At the spy party, we played games designed to test/train the girls’ “spy skills.”   (Again, several of these came from the Chicken Babies blog.)

First, we tested their observation skills.  I put the following 20 objects on a tray, which I placed in the middle of the table for a minute or so.  Then I removed the tray, and the girls wrote down everything they remembered seeing.  (Sophia just remember the important things – a crayon and a lollipop!)

1. yellow pear from lacing game    2. ketchup packet   3. (baby) spoon  4. die   5. rock   6. purple thingie (This is a top from a no-spill bubble jar, but we just called it a purple thingie.)  7. paintbrush  8. mini popsicle stick  9. large paper clip  10. bottlecap  11. green triangle from pattern blocks  12. can of tuna  13. AA battery  14. small magnifying glass  15. crayon   16. clothespin   17. doll bootie/shoe   18. lollipop   19. dreidel   20. ring from baby toys

Then we tested their ability to evade security, with a “laser” obstacle course.  My husband taped up crepe paper in the hall to simulate security lasers.  (We used painters’ tape to avoid damaging the walls.)  The girls had to try to get to the other end without touching any of the lasers.  This was one of Chicken Babies’ ideas, and it was a huge hit!  There’s something about a challenge, I guess – they wanted to go through again and again.  In the picture above (not my best photo, but I didn’t want to post pictures of anyone else’s kids), Sophia is going, “Aw, man!” after bumping one.  (She is also wearing a really weird outfit.  Apparently she changed out of the dress she had been in, so she could complete the activity modestly.)  I think, with about three tries apiece, two of them made it through at some point.

I did have one other game in reserve, in case we needed it for time, but we didn’t because they had so much fun with the lasers.  This one was to test their memory.  Have you ever played that game, “I’m going to Grandma’s…” where you have to say, “I’m going to Grandma’s, and I’m going to take a __________”? Then the next person has to repeat that and add his own item.  The third person must repeat the first two items and add his own, and so on.  We were going to play, “At the crime scene, I saw…”  But by the time they finished with the lasers, it was time to start the scavenger hunt.

If you have any other spy party ideas, I’d love to hear about them.  (And people reading these posts might like to have them in the comments as they plan their own parties!)