Are you sick and tired of TV being your first (and maybe only) form of entertainment for your family? Wouldn’t it be great to have fun and interact instead of just staring at a box? Fortunately you’ve come to the right place for 8 long lost, easy and fun, suggestions for family activity that can be done virtually anywhere in the world.
So get up off the couch and do these things on a regular basis:
1. On the boardwalk
No matter where you are, or where you live, there is somewhere you can take a walk or a hike. Get out of the house and see your neighborhood, your town, the fields or mountains around you. Walking, talking, and seeing together is a great way to have fun and get some fresh air.
2. Water world
Most kids love water, and frankly, parents probably ought to get back in touch with it. Grab your swimming suits and go to the city pool, the YMCA, the river, the lake, or an open downtown fountain. For fun right at home, turn on the sprinklers in the yard or grab the hose and have a good old-fashioned water fight.
3. Yards of fun
If the weather is nice, yard games are a great way to play together, have fun, and even develop new skills. Croquet, badminton, bocci, soccer, volleyball, or lawn bowling are great ways to bring back some “good old days” to your family. Try playing the outdoor games you loved as kid and see that your kids will love them too. Try Kick-the-can, Red Light Green Light, Mother May I, Statues, etc. (For rules for these, and other, games ask for them through the contact page at marylougames.com)
4. Reading Team
One of our family’s favorite things to do over the years has been to read aloud together. It’s so fun to get a book that everyone will enjoy and just sit down and listen together. Pick someone who enjoys reading and can give expression and voice to the people in the book. We’ve read both fiction and non-fiction. We read in the car while traveling, in the evening at bedtime, on Sunday afternoons. Usually none of us want to put the book down, and the kids beg for one more chapter. If you’ve never done this before just pick a good book and start with just one chapter. Here’s a hint: Always stop when you’re in the middle of the excitement so they keep wanting more.
5. Project fun
How about starting a project that the whole family can help work on? When I was a kid my dad decided we were going to build a canoe. He got plans at the library and most evenings we were out in the garage working on it together. We used it for years on the lakes near our home. A lot of wonderful memories are tied to that canoe.
Think of something the whole family can pitch in on and do together and then enjoy together later on. If building would not be interesting to your family try other options--design clothes, start a business, write books, make scrapbooks, cook together, paint, plant a garden, build model airplanes, do puzzles, etc.
6. School’s out
Even when school is out, learning is in. Have each member of the family write down some things they would like to learn to do. Compare lists and find something that everyone would be willing to learn. Then search out resources in your community to learn what you‘ve decided. How about learning to dance, to sculpt, to play musical instruments, etc. Learning is fun.
7. Meeting of the board
Board games and card games are so readily available and really are fun in a box. There are so many to choose from that you can find one or two that your family can enjoy together. We play games frequently on Sunday evenings, and during the summer, board games are a regular part of the fun. Board games also teach following the rules, cooperation, compassion, and creative thinking.
8. Friends and family
Consider the old practice of visiting friends and family members. If your kids groan at this suggestion start with a visit to a friend or relative that also includes a barbecue, a movie night, or treats. Make the visits fun and over time the idea of visiting people won’t seem so strange to the kids. Make sure that (eventually) you are visiting people of many ages. Kids can actually find older people to be very interesting. But start with what is familiar and fun until they are visiting pros.
Posts
