Child's Play - Simple and Fun Activities for Kids

With four children under the age of six, I am always looking for opportunities to entertain the kids. Sure there are plenty of toys like Lego, trains and dolls, which are all great fun and of course have a place. But what I find lasts the longest and promotes cooperative play are those basic play opportunities, such as rolling down hills, finding snails or playing with boxes. Many of these activities are easy to organise or already naturally out there, just waiting to be experienced.

Following are a few of my children's favourites -

Ponding; After considering buying the net, I ended up making three ponding nets out of left over tulle and wire coat hangers. Ponding can be done anywhere where there is a catchment of water. What you find can vary depending on the water source. A healthy dam was our favourite so far, with lots of yabbies, stick insects and tadpoles. Venture to your local creek, lake or pond and be amazed at what you will find. We even saw a water rat on our latest visit to a local creek!

Child's Play - Simple and Fun Activities for Kids

Rolling down hills; This requires no preparation and is so much fun. The bigger the hill the better! Younger, less adventurous children can just start a little lower down. Wear comfortable clothes, vary your hills and have a ball. Children love it when adults join in, so mum and dad get involved. Note: Do a quick dog poop check first!

Watching clouds; A great way of relaxing with the kids. Find a comfortable spot, like the grass, a trampoline, the beach-lay back and simply watch the clouds. Spot tigers, whales, trains and other shapes. Just use your imagination!

Finding snails; Encourage children to be 'snail snoopers'. Where would snails hide? On fences, under rocks, just take a look. We always play this game on the way back from school. Respect snails and pop them safely back into their environment.

Insect spotting; This one is great to do your own backyard or further afield. Look for different types of insects. Talk about where they could be, what may be safe and what's not. Look under rocks, in bushes, and on fences. When you start looking be amazed at what you can find. You could also draw/ paint pictures of the insects. We also like to find out about them with a book or using the computer.

Stone play; A bit like sand, stones are great for play. They make a great sound when they hit tin or wood. Provide the children with a few items to use with the stones, a bit of plastic, some metal or wood. I normally use spoons, trucks, containers, cooking trays etc. The children immersed themselves in the play and so far, I never had children throwing them at each other! Give it a try.

Water Play; An old favourite. Use tank water if possible. Fill a large bucket or container. Don't make it too small, otherwise it could be tipped straight over! Provide the kids with a few different sized/shaped containers and watch them have hours of fun. Mine usually head to the sand pit to gather a few other supplies and some sort of cooking normally eventuates. Note: Adult supervision is always necessary when children play with water.

Gardening; Pots or a small vegetable plot is all that is required. Let children decide what they would like to plant and this can even encourage them to eat their vegetables. Involve them in the entire process, from planting to watering and harvesting. Make a cheap watering can out of a bottle (pancake containers are ideal) with holes through the top - they are the perfect size and each child can have one. It is so rewarding to watch plants grow, especially if they are edible. Currently, my daughter is patiently waiting for her snow peas to grow!

Boxes; Let their imagination run wild. A box can be a bus, a boat or train. Make one big enough to sit in, or small enough to push. Make a cubby house or even a city. These can be creatively decorated with paint, markers or pasting.

With all of these activities, make sure children are suitably dressed- normally comfortable clothes that you don't mind getting dirty.

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Outdoor and Indoor Fall Activities For Kids

Autumn is a beautiful time of year when we transition from the warm summer season to the chilly and often snowy winter season. The leaves are changing, the temperature is changing and life often gets back to a more even pace during this time of year. But the kids are accustom to all the fun summer activities so they may be looking for new things to occupy their time while they are not in school or doing homework. There are a number of fun fall activities that can be enjoyed this time of year, both indoor and outdoor.

Outdoor Fall Activities For Kids

Many of these outdoor activities can be fun family activities for the weekend. Some can be fun to do in the evenings, however once the time changes and it starts getting dark early it can be a little more difficult to get outside early enough for some of them.

