Creative Ideas for Play at Home

One thing I've learned about keeping kids entertained at home is that you've got to change things up on a regular basis! Kids like to experience and learn NEW THINGS! Keeping a general routine is important, but part of any daily routine for kids should include time to explore and play and do new activities.

Here is a list of just a few basic, easy, free or inexpensive activities that you can do at home. Each activity may be modified to better fit the age of your child. (Note: I will be regularly updating this blog with more fun ideas of inexpensive activities to do at home.)

1. Build a fort: Set up some chairs in a circle, put a large sheet over them and hold the edges of the sheet down with something heavy (or use clips to clip them to the tops of the chairs). Let the kids use it as a clubhouse, a pirates' secret hiding place, or a bear's cave -- ask them what they imagine it could be and just let them play! For older children, suggest the idea, give them needed supplies, and let them build the fort.
   
2. Read a book: This can be free if you use public library books or even books that your child brings home from their school library! Throughout the day, pull out a book from your personal or local public library and read to your kids. It's a great way to get them settled down and to get them excited about reading. Having trouble getting them interested in sitting down to read a book with you? Let them choose the book, or pull out the book and start reading it aloud with a very enthusiastic voice -- the kids I've worked with usually stop what they're doing and come to sit with me (when they see that you're really interested in it, they get curious and want to join you). Another way to get them interested in books is to read to them at bedtime. If they know that they can stay up an extra 10-20 minutes each night because you're reading to them, they will readily accept the idea. For young children, read them fun picture books. For older children, choose chapter books that are just above their reading level so their vocabulary can continue to expand.
   
3. Do a treasure hunt: This is something that can be used as a last minute activity when your kids are starting to get really bored. Have a homemade treasure hunt kit ready: optional pirate hats, eye patches, or clothes; shoebox decorated like a treasure chest; paper cut into small pieces, ready to be turned into clues; a treasure -- a small toy or candy for each child, chocolate gold coins, or toy gold coins that can be used over and over. First prepare some clues -- it doesn't have to take much time. Just draw a picture clue that will lead the child to the next place where a clue can be found. Or, for older children, write word clues. EX: draw a picture of a bed on a clue and the child will be led to their bedroom where they find the next clue sitting on their bed. While the kids are in one room, hide the clues in their correct spots, put a treasure in the shoebox, and hide the box. Let the kids dress up and get ready for the hunt. Give them the first clue and help them find all the clues until they find the treasure.
   
4. Create an Activity Book: You don't have to spend $10 on a small activity book from the store. Spend a few dollars on a folder or small 3-ring binder, and a large ream of blank white paper, and you're set to make your own! And you don't have to be artistic to do this one! (Believe me, I'm not artistic at all, and yet my nephew begs me to draw him dot-to-dots for him all the time!) In your homemade activity book, you can include any or all of the following: dot-to-dots, word searches, mazes, crossword puzzles, solve the mystery word activities, what's missing pictures, unscramble the words, finish the pattern activities, what doesn't belong pages, etc.
   
5. Cook or Bake Something Simple: Break out your recipe book and search through it for easy recipes that you can make with your child. Or go online to websites like http://www.allrecipes.com/ to find recipes geared towards kids. A few easy things to make will be on an upcoming post.
   
6. Create Homemade Puzzles: Draw a colored picture or print off a free picture of your child's favorite character (you can search for Disney or Nickelodeon or PBS characters online and find free pictures to print out). With a pencil, lightly draw puzzle shapes over the picture, and then cut along those lines to create the puzzle pieces. If you'd like, you can laminate these pieces so that they'll last longer. Get things laminated at your local copy shop (ex: Kinko's). Just keep the pieces in a ziploc bag. If you do more than one puzzle, put a number on the back of each piece (so a "1" on the back of each piece of your first puzzle, a "2" on the back of each piece of your next puzzle, and so on) and keep them in separate bags. The small snack-size bags are perfect for homemade puzzle pieces.
   
7. Build a Popsicle Stick Building: Go to your local craft store and buy a box of popsicle sticks and a couple bottles of white glue (ex: Elmer’s glue). Build a house, castle, skyscraper, train track, bridge, or anything else you and your child can think of just by gluing together some sticks! This has the potential to keep your child busy for hours!
   
8. Go online with your child for twenty minutes to play a game: Great online games for kids can be found at http://www.pbskids.org/ and http://www.nick.com/. I like these sites because they’re clean and safe for children.
   
9. Physical Activities: When you can't leave the house (on rainy days or whatever), do some kind of physical activity to help your child get the wiggles out! You can create a mini relay in a large open space with jump ropes and hula hoops (ex: do 5 jump ropes, 5 jump jacks, 5 hula hoops, 2 somersaults, and run to tag the front door to win the relay). You can play with jump ropes or hula hoops in a large space in your home. You can play Twister! You can play musical chairs if you have a few people to play. You can play duck-duck-goose** with younger children (description ** is below). Younger children also love to play hide-and-go-seek with you. It gives them great practice in counting, and also lets them run around the house to look for a hiding spot.
   
10. Gift That Will Last: If you’re wondering what you can get for your child’s next birthday or holiday gift, you can always purchase a Webkinz stuffed animal, which will come with a password to get an online Webkinz account. I've seen them at The Candy Factory stores and HallMark stores for an average of $14-$15. I really like Webkinz because it is an online world created for your child’s “pet”. They take care of the online pet by feeding it, giving it baths, grooming it, making it laugh, entertaining it (by sending them swimming, jumping on their trampoline, etc.), and putting it to bed before they log off. Your child can use Webkinz dollars (earned by playing Webkinz online games or doing other things in Webkinz world) to buy and design rooms and yards for their Webkinz pet. Your child can also get his/her Webkinz pet a job each day, grow a garden in their yard, send Webkinz notes and gifts to other kids with Webkinz accounts (using Webkinz dollars). I like Webkinz because it has a lot of variety, it’s clean and safe, and it gives a child the opportunity to take care of a “pet” without causing the parents the hassle of taking care of a real pet. It also fills up 20 minutes here or 20 minutes there during the day when you need to keep your child entertained so you can get a few things done. (Warning: online and video games can get addicting….you may have trouble tearing them away from the computer, so I suggest giving them a time limit – with younger kids I’ve used a timer and once it goes off they have a minute to wrap it up and log off. With older kids, you can give them a specific time to log off and they can watch the clock on the computer. This also prevents them from sitting at the computer all day, which is most obviously not healthy for them in any way.)

**Duck-duck-goose: I found this simple explanation of the game on http://www.gameskidsplay.net/... "In this game, kids sit down in a circle facing each other. One person is "it" and walks around the circle. As they walk around, they tap people's heads and say whether they are a "duck" or a "goose". Once someone is the "goose" they get up and try to chase "it" around the circle. The goal is to tap that person before they are able sit down in the "goose's" spot. If the goose is not able to do this, they become "it" for the next round and play continues. If they do tap the "it" person, the person tagged has to sit in the center of the circle. Then the goose become it for the next round. The person in the middle can't leave until another person is tagged and they are replaced." (http://www.gameskidsplay.net/games/circle_games/dk_dk_gs.htm)