Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 09:49 pm  Folks summer's rapidly approaching - and if you have kids you'll be hearing that alot (unless you allow your kids to veg in front of the TV / Nintendo 12 hours a day.. my son was limited to 3 hours a day of TV time he could alot however he saw fit in the summer - that was counting Video game time) Anyhow what I'd like us to do is come up with 101 free (under 1.00) ideas for kids to do. Please do add all your ideas though - but if you can put the ones that cost a buck or less at the top and put a $ in front of your ideas that'll cost money.... when we are all done thinking of Ideas - those that cost a buck or less I will put into a spiffy list you can print out on one page and put on the wall. Whenever your lil one is bored you can tell them to pic something from column one.. or pick something that starts with an A - or pick something that involves a ball... and so on. The person who thinks of the most ideas for a buck or less wins... (um the prize will be me making you a quick website for your lil one or your business or something... if your a website designer type well I'll think of some other prize for you LOL Whitney - FYI - MY entries don't count - since I wrote once a list of 200 ideas under 2 dollars called "Mom I'm bored" - I don't have the list handy but I have an advantage so my ideas won't be counting here but will be on our final list FYI - if your idea involves a recipe - please include it - |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 09:58 pm  Ok - I'm going to start listing ...... anyone who has any IDEAS or suggestions for any of these things please list them.... Hand Puppets Puppet show Charades Put on a play Frizbee Make masks Read a book Write a book Write a play Sing a song Write a song Learn a hobby Collect bugs Collect leaves Learn about stamps Learn about countries Learn sign language Folks - It's been a very very long week for me - but what I plan to do here is write ideas - and how to do those ideas and so on - the final project I will fix up for everyone however will be a very handy wall list of all these ideas - and I will combine all the "how to's" into a nice printable little book for you ... for example - one page will be links to sign language pages... Another to paper dolls to print out... and so on and so forth. I'll explain it all further - but for now just get on a roll and think of all the things you did as a kid... all the things you've done with your kids... and so on - feel free to include things that cost money just put a $ sign in front of those ideas.... ok Well I can think of ideas from my old list all day long but I just wanted to list a few to give you the idea - anyone else have any ideas...?
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Soeur | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 10:00 pm  -write to a pen pal, make something out of paper that will fold flat and send it off |
Tess | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 10:32 pm  run through the sprinkler make clown faces out of paper plates, yarn and construction paper have an indoor picnic, blanket, umbrella and all build a fort out of all the quilts, blankets, chairs and pillows you can find make bugs (ie catterpillars, etc) out of egg cartons, pipe cleaners, construction paper and crayons or markers make mosaic pictures out of cereal, rice, beans, pasta, etc. make wacky hats be a marching band plant some flowers, veggies, etc jump in puddles make a kiddie dictionary --have child write a letter on each page (or use alphabet stickers) and find magazine pictures to cut out of something starting with that letter...use yarn to make it into a book act out being your favorite animal bake a cake (or cupcakes) and have an un-birthday party -- child can make "presents" or--give them scraps of wrapping paper and tape and let them wrap anything and everything make a sponge painting play cards go to the zoo |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 10:39 pm  great great - you guys have the idea - folks don't worry if you have a repeat - I mean sure take a quick look at those already said - but when this is ALL done I will take the time to complie a to-die-for list for ya'all - and take out any true repeats. I'd rather you just take a quick look at those said and then brainstorm... ya know? Ok another few for me..... Write a play Start a "volunteer originization" ( examples to follow later) feel free to suggest some in the meantime Start a charity (more to follow on this later as well) Make potato stamps $ Learn to crochet (if you don't have a needle they are under two bucks though and you can teach them with any old blankie you have around you can undo while watching soaps...) Fix your old cloths/ toys for the needy Make a mural - pick one wall in the house everyone can draw on/ put their artwork on and so on Cut out magazines - to make future collages. |
