act out a play
bake a batch of cookies
basketball - stand a distance away and throw rolled up socks into bucket (one person has black socks, the other white socks, whoever gets most socks in wins)
bike ride (if young, let them ride their tricycles in the house, good exercise)
blow bubbles
blow up balloons and let the kids bat them around the house or outside
build a fort in the backyard or inside if not nice out with chairs and some blankets
build a sandcastle
build with blocks
pretend boat ride
check out a science book and try some experiments
collect bugs in bug jar, feed them
collect leaves, paint the backs of them with fingerpaints and put on top of paper or an old white shirt the kids can have. Make your own 'nature' creations
collect sticks and mud and build a bird's nest
color using a coloring book or create own drawings
create a picture frame from baby food lid - cut picture, glue inside lid, attach magnet to back
create heart people and animals with hearts - using glue stick, glue hearts on a white sheet of cardstock to create animals or people
create a paper chain as a count down to a birthday or special event
crafts with pressed flowers
create a symphony with bottles and pans and rubber bands
create party hats - decorate construction paper with markers, crayons, stickers..fold paper into cone shape, tape or staple, cut edge even, staple elastic onto hat
cut pictures from old magazines and write a story
decorate a shoe box to hold your summer treasures
decorate bikes or wagons and have a neighborhood parade
do a jigsaw puzzle
find an ant colony and spill some food and watch what happens
finger paint with pudding
fishing – cut out construction paper fish, glue a magnet on each, tie a short string on a stick with a magnet on end, catch fish
give your pet a party with decorations, a card and a treat
glue noodles, buttons, small pasta etc into a design on paper
have a Teddy bear picnic
hold a tea party
leaf stencils - collect different leaves, do this outside - tape on back of leaf to a piece of paper, use toothbrushes dipped in paint spatter them at leaves to leave outline.
learn magic tricks
learn a new knock knock joke to tell mommy and daddy
learn origami
make a collage using pictures cut from old magazines
make a map that shows how you would get to a room in the house - if it's your bedroom, draw a hallway and then stairs and then a door to your room
make a photo album with pictures mom doesn't need anymore
make a tent out of blankets
make an obstacle course in your backyard or living room - use cushions from couch or toys that you have to run around
make hand drawings - trace child's hand on white sheet of paper, cut out. Have child paint fingernails and add sparkles to it, make a ring and a watch or bracelet out of tinfoil or scraps or draw them on
make art on the front walkway with sidewalk chalk
string block painting - wrap string around a small block of wood, dip into paint and stamp on white paper, use different colors, make into a card
make bookmarks
make a paper bag book - staple together paper bags (alternate bag tops), have child draw a series of four or five pictures, glue pictures to book, have child read their own story.
make Frisbee's out of old plastic lids, decorate with markers
color with wet chalk - mix 6 tbspn and 1/4 cup water, pour on chalk, let soak for 10 minutes..draw on colored paper if using light chalk.
learn a new song on the piano
make paper airplanes have paper airplane races
paint blob art - fold construction paper in half, open up and put blobs of paint on one side of paper, close up, roll with rolling pin, open and let dry. Makes a cool picture or can be cut and used to decorate card front.
make picture frames from twigs glued onto sturdy cardboard
make up a play using old clothes as costumes
make a popscicle stick puzzel - lay popscicle sticks side by side to form a square. Lay tape on both ends to hold puzzle together. Turn over and draw a picture on the sticks, color with crayons. Take tape off and mix up and do as a puzzle
make up a story by drawing pictures
Make thumbprint art - dip thumb in paint or stamp pad, create pictures..butterfly, bee, caterpillar, flower, chicks, reindeer
make invisible ink - a couple of tblsp of lemon juice in container, saturate toothpick or small paintbrush, draw with it. Hang it in a sunny window to reveal message.
make a paper bag kite - punch 4 holes in 4 corners of open end of paper bag, reinforce holes with reinforcers, cut 2 3ft lengths of string and tie each end to hole to form 2 loops. Cut 1 more 3ft length and tie through two loops to form handle. Have child decorate bag with markers and streamers. Run & fly kite
make stain glass crayons - line muffin tins or grease, put broken crayons, place in 400 degree oven for few minutes, cool, color with them
make a pinwheel - decorate square piece of paper with markers, crayons, glitter, stickers. Mark center or square and cut from each corner into center, stopping one inch from center. Fold every other point into center and tape (decorate side out). Push fastener into small circular piece of cardboard then through center of pinwheel. Fasten around a straw or unsharpened pencil
paint the sidewalk with water using large paint brushes
paint your faces with face paints
paper bag vests - make a vest from a paper bag by a head hole, arm holes and fringe at bottom..child to decorate vest.
