Creative Family FunCheck out some fun and practical ideas that will help make family life fun! If you have any helpful tips or funny family stories that you would like to share, please send it to kristi@entrustedministries.com. You may see it on our website!
Creative Family Fun - Entries tagged "Activities"
MonMondayMayMay30th2011
Summer Fun
Summer is quickly approaching at my house…The countdown is on until my daughter completes Kindergarten, which means our family is on the brink of our first summer break now that we have entered the “school years” phase.
I am approaching this season with mixed feelings—some days I am excited at the thought of having more time with my daughter at home, but admittedly there are days when my thoughts are more concerning. I moan, “what will I ever do to keep my kids entertained at home for eleven weeks ALL day?”
Of course my thinking is erred because it should not be my goal as a parent to provide 24/7 stimulation and fun for my children. However, I do want to avoid prolonged hours of watching television, and hearing the dreaded, “I’m bored!” My desire is to make the most of our days together, knowing that the time I have to pour into my children slips away far too quickly.
I’m gearing up to enter this summer season prepared with plans and ideas to enjoy the time together. Here are a few of the ideas I have brainstormed:
Daily Activities
- Quiet Time together. We started out the school year with a family devotional at breakfast but that habit has waned. Summer is a great time to restart that commitment, especially when the school bus is not calling! I plan to have my quiet time in the morning and during that time let my kids read Bible storybooks on their own, and then read a devotional and pray together.
- Scripture Memory. I am grateful to my own Mom who always made Scripture memory a fun part of our summer breaks. I can still remember the prizes I earned for learning Psalm 23 one summer and Psalm 139 another. I plan to review AWANA verses with my kids this summer and give them a special prize upon completion. Of course the greatest reward is God’s Word hidden in their hearts!
- Limit TV time. My goal for this summer is to try to not turn on the TV til after 4pm as a wind-down activity before supper.
Weekly Activities
- Let my kids choose a recipe and make that together (alternate dessert recipes with healthier snacks and entrees).
- Write and draw pictures in a summer journal weekly or make a summer scrapbook together.
Special activities.
Of course we will make trips to the pool, the zoo and other fun places, but I don’t want to feel like we have to leave the house for it to be a fun day. I’ve compiled a lengthy list of crafty ideas and other unusual games and activities that are low-cost and easy.
Here are a few to get you started:
- Puzzle Mania. Find every puzzle in your house and complete them all. Set a timer and see how long it takes.
- Counting Game. Make a list of household items and have your kids count how many they can find in your house (doorknobs, windows, spoons, etc).
- Create your own city using toilet paper rolls and shoeboxes.
- How many different playgrounds can you visit? Print a map of your town/surrounding area and see how many you can walk to, bike to, or drive to. Rate each for number of swings, slides, best overall, and more.
- Use all of your outdoor toys (such as hula hoops, balls, and jump ropes) to create an obstacle course for your kids.
So that last day of school is almost here. Are you ready? I’m excited to have extended time with the precious little ones the Lord has entrusted to me. Galatians 6:9-10 says “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
Becky Armstrong lives in Palatine, IL and has two children ages 4 and 6. She has served as first a small group leader and then later as a facilitator for her church's Entrusted with a Child's Heart group. Some of her own favorite summertime activities include spending time with family and friends, scrapbooking, baking, running, and dark chocolate.
Have more ideas for summer fun with kids? Please share them below!
SatSaturdayOctOctober2nd2010
Capture It!
My parents did a great job of preserving memories for my brother and me in photographs. Fun pictures by our front steps and beside the occasional grassy Alabama snowman chronicle our growth. They also memorialize my green bell bottoms and toothless grin in the late 70s and the height of my bangs in the 80s. It's so much fun to go back through these slides and photo albums with my own children when we visit Dad and Mom.
One of the things we all enjoy the most is listening to interviews my Dad occasionally recorded with my brother and me when we were children. These snippets of audio capture the funny way I said elphanant, I mean, elephant and clearly show the way I viewed and thought about life in those earlier years.
Now it's our turn to preserve this gift for our own children. Sometimes we capture their words in a more natural, low profile way while lying in bed with them at night discreetly recording their responses with the concealed microphone of a cell phone or mp3 player. And other times, we've been more obvious about the interview by bringing out our digital camera or webcam and allowing them an opportunity to be the star performer.
Want to try this with your own kids? Click HERE for some questions to help you get started. Select the ones you like and add in your own to customize the interview for the ages and personalities of your children. Who knows you might even learn some things you never knew about them!
FriFridayJunJune18th2010
The Idea Jar
“Mom.... I bored!…”
Have you heard it yet this summer?... I have.
One day while my children were happily playing, I used the time to brainstorm a list of things I thought they’d