50 activity ideas for the family!

Details: Published on Friday, 04 June 2010 08:56

By Shara Lawrence-Weiss, owner of Personal Child Stories and Mommy Perks

Wake up and make breakfast together (my kids love crepes and bacon)
Have a family read-a-thon
Play board games, card games or work on puzzles together
Visit a museum – art, historical, music, etc (find one here: MuseumSpot.com)
Plan a scavenger hunt at a local park, or around your home
Plan a play-date with friends
Go to the mall to play at the play-center and later share a pretzel and drink at the food court
Go to Starbucks and enjoy a cold vanilla frap (check Starbucks.com for coupons, too!)
Go fishing (my favorite thing to do!). Every state has a different rule regarding the age limit for free fishing (check here: fishing license info by state)
Sign your child up for a basketball, flag football, baseball or soccer camp
Sign your child up for art, music, dance or drawing lessons
Collect pine cones and make peanut-butter bird feeders (Example: EnchantedLearning.com)
Plan a “date” with each of your children, rotating parents, allowing your child to choose the location (within reason, of course)
Attend a symphony, musical or play (check your local paper for options)
Go to a cheap movie at a discount cinema
Go on a bike ride and explore a new area
Play basketball, football, or soccer at a local park or greenbelt
Plant an herb garden together with things like parsley, basil and chives
Visit a local zoo (Zoos in the USA)
Buy a disposable camera and allow your child to take photos around your home, or during an outing to the park or farm, etc. Turn those into a collage or album later on!
Visit various kid-friendly websites to find games and interactive activities: Kids Perks
Get a bug catcher and go outside to explore and find bugs (we got one at Wal-Mart for about $4. You can purchase higher-end ones at the Discovery Store)
Tape record you and your kid/s singing silly songs (they will love playing them back later on!)
Go to the library and check out books together or use the computers there for no charge (of course, there may be a waiting list)
Visit a local college to explore and explain to your child/ren the value of a good education
Go swimming (there are lots of large pools located at local Jr. Highs and other schools, many with water slides. Most of these pools charge about $1-$2 to get in)
Have a “write your own story” day where each family member creates a book using household items, personally written and illustrated
Volunteer at a local homeless shelter or a shelter for battered women or pregnant teens (some of these shelters are looking for volunteers to come in and teach a craft or trade)
Start a diaper drive with friends, neighbors or church members (call your local pregnancy center for ideas)
Start up a canned food drive and donate items to a local shelter or food bank
Go to garage sales (my son’s all-time favorite thing to do!)
Have your own garage sale to get rid of the extra clutter (donate a portion of the proceeds to an organization of your child's choosing)
Finger paint or have a Craft Day (see FrecklesCrafts.com for craft kits)
Build sand castles in a sandbox or sandlot
Visit a local craft store to purchase sale items, good for creating homemade crafts
Give your child a set amount of cash and go to the Dollar Store for a lesson in budget spending. Be sure to explain if each item has tax. Allow your child to figure out how much they can get with the money you have given them (or that they have retrieved from their piggy bank)
Sort coins or noodles or buttons for a lesson in counting
Put together a family collage of photos to hang on the wall
Cut out a large star from poster board. Using your child’s name, title the star, “Katy is a STAR!” etc. Work with your child to decorate the star with photos and words that describe your child and what they like to do. Hang the star wherever you like (great for self esteem)
Visit a farm or petting zoo
Go to your local Science Center (find a science center near you)
Visit the batting cages at a local batting cage facility
Plan a tea-party for your child and friends
Sit and relax while watching a movie together
Have a slumber party night with your kids; complete with junk food, movies, and games
Make homemade soap together (we get the glycerin at Michael’s Craft Store and small toys to put inside the molds at the Dollar Store – you can usually find a pack of small plastic toys with a count of 5-10. You can also find packs at Big Lots and Wal-Mart)
Build a Lego-town with Legos
Run through a sprinkler in the back or front yard
Go roller-skating or roller-blading
Have a sack-race in the backyard