Tess | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 10:42 pm  bake cookies feed the ducks, geese, birds go on a nature hike to the nearest creek, park, lake, pond write a picture story (using pictures either drawn or cut from magazines, or stickers instead of the nouns) make newspaper hats and paint them paint |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 10:45 pm  Another one (need some help with this one) "mom I'm bored" .. ok then ... Check out your personal WWW sites hun! (thinking here... I'm good at this hehe) We can make while we are doing this - a top 20 site's for kids based on ages... so when your working on this to-do-list if you know of an age appropriate site please post it in this thread along with an age range.... my example would be WWW = 5 to 8 http://www.crayola.com/ Ok hope ya get what I mean as your writing your "to do" ideas - if you know of any free websites for kids add them to this thread with an age range for the site.....when this list is all done... we can make a list of sites for 4-6 year olds... 6-8 year olds... 8-10 year olds and so on... for those RAINY DAYs.....  |
Tess | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 10:47 pm  have a camp-out in the back yard do a jig-saw puzzle play I Spy play 20 questions make a map of your block or neighborhood have a scavenger hunt visit your local nursing home |
Tess | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 10:49 pm  Whitney, this is fantastic! You're always thinking---thanks!! |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 10:50 pm  Ok here's one... let's play " X for a day" Fill in the X ... perhaps... we can spend a night thinking up ... people... professions.. royalty..basically just name anyone famous you can name - they all go into a hat... then - sometime down the road we can play "X for day" We each draw one of those choices we wrote down from a hat... and play that for a day.... Say for example one of the choices was - KING that person can spend the day learning all they can about Kings... and play the roll for a day. Or all they can about Judges and play a Judge for a day in the house. Getting the idea (I'm making this up as I go...LOL |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 10:56 pm  Thanks Tess I hope others get into this as well - I think if they do when this is all said and done we can have a pretty spiffy selection of things for our lil ones to do.
Ok another idea from Whit here (remember mine aren't counting as I have an advantage LOL ) Making the band... heck why not?? (working with a no $$ idea here and writing it as I think of it hehe that's how I work) Let's make a family band... each family member creates or makes an instrument out of a household item... need suggestions .. ok ok lemme think... a pop bottle half full of water or a half dozen of them filled at diff levels for a um.. "flute??" well whatever you'd call it - blow across them they will make noise. Those tin's you put cookies in for a drum... or one of those tin LIDS with a spoon to make a um... well whatever you'd call that. Everyone look around the house.. find something to make noise... and let's start our own FAMILY band... Got a video camera? Great we can make videos.. with dress up and all .. You can keep reusing the tape so I don't have to add this to the $$ column hehe... Heck ya might even make 10,000 if you end up in America's funniest home video's or whichever one of those yuo make 10,000 from LOL |
Tess | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 10:57 pm  make a weather calendar (upper half of each square draw a cloud, sun, rain - whatever is predicted ---bottom half of square, draw picture of actual weather> do science experiments (I'll ask my husband, mr. physics for some examples later) learn all the state capitals use a map of the USA or the world and mark all the places you've ever been go to the farmer's market dance in the rain have a pillow fight |
Tess | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 11:02 pm  play dress-up have backwards dinner and cook it (dessert first, etc.) work on a scrap book make a video to send to grandma go to the beach (I'm running out of steam here....may have to think a little while) |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 11:03 pm  Vacation at home..... Let's learn a culture... We can read a book .... look together on the net... for information about another country / culture or ancient people... and write a story about them... write a play about them... or live like them for a da y / weekend or whateever works Example? Well for me I wanted my son to understand and respect handicapped people... so we learned both about deaf / and blind folks. I read him some books about both and we lived both for a weekend.. as best we could. Communicating one weekend without words... with no TV / Radio and so on. We "baby proofed" the house as best we could and did all we could for a day to do everythign that needed to be done without looking (blindfolded sometimes like while eating) Both of those were actually alot of fun but more of a learning experience then anything. We did alot of other roles but those were the two that we both enjoyed and learned from the most.
