Ten Easy Ways to Entertain Your Children
1. Find a big box. You can go to your local grocery store or fast food restaurant and have at it. I have paid $40.00 or more for a toy and it gets played with one time. You hand my kids a box and they have fun for hours. Granted the box is not much of a box when they get through, so make sure it is not a box will need afterward.
2. Make a tent. If you have the room, move the chairs out from the dining room table, and throw a big blanket over it. This makes a huge tent for the children to play under, and it does not make a mess. My kids love it when I make “the tent” for them. Just be sure to tell them to watch their heads when moving around under there.
3. Turn the music up. My children love music and they love to dance. Put some of your child’s favorite music on and get silly. Dancing is great exercise, and will spend some of that pent up energy many kids have. Do not be bashful sing along to!
4. Go outside (weather permitting) and play a nature hunt. So many kids are stuck indoors now with video games and television. Have your child look for different objects like a leaf, a certain flower, or even a sound. This can be a great learning experience. My child and I have done this throughout the seasons, which helped them notice the changes that take place.
5. Take a drive. Now with gas prices being so high this might not be as practical as it used to be. My kids love taking a drive in the car, even if it is just a mile, or two down the road. We look at buildings, trees, and signs. My oldest son learned what a traffic light is for and how to tell his left from his right.
6. Put on a homemade puppet show. Now, this may seem kind of silly, but it works. Take an old pair of white socks; draw some eyes, mouth, and a nose. Climb behind the couch, or anything that you can find, if you are able and put on a show. This works wonders with small children. Get into it, make up funny voices, and watch your kids laugh.
7. Bring back the old favorites that we played as children, Mother may I, Simon says, and I spy. Old to us new to them, these games are a little more difficult for the smaller kids but they will get the hang of it. I like playing Mother may I because after my oldest will say mother may I for anything that he is wanting.
8. Get your camera out and take some silly pictures. Most kids love to pose and we can never have too many pictures of our cute little darlings. For the older, more capable children let them take pictures of you. Download your pictures and make a slide show. Windows has a very good program called Photo Story 3 that will let you add music to your slide show. My kids love climbing on my lap at my desk and watching the movies I have made with my camera.
9. Give the kids the vacuum. This may sound weird, but both of my children love to vacuum. They fight over who gets to help me. What can I say, it helps me, and they feel good because they are helping mommy. Not all kids like vacuums; it took a while before they would come near it without screaming. I just had to let them try it out and they figured out it would not hurt them. Since then, I never have to roll up a cord or put the vacuum up without help.
10. Imaginary alligator (or shark if you prefer). We play this game either on the couch or on our bed. I have my kids get on the love seat or the couch and I play the alligator. I chase them from one piece of furniture to the next. They laugh and run, this is especially good to wear out your children. They have fun pulling each other up before I get them.
These are just a few of the ways to entertain your children. Kids love attention, and love to be played with. It can be as simple as just sitting in the floor with your child instead of on the couch behind them. As parents, we seem to be busy with work, cleaning, and sometimes with our computers. Kids are only small for so long. Enjoy them.