perform a family concert
picnic lunch in the yard
plan an imaginary trip to the moon
plant some seeds either out in the herb garden or in a pot
play baseball with paper towel roll and rolled up paper as ball
play board games - such as memory or trouble
play card games - go fish, old maid, memory
play soccer outside or inside
play charades
play flashlight tag
play hide-and-seek
play hopscotch outside with chalk, inside with masking tape
play house
play in the sandbox
play tag
play on the computer
play store - make pretend bills by coloring paper green and cutting out, put numbers on the bills 1,2,5,10,20. Set up items around the room and tape dollar amounts to the items with a sticker. One person goes shopping with the shopping cart and the other person rings the items through and asks for money
play with play dough
play with toy cars or trains, making up a story as you go - if more than one person, one person does a bit of the story and the next person does a bit more
make interesting creatures - cut pictures from magazines, some heads of people or animals, some bodies of people, animals, insects, some different types of feet and then mix and match them and glue them onto piece of white paper to make a unique picture
have a marching band where everyone marches and plays a different instrument
prepare a "restaurant" lunch with menus which have pictures of the kinds of food and then have a waiter taking the order and someone dining at the restaurant
pick flowers and press them in a phone book to dry them
produce a talent show including a stage/tent thing
punch animals - using the different punches (circles, squares, flowers, etc) punch different colors construction paper and using animal book as guide, glue them onto white paper to form different animals into a story picture.
put on a puppet show with some puppets
make simple puppets out of fun foam
put on a magic show
read a story to younger siblings
read books
roller skate
scavenger hunt - generally a list of items to find and mark off the list like leaf, rock, etc or things inside the house such as a red block, a napkin etc
mave an Easter egg or teddy bear hunt where someone hides them and the child gets to find them
make cookies
play bowling
sidewalk chalk draw mixed up animals - like a horse body with chicken head.
clothesline fort - with sheets
swimming at a pool or nearby lake
go for a walk
wash bicycles and have a pretend car wash
water fight with water balloons, water guns, hoses or buckets of water
make salt dough clay, create things like snowmen or a flower or animal with the clay. Let clay dry and paint it a few days later
write a letter to a relative, friend or pen pal
play in the sink - plastic bowl, whisk, 1/2 cup measuring cup, few drops dish soap in plastic bowl
play I spy - variation when older is to play using the letters that start with the word, ex. I spy with my little eye something that starts with the letter W…answer Window
sing songs together that have body movements - Happy and you know it, Awesome God, Hokey Pokey, Wheels on the bus, macerena, I'm a little teapot, baby bumble bee, twinkle twinkle little star, Itsy bitsy spider, Father Abraham, Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes, Alligator song, Old macdonald had a farm
play musical chairs or freeze dancing to music
act out a story from a short children's book
make your own alphabet book by cutting out pictures and gluing the picture on the page with the letter of the alphabet that the picture starts with (or use stickers)
put on a play and video tape it
glue Art: Draw squiggle lines on a piece of paper or let the child use their finger to make random glue spots or patterns on a piece of paper. Experiment with adding different objects to the glue. Sand, glitter, cotton, yarn, feathers, and tissue paper all work well.
science experiement with baking soda and vinegar. Take a small bowl and put baking soda in it. Give the child another bowl with vinegar and a spoon or scoop. Lay a muffin tin on the table. The child scoops a small amount of baking soda into each cup of the muffin tin, then scoops vinegar into each tin and watches it foam
make personal puppets by printing pictures of people, cutting them out and gluing them onto a popsicle stick
bean Bag Board - cut one side of a box so that it angles down, cut holes on the top of the box and write numbers under the holes. Play bean bag toss
make plastic bag pom poms and do the cheering game to learn to spell words. Adult says Give me a K, child K, Adult Give me an I, child I, Adult Give me an M, child M, Adult What does that spell, both yell KIM and shake poms poms
make paper butterflies - let child draw designs or just scribble color on a piece of paper. Show child how to accordian fold it by doing your own. Wrap a pipe cleaner around the middle of it, add eyes and mouth to the butterfly. If time, make a mobile by tying yarn to butterflies and hanging them from two large popsicle sticks glued together with glue gun in a cross fashion
make a cool picture frame by stamping on accetate and allow child to use markers to color the back and frame it in a cardboard frame (piece of cardboard cut to side with middle cut out) and let them decorate with sticks etc
have a teddy bear fashion show - dress up all the teddy bears in infants clothing and then put them all in a large box that has been decorated as a car and pull them around the room with a string that's attached
Download the word document (click on the link and choose 'SAVE')