Outdoor and Indoor Fall Activities For Kids

Visiting an apple orchard or a pumpkin patch is a great way to spend a fall day. Apples are in season this time of year and this offers a great way to have fun while getting apples for caramel apples or apple cider. It can also be a fun way to get your kids to try different types and get them to eat healthy snacks. Pumpkin patches often have fresh fall produce other than pumpkins as well. Plus they often have a fun atmosphere with scarecrows and other fall things to get kids excited for Halloween. Have them pick out a pumpkin that you can carve or paint together.

Collecting and even raking leaves can be a lot of fun for kids too. If you need to rake the leaves anyway have the kids come out and help you, but make it a fun event. Jumping and playing in piles of leaves has always been fun for kids, but you can make a fun game of it and enjoy this activity with them. Collecting leaves is a fun way for them to learn a little bit about the trees in your yard and neighborhood. Start collecting in your yard then walk the neighborhood and try to find as many different types as you can.

Indoor Fall Activities For Kids

Many of the outdoor activities can be extended or broadened and turned into fall indoor activities for kids.

Use the leaves you've collected to create a leaf scrapbook. Kids can decorate the cover of either a photo album or an album they've created themselves. They can then use that album for all the different leaves they have collected. They can even label the leaves and learn about the shapes of leaves that come from different trees like Maple, Ash and Oak.

Use the pumpkins you bought at the pumpkin patch to have a pumpkin painting party either with the family or with friends. Or have them help you make an apple desert like apple crisp or caramel apples with the apples from the orchard you visited.

Enjoy the distinct flavor of this season with these fun fall kids activities. They offer a great way to share time together and they will create fun memories that your kids can share with their own kids someday.

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Easy Rainy Day Activities For the Kids

Many parents dread a rainy day, with active kids stuck inside all day with nothing to do but watch TV or play video games. Here are some ideas for easy activities to engage and entertain your kids on the next rainy day.

Coloring

It seems like a simple idea, but coloring can take up a lot of time and is a very inexpensive activity. If you don't have coloring books around, go online and print out some coloring pages. It's easy and free.

Easy Rainy Day Activities For the Kids

Puzzles

Keep some jigsaw puzzles around in case of a rainy day. These puzzles can be a good challenge for kids and keep them busy for a while trying to piece together the picture. You can even get puzzles from garage sales and flea markets for pennies.

Board Games

Board games like Life, Chutes and Ladders and CandyLand take up a lot of time and gets the kids or family together. Popular board games are another item you can find at garage sales for much less than you buy them in stores new.

Art Project

Get out all the crayons, pencils, markers, clay, play dough, construction paper, kid scissors, glue and tape you have and let the kids create. Art is a great way to get kids to express themselves and it can take up hours.

Dance!

Put the stereo or radio on a top 40 station and get the kids dancing. Or put on classical music for the aspiring ballerina.

Write Letters

Have loved ones that live far away? Why not have the kids write letters to relatives that they miss. It's wonderful to receive a handwritten letter in this age of email. The letter will surely be treasured by the recipient.

Fashion Show

Let the kids have access to a closet with some clothes. Let them play dress up or have a fashion show with adult clothes. Though girls may enjoy this more than boys.

Card Games

Games like Hearts, Go Fish, Old Maid, Uno, Spades and Pinochle can be taught to many children easily and they can play for hours.

Bingo!

Bingo is a fun game for all ages. If you don't have a bingo set around, then make one from scratch! It's easy, and making the game yourself can be as fun as playing it. Include prizes for whoever gets Bingo first, for extra fun.

Baking

There are many recipes on the web and in cookbooks that are safe and appropriate for kids to make. Choose one and have the kids make lunch or dinner, with supervision, of course.

Activity Books

Books full of crossword puzzles, word searches, math games, trivia and quizzes are perfect for rainy days. Stock up on these at the dollar store.

Books

Lastly, don't forget the old standby of reading. If you need quiet time, get the kids reading or read to them. It keeps kids quiet and engages their minds.

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