1. Penny Toss

Provide pennies and bowls, mark a shooting spot on the grass, every penny in the pot wins a prize. [from Having Fun with Kids by Marilee LeBon]

2. Penny a Weed

We did something similar with snails when I was younger! Two pence for a snail though, it’s a dirty job.

3. Peanut Hunt

Buy a pack of monkey nuts, mark some ‘winning’ nuts, and then hide all the nuts. Give prizes to any kids who find winning nuts. [from Having Fun with Kids by Marilee LeBon]

4. Home-made Skittles

5. Face Painting

6. Bingo

7. Happy Sun Craft Project (Easy)

8. Short Tennis

You can buy children’s sets relatively cheaply. Get set up with some strawberries and cream and pretend you’re at Wimbledon.

9. Ripped Newspaper Art Project

10. Bike Rides

Pack a picnic and make it an all day outing.

11. Build Sandcastles

In a sandpit or on a beach, make flags from paper and straws for the top.

12. Make Homemade Birthday Cards

Most superstores have pre-packed sets for a few pounds/dollars, which usually include card, glue, stickers and glitter.

13. Make Chocolate Fondue

14. Day Camp

Set up a tent and provide picnic food, and have a day camp in the back garden

15. Karaoke Competition

Hold a karaoke competition, or go one further and host a ‘stars in their eyes’ final with all the kids imitating pop stars.

16. Blind Taste Test

Blindfold each child in turn and provide a few different foodstuffs, mark down which ones they get right. Provide a small prize for the winner.

17. Play Hide and Seek

18. Ice Cream Picture Activity

19. Egg and Spoon Races

Use the plastic eggs from the toy kitchen, if you have one.

20. Visit a Science Museum

21. Put on a Play

Provide a good story book and get the children to choose parts and act it out.

22. Read-athon

Hold a read-a-thon, see how many books they can read in an alotted time.

23. Play Marble Mania

24. Backyard Cookery Class

Hold a cookery class in your own back garden. Tailor recipes to the appropriate age, but perhaps homemade pizzas, fruit kebabs and fairy cakes would be a good place to start.

25. Visit a Farmers Market

Pick ingredients and make a homemade soup or ratatouille.

26. Sponge Painting

Provide a length of plain wallpaper, some sponges and some paint. Hey presto!

27. Sand Art

28. Colour-in Printouts

There are various sites to get print-outs, just search in google.

29. Stencilling with Doilies


30. Visit the Library

Try and arrange to go during story-telling time.

31. Model with Play-dough

32. Go Swimming

33. Make Chocolate Krispie Cakes

34. Build an Obstacle Course

Build an obstacle course in the back garden and time each other. Use and play equipment you have, ie tubes, climbing frame, bikes, hula hoops, skipping ropes with household items like sheets as scramble nets.

35. Chalk Drawing

Use white chalk on black paper, or the patio as a canvas!

36. Go Bark Rubbing

37. Build Cardboard Robots

38. Jigsaw Puzzles

Do jigsaw puzzles and then try and make your own from card.

39. Water Play

Fill water balloons and pistols for older kids.

40. Make Homemade Musical Instruments

41. Sticker Picture

Provide stickers and plain card, it’s that easy!

42. Make Sock Puppets

43. Fondant Icing Characters

Provide a few different colours of fondant icing (colour with food colouring) and let your children make animals and characters from cartoons.

44. Start a Herb Garden

45. Listen to a Story CD

You can usually borrow these from the library.

46. Make Painted Pasta Jewellery

47. Make an Alphabet Scrapbook

Use a page for each letter and find magazine cut outs of the letter to stick in, great activity for preschoolers.

48. Play Card Games

Uno, snap and pairs can provide a couple of hours of fun.

49. Photography

Buy them a disposable camera to practice taking photos of wildlife and scenery.

50. Summer Scrapbook

Make a scrapbook with photos, pictures and comments on everything you’ve done over the holidays.

