#385: Play a Video Game

Sometimes, it is nice to challenge yourself with a video game.

Just don't forget about the real world--take breaks!



Make this a family activity: Challenge your family to a video game tournament.

This activity promotes fine motor skills, and problem and puzzle solving skills.

#377: Play School

Play school. Who gets to be the teacher? What subject will the teacher teach?


Make this a family activity: Play as a family. Who gets to be the teacher?

This activity promotes communication skills and learning.

#346: Join a Club

Are you bored? Join a club? It could be a gymnastics club, skating club, girl guides or boy scouts, reading club, nature/hiking club, bird watching club, French club, the list is just about endless. What interests you? See if there is a club in your area who is seeking new members--you!

Are there no clubs in your area that interest you? Start your own!


Make this a family activity: Get the family off the couch and involved in local clubs.

This activity promotes group participation and following one's interests.

#314: Make a Fort

Grab sheets, blankets, cushions and make a fort!

Couch cushions make good walls for a fort. Use chairs to hold up a sheet to be your ceiling. You can also prop a broom under a sheet to hold the middle up if it sags.

This is a mini-fort bear den.

Make this a family activity: Get your parents to help make a big family-sized fort. Maybe you can even convince them to eat supper in it!

This activity promotes math and physics skills.

#299: Puppet Show

Put on a puppet show. A puppet show is a play or story with puppets telling or acting out the story.




Make this a family activity: put your puppet show on for your family, or get them involved.

This activity promotes oratory skills.

#297: Invite Friends for a Sleepover

Stay up all night! Well, maybe not. Invite friends over to stay the night. Camp out in the living room in sleeping bags, watch movies, play games and have a few laughs.



Make this a family activity: Friends can't come over? Get your family to have a sleepover camp-out in the living room.

This activity promotes independence and social and hosting skills.

#294: Make Shadow Puppets / Make Shadow Figures

Shine a light against a wall in a dark or dimly lit room. (You can use a flashlight or lamp.) Hold your hands or body between the light and the wall. You will create a shadow on the wall. See what shapes you can make by moving your body or hands/fingers. Can you make rabbit ears?



Make this a family activity: Put on a shadow play or make up a story to go with your shadows and what they are doing.

This activity promotes creativity and spatial awareness.

#269: Play Dress Up

Get out some fun clothes, costumes, or whatever you can find and play dress up.




Make this a family activity: Everyone gets dressed up. Are you all super-heroes? Going to a ball? Ghosts?

This activity promotes free play, creativity, and imagination.

#245: Pull Someone in a Wagon

Load 'em up and move 'em out! Give someone a wagon ride. Don't have anyone you can pull? How about stuffed animals?




Make this a family activity: The whole family can take turns. Can anyone pull dad?

This activity promotes physical activity and cooperating with others.

#236: Plan a 'Perfect' Dream Day

If you could plan a perfect 'dream' day, what would you do?



Would you go for a plane ride? Would you go to Disneyland? Would you dig for worms? Would someone bring you French Toast in bed? Would you spend the day in the swimming pool? Would your brother or sister have to be your servant all day? Would you watch movies and eat popcorn?


Make this a family activity: See what everyone's dream day would be like. And maybe, just maybe you and your family could do some of the things on everyone's dream list.

This activity promotes self-awareness.

#200: Leap Frog

Leap frog!



All players kneel and bend over on the ground, tucking themselves into a small ball, making one long line. The person at the back of the line becomes the leap frog. The leap frog places a leg on either side of the crouched frog in front of them and places their hands on the crouched frog’s back. They push off with their hands and leap, landing in front of the crouched frog. They keep leaping over the frogs in front of them until they reach the front of the line. Then they crouch down and the person at the back of the line becomes the leap frog and leaps the line.


Make this a family activity: Everyone is a frog in leap frog!

This activity promotes balance, timing and coordination.

#189: Play with Playdough or Sculpting Material

Let's play with playdough or other sculpting material. If you don't have playdough, follow this recipe to make your own.



What can you create?


Make this a family activity: Everyone plays!

This activity promotes tactile awareness and creativity.

#185: Build With Lego or Interlocking Blocks

Let's build something with Lego/interlocking blocks. How about a car? House? Space Ship? Steps?



Enjoy!


Make this a family activity: Work with your parents and siblings to build a whole community out of Lego or other interlocking blocks.

This activity promotes visio-spatial skills.

#142: Act Out a Story

You can act out your own story, a fairytale, a family story or a story from a book. Make costumes and use 'character' voices, or just go for it!




Make it a family activity: Each family member gets to be someone in the story.

This activity promotes role playing as a way of learning about stories.

#139: Play with Action Figures or Dolls

Get out your action figures (Spiderman, Luke Skywalker, or Wonderwoman) or your dolls (Barbies, Polly Pockets, or Bratz) and play!




Have your friends bring their action figures/dolls over and have an adventure!


This activity promotes imaginative play.

#123: Jump Rope

If you have a long rope you can play with two friends. If not, you can tie two short ropes together, or simply skip by yourself. See how many times you can jump without tripping up the rope.

Jump rope songs can add fun and an added challenge. Ask your parents if they know jump rope songs, look some up online, in jump rope books, or make up your own.

Songs: www.gameskidsplay.net

Jump rope songs and stunts: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/hopping/index.html


Make this a family activity: See if your parents can jump rope.

This activity promotes coordination, gross motor skills and physical activity.

#117: Plan a Perfect Dream Trip or Vacation

What would your perfect vacation be like? Where would you go? What would you do?




Make it a family activity: Everyone shares their perfect vacation ideas. Maybe even plan to make it happen!

This activity promotes creativity and decision making.

#113: Blow Bubbles

Blow bubbles!


If you don’t have bubble mix or a bubble wand, you can make your own.
Materials needed:
small container (deeper is better than wider)
10 mL (2 tsp) dish soap (Joy and Dawn work well)
60 mL (¼ cup) water
5 mL (1 tsp) glycerine (You don’t have to use it, but it will make the bubbles better. You can buy it in most drug stores.)
Thin wire – about 20 cm long (for making a bubble wand)

Mix all the ingredients together in the container. To make a bubble wand, bend the wire into a loop (a circle) at one end. (Make the loop about 5cm or 2 1/2 inches across.) You will dip the loop into the soap mixture and then gently blow through the loop to make bubbles. Wrapping yarn around the loop will help it hold more bubble solution.

Other bubble wand ideas: use a fly swatter, a hole cut in a plastic lid from a yogurt container, or your hands held in a circle shape.

HINT: The bubble mix is better the second day, so if you have the time, make it the day before.


This activity promotes joy.

#94: Start a Collection

What would you like to collect?



Stickers, rocks, buttons, autographs, toy cars, stamps? Pick something you are interested in and start your own collection.

This activity promotes exploring one's interests.

#85: Take Photos

If you have your own camera you are set. If not, ask to borrow one. A disposable one is good if your parents are afraid to lend you theirs. :)

Have fun!


This activity promotes visual skills.