Personally I think ALL children should learn to appreciate their eyesite - and how important it is |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 11:05 pm  Tess love all your ideas the scrap book one is something you can really elaborate on - different type of scrapbooks.. can you think of some? One of my favorites - and this ties into a charity is a Scrapbook of places - (taken from magazines) to donate to a childrens cancer center or a pediatrics unit of a hostiptal |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 11:08 pm  Sidewalk chalk Dried um uh - dont know the name of this hehe.. but taking dried flowers / plants and so on and making art out of them - Making stick figures plays .. out of (get this) sticks hehe Writing a "affirmations" book - having your lil one write as many positive things about themselves (or their sister) as they can think of - and having another family member write as many as they can think of .. and gramma.... best friend and so on |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 11:12 pm  Tess .. whispering - think card games..dice games.. and games with balls (all three you can get for 1 dollar or less so they won't go in your $ column <grin> Just a helpful hint for the first person helping me with this thread (I know .. I know ... the rest of you believe in SLEEP - sleep should be a four letter word LOL |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 11:17 pm  Oh Tess.. thanks for the idea (from one of your earlier post) How about a Family recipe book? Each person writes their favorite recipes (peanut butter and jelly - from the youngest one) But everyone writes their favorite recipies.. and hmm well work with this idea... each recipe has a # and you can draw from a hat a # to see who's recipe gets cooked that night? I don't know but definately think a Family Recipe book would be alot of fun |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 11:26 pm  $$$ Another idea from one of Tess's earlier ideas... This is a $ idea - unless you have a general store like I do that sells seeds 9cents a pack... But - I think it could be done for under 20 bucks for a pack of seeds for each family member and say two bags of soil) A family garden (sorry for you NYC'ers but perhaps you can make it work anyhow?? Just thinking it'd be fun to make a family garden - even if you have very limited space... Each family member could have a row.. or half a row... to plant their favorite veggie... I honestly think everyone cept those in an apartment without a patio could do this one Ok and while I'm at it a non $$ idea ---- Potato plant / avacodo plant - cut one i half put tootpicks in it and plant it eye's up in a mayonase jar OK and of course a ant farm - can't go through childhood without one... Take a big jar put the biggest jar that you can fit in it - inside it with a lid.. put sand all the way around it ... take some sugary substance and place it on your walkway - collect some ants put them in the jar and have fun watching them dig |
Whit4you | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 11:37 pm  Sorry folks - lemme just say - ignore this thread if it don't interst you - I'm .. on a roll. I lived and breathed parenthood for a # of years - and I do tend to get "on a roll" - LOL Word bank ... this is only "fun" or a "game" for someone under say......6 or 7... But when my son was little he learned "A - L - L - says ALL" from a TV commerical - he knew his ABC's and what they said.. B - Ball .. C Cat - and so on.. anyhow so... it was easy for him to learn B B ALL C C ALL F F ALL and so we started a "word" bank - two of each word he knew - went into that bank ... his reward was watching his bank grow - but if that isnt enough of a reward for some kids - perhaps a reward of 10 more min of TV time per day (or week) for each "base word" he /she learnd.. or well you be the judge. Anyhow we used his word bank to play all sorts of fun games.... First it was concentration then it was making silly sentences... then it was making a spiffy book to read to daddy here was my son's first book Dad sat .. he sat and sat Dad sat on a cat A cat sat on a bat A bat sat on a cat (getting the idea?) LOL The funnest game my son played with his word bank was to take the "key words" At AND IT AD and making words out of them with his letters putting a B on the AT and B on the AND so on If you play your cards right they will never think of this as learning but think of it as a game .. What I mean is make .. playing THESE games - as a reward for something else... "if you eat all your veggies - you get to play the word bank game! |
Tess | Saturday, May 12, 2001 - 12:12 am  thinking, thinking, thinking.... Hey, Whitney...what if we already have all the card games and they don't cost anything??? Other than the scrap booking I think I've been sticking to things that can be done with stuff you already have around the house....I think...I hope.... Play checkers Play Uno learn to play chess(still cluesless on that one) Hmmmm scrapbook ideas...I'm working on one for school years (we took mommy & me classes and this year is preschool) could do one on vacations, friends, family, they can be as expensive or inexpensive as you wish...(shhshh don't tell mr. physics but this scrapbooking is costing him big bucks) love the family recipe book idea... play Go Fish play soccer in the back yard climb a tree ride a bike go roller skating go to the park and play on the swings, etc. (or in our case, we're still in the backyard) do a good deed for an elderly neighbor -- weed their garden, water the yard, (older kids can mow the lawn, etc) when fall comes rake all the leaves into big piles and jump, jump, jump! take leaves off the maple tree and color them...them on a sheet of white paper and use an eraser to rub the color off the leaf onto the paper to make designs... Ohhhh this one is good....using big paper (which we already have) have your child sponge paint or color or use your potato stamp or regular stamps and MAKE YOUR OWN WRAPPING PAPER to wrap up any present to send to Grandma...(she loves it) Play tag hide- and - seek (don't forget to seek LOL) make mud pies use play doh to sculpt food (ie--green play doh for peas in a pod, etc.) make your own play doh, silly putty, glue, sidewalk chalk (I'll try to find my recipes) BLOW BUBBLES practice "swimming" in the bath tub |
Tess | Saturday, May 12, 2001 - 12:13 am  Hey, Whit...how I"m doing?? and just what is this thing you call sleep?? Is it something normal people do? |
Whit4you | Saturday, May 12, 2001 - 12:17 am  LOL I love the way you think - um that might sound narcissitic cause you think like I do?? Every time I read something you write - I think of 5 more ideas.. LOL As far as your comment "Hey, Whitney...what if we already have all the card games and they don't cost anything???" Glad you asked cause perhaps I wasn't clear in my "instructions" for this thread - this thread is basically what anyone wants to make it of course - but my IDEA for it was .. as many ideas as we can think of that don't cost $$$ ( but also adding those ideas in that do cost dollars just labeling them with a $ sign) So of course anyone can just go out and get a hoyles book of card games or whathave you- but - it'll sit on the shelf ya know? Ok so my hint to you was to think of card games / dice games etc that kids can do... a deck or two of cards - is under a buck so all dice / card games you can think of would fit in well I suppose an idea would be to grab they hoyles book and close eyes and pick a page but so many of them are not for kids.. that it'd be better here to list all those games that would be easy for kids to learn.. go fish... slap jack and so on See what I mean |
Whit4you | Saturday, May 12, 2001 - 12:23 am  This is a $$ idea for those who have 20 or 30 to spend....... When I was with a wonderful man who was "Mr. Mom" he had two lil ones - (nikki and matt ) and I had one lil one (matt "the big matt" LOL - I bought EVERY pair of roller skates I found at yard sales that were in good shape - under 2.00 - usually they were a buck or 50 cents a pair. I also bought all the knee / and elbow pads I could find at yardsales.. I did this all summer that year and at the end of the year I had about 15 pair of skates (beesides the ones we had for our family..) and a buncha knee/ elbow pads We took them in a big rubbermaid container - the kind that's short and fits under a bed... to the park and we'd get EVERYONE skating - I'm telling you for about 40 bucks (The amount I spent on all the skates and pads) we had more laughs and more fun times then most people spend on a movie for their family in one night.
Brings a few tears to my eyes remembering it - my TUMMY hurt from laughing so hard as we'd work as a family to teach all the newbies to skate LOL (I was one of the newbies for a while!  |
Tess | Saturday, May 12, 2001 - 12:27 am  go to the library have a "tea" party make a daisy chain (or dandelion chain) and see how long you can make it. play "catch" go to garage sales and let them pick out something for --under a dollar make a rag doll or sock doll punch out lots of holes (with your hole puncher that you have because you do scrapbooks) make sure you do several colors and use them to make a picture (ie--rainbow, tree, flower --like pointilism?) using glue and a toothpick to pick up the little dots help your mom dust the house (hehe) learn to do cartwheels or sommersaults Ohhh Handstands |