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The Simple Dollar is urging us to have a money free weekend. Spending time rather than money is a lost art for many of us. Living on one (and a bit) income, and being an avid reader of the simple dollar for some time now I have thought a lot about the activities we can do as a family that are free.

Have a DVD Night

Dig out the dvd’s you haven’t watched for a while, use snacks from the house and make your own ‘in-house cinema’.

Teddy Bears Picnic

Younger kids will love to take dolls and teddies on a picnic, all you really need is a blanket and a tea set.

Go Cycling

If you have bikes, go cycling, free and healthy. We don’t have bikes, but I think I might hire one when I go to Centre Parcs.

Visit Your Local Botanical Gardens

Most areas have local gardens that are well kept and free. Sometimes they even have free exhibitions.

Keep an eye out for Freebies

For example, in Scotland, this weekend, all historical sites are FREE entry, also, I just this week I received an invite to a FREE food tasting event.

Paddling/Ball Pool

Most homes with children have an inflatable pool for water or balls. This can provide hours of fun for kids.

Hold a Scavenger Hunt

Gather your kids and all their friends and hold a scavenger hunt. A quick list typed on the computer of about 20 items will suffice. Divide the kids into pairs, older matched with younger works best. Offer a small prize to the winner (something from the house will do).

Become an Entrepreneur

Ignite your kid’s entrepreneurial spirit and get them working. Make rose perfume (water and petal, remember that?), a lemonade stand, make badges/bracelets from those make and do sets from christmas, make slush puppies to sell, hold a toy sale, start a car washing business, kids love trying to make money!

Go to the Beach

Preschoolers love sand and they love water. At the beach there is an abundance of both, FREE.

Reading

Challenge your kids to read a certain amount of books in one weekend.

Visit Your Local Art Gallery or Museum

We have recently visited two modern art galleries and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Hold a Tournament

This is great for older kids. If you have a computer, hold a gaming tournament. If you are lucky enough to have a pool table or darts board hold a knockout tourney.

Arts & Crafts Afternoon

Lay a large mat on the floor and get the glitter, glue, card etc out.

Make a Den

Provide a group of kids with a few sheets/tarpaulin, and other random items to make a den.

Sports

Encourage the kids to organise a mass game of football or rounders in the park.

Photo by flickr user The Alieness

Have fun painting. Here’s some painting inspiration, and a recipe for making paint.

This is the first time Erin has painted without trying to eat the brush. A breakthrough I think

Get the building blocks out and make towers and castles.

Erin being only 11 months played with the blocks in her own way…chewing them and thrusting them at my mouth shouting “Ta” (I have requested a plastic teaset for her birthday!)

Click here for more activity ideas – Activities 2007

Fine motor skills are small muscle movements of the fingers that help your child to perform school readiness activities such as:

Painting with a paintbrush

Cutting with scissors

Drawing and writing using a pencil or crayon correctly

Holding and using a knife and fork

Holding and manipulating small objects

Craft activities

(Nursery & School Guide Edinburgh 06/07)

THE PLAN

Choose any theme you want and adapt the plan accordingly. My theme is ‘Primary Colours’.

Monday: Do three paintings. A Red painting, a Blue painting and a Yellow painting.

Tuesday: Take some magazines, old paper and cards in the three primary colours, allow your child to cut into squares or other shapes with safety scissors. Take a large piece of white paper or card and glue the paper pieces on to make a primary colour collage. Make signs for each colour by writing the letters on to paper, your child can attempt to cut out by following the lines.

Wednesday: Practise writing their name in the three different colours. Choose the best sign and decorate with glitter and stickers for the wall.

Thursday: Prepare a lunch together of pasta. Give them a jar of pasta and ask them to count out some pasta shapes into a bowl (using their pincer grip). Serve with some ham or chicken and practise using a knife and fork. Make it more fun by heading outside for a picnic – don’t forget to ice some biscuits or fairy cakes with red, blue and yellow icing!

Friday: Make a model house. Take a box (the house), a yoghurt pot (chimney), and some cellophane (windows) and glue together to make a house. Paint the house red, blue or yellow. Add some fabric curtains, and cotton wool smoke to the chimney.

Saturday: Let your child choose an activity or outing that relates to red, blue or yellow!

Photo by flickr user venegas

I used Erin’s sterilizer tub, filled it with water and a variety of toys; a spoon, paintbrush, ball, tub etc….

Remember to use a waterproof sheet…..

Right: Erin sitting in a pool of water after tipping the tub up

This post about dads spending time with their kids during the holidays caught my eye whilst perusing this weeks’ carnival of family life.

The importance of ‘daddy time’ is very well documented and any father worth his salt will want to spend time with their kids, however, could it be that some dads lack the creative spark or imagination or even knowledge to know what their kids will enjoy and what activities are most age appropriate.

1. Swimming

Babies through to teens they all love swimming. Cheap and fun its always a good option especially in the winter.

2. Bake Cakes

This isn’t as complicated as it sounds if you buy a box which provides you with cake mix, icing, and decorations…in fact all you need is an egg and some water and you’re cooking (literally!)

3. Trip to the Park

Ideal for toddlers through to primary age kids, great for letting off some steam (and giving mum a break!)

4. Imaginitive Play

Horsee and aeroplanes for babies, cops ‘n’ robbers and cowboys ‘n’ indians for preschoolers. These games are imaginitive games. Experts say that in todays society of computers and tv imaginitive play needs to be especially encouraged.

5. Skittles

Skittles is suitable for toddler and primary age children.

6. Ice Skating

In most big cities there is a winter wonderland with an outdoor ice rink, a real treat for primary age right through to teens.

7. Make a Den

Dads are best at making dens so I’m not going to offer any so-called advice here

8. Make Gunge

Dads will enjoy this one just as much as the kids!

9. Baby Ball Pool

This one is great for babies.

10. Check Out Kids Websites

Surf the net for websites for kids. Here is a good place to start.

11. Make a Happy Sun

An easy craft project, suitable for toddlers and preschoolers.

12. Make Chocolate Fondue

Suitable for toddlers, preschool and primary age children. Yummy!

13. Ice Cream Collage

Another easy craft activity, suitable for toddlers and preschoolers.

14. Exploring Textures

Babies can be difficult to entertain but this usually keeps them amused for a while.

15. Hand and Foot Printing

Messy but fun. Suitable for babies through to preschoolers and maybe a little bit beyond.

16. Play Doh

Easy to set up and easy to clear away. Toddlers and preschoolers will enjoy the most.

17. Christmas Shopping

18. Buy Tree/Decorations

19. Paper Flower Collage

Suitable for toddlers and preschoolers.

20. Baby Games

Easy games that babies really enjoy.

This is a great activity for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. It can be adjusted to suit all. For example it’s great to make a hand and foot canvas for a baby’s nursery. Toddlers can have fun painting their own feet and hands and printing onto brightly coloured paper, or green on black paper for scary halloween hands. Preschoolers can cut theirs out and decorate with glitter before putting them on their wall to make a hand and foot trail.

Hand and Foot Printing

You will need;

Newspaper or waterproof play mat (you can buy these at ELC)

Paint and Paintbrush

Brightly coloured card or paper

Wet flannel or basin of water to clean hands and feet

Babies love faces, if your child is older adjust this activity so that it is a collage of different people, long/short hair, boy/girl, different races etc…

Baby Faces Collage

You will need;

Paper (large sheet)
Old magazines and catalogues
Glue
Scissors

1.Cut out baby face pictures and stick them onto paper.

Musical Instruments

You will need;

All your musical instrument toys or

pots and pans (drums)

wooden spoon (drumstick)

a tub with rice inside (shaker)

2 pot covers steel/metal (cymbals)

glass jars filled with water (xylophone or older children)

2 baby milk tins (make a great set of bongo drums)

1. Sing and play the instruments. (Get the ear plugs out!)