, so you have to write down what you’ve written to make the connections. But you’d be surprised at how often you are really able to make the six degree connection.

I think it might be a bit complicated for a lot of kids, but you can try it with them. Otherwise, play the game with your middle schoolers and teens and find out if they enjoy the game with you. You don’t have to do movie stars or songs. You could probably even include whatever your children are passionate about—Disney characters, dinosaurs, Stephen King books, whatever. Take turns choosing a theme to liven the game up. Before long it may  be the go-to game that you play during long family car rides and other moments of waiting that try your patience.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia