Pancake Day Activities for Kids: Cardboard Pancake Games

Quick answer

Let your child measure, pour and whisk the batter, then cut 6 to 10 cardboard pancakes, number them in pairs and use them for a pancake race, a toss competition, a head race, a memory game and a pancake drop. Ages 2 to 7.

Books play a huge part in our house, and a story on repeat every February is Rhinos Don't Eat Pancakes by Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie. It inspired these Pancake Day activities. We love eating pancakes as much as anyone, but the day has more in it than that.

Pancakes belong to Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent, when eggs, milk and sugar were used up before the fast. Whether or not anyone in your house is fasting, it is a good excuse to cook together and then play.

Toddler cracking an egg into a bowl of pancake batter

1. Mix the batter together

Measuring, pouring, cracking and whisking: the batter is the first activity, and the one with the best reward.

Best forHand-eye coordination and early maths
Age2 to 7
Time20 minutes, plus cooking
Mess levelMedium
DifficultyEasy
CostWhatever the pancakes cost

You will need

Your usual pancake ingredients: flour, eggs, milk
A big bowl, a whisk, a jug and measuring cups
An apron and a splash mat

How to set it up

Let your child measure the flour and pour the milk; measuring cups and a jug make both possible for small hands.
Crack the eggs together. It will go wrong, and that is the point.
Whisk until smooth, then talk about what changed: the flour was a solid, the milk a liquid, and now?
A grown-up cooks; the child chooses the toppings.

Why it helps

Mixing, measuring and pouring build hand-eye coordination and balance, and the batter opens up talk about weight and volume, and for older children, liquids and solids. It gets messy, but the fun is the point.

Safety notes

Children handle the batter; grown-ups handle the hob and the hot pan. Wash hands after raw egg.

Numbered cardboard pancakes carried on a toy frying pan

2. Number pancakes

A running game: carry numbered cardboard pancakes to the finish line in order on a toy frying pan.

Best forNumber order and active play
Age3 to 6
Time15 minutes
Mess levelLow
DifficultyEasy
CostFree

You will need

Cardboard circles
Marker pen
A toy frying pan

How to set it up

Write two sets of numbers 1 to 5 on cardboard circles.
Ask your child to sort them into ordered piles or lay them out in order.
Mark a start and a finish line.
On go, run the pancakes to the finish in order, 1 to 5, carrying each on the pan.

Why it helps

Sorting and racing the numbers in order practises sequencing, and balancing the pancake on the pan adds coordination and a burst of energy, good for the garden or Pancake Day.

Safety notes

Clear the running route of trip hazards and keep it well away from stairs.

Numbered cardboard pancakes laid out for a memory game

3. Four more pancake games

Once you have a stack of cardboard pancakes, they keep giving: a toss competition, a head race, a memory game and a pancake drop.

Best forBalance, memory and a lot of laughing
Age3 to 7
Time10 minutes per game
Mess levelLow
DifficultyEasy
CostFree with the pancakes you already made

You will need

Your numbered cardboard pancakes, in pairs
A toy frying pan
A big pot and a piece of ribbon or masking tape
A timer

How to set it up

Toss the pancake: set a timer for one minute and count how many times they can flip a pancake in the pan. Best for five and up, but everyone gets points for trying.
Pancake on your head: balance a pancake on your child's head and see who can walk to the finish line without dropping it.
Pancake memory: turn the numbered pancakes face down, shuffle, and take turns turning two over to find a matching pair.
Pancake drop: put a big pot on the floor, mark a line about half a metre away with ribbon or tape, and toss the pancakes in. Most in the pot wins.

Why it helps

Flipping and balancing work coordination and control, the memory game practises number matching and attention, and all four are turn-taking games with a built-in reason to count.