For all of the college basketball fanatics out there, it is quite possibly the most wonderful time of the year: March Madness! For those who don’t know, March Madness is an annual NCAA college basketball tournament where people commonly bet on their favorite teams. The stakes can be as high as the Super Bowl, and if your team loses, it can be as devastating as having to give up the last piece of pecan pie at Thanksgiving. To track the progress of all 64 teams that make the final cut, they are put into a bracket and eliminated down to the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and then finally the last two teams face off in the national championship. Diehard fans keep their own brackets, strategically guessing how the whole thing will pan out, and those who guess correctly can win lots and lots of money.

March Madness for Kids: How can you get the kids involved in March Madness? Sure, they’re probably not placing high stakes bets (unless of course, they’re betting their weekly allowance), but there’s no harm in helping them set up a little “for fun bracket.” After all, Kid President seized the opportunity last year. To get them in the spirit, we’ve created a kid-friendly printable March Madness bracket for your kids to fill out (and color!).

Fun During the Game: Create fun rules that encourage play, such as every time someone scores a three-pointer, everyone has to do 10 jumping jacks. Or every time there is a foul, you have to spell a word backwards.

Mascot Fun Facts: Everyone knows that every team has a mascot, but few know the stories behind how these mascots came about, and they are often funny stories. For example, the Wichita State’s mascot, the Shockers reflects the facts that early students earned money by shocking (harvesting) wheat in nearby fields. And the Cincinnatti Bearcats were born in a single game– with a star player named Baehr played against the Kentucky Wildcats, hence “Bearcats.”

What else can you do to get your kids involved in the madness? We love the idea of bringing the fun into the kitchen with these adorable basketball-inspired cookies.

So what are you waiting for? Get printing, bracketing, and let the Madness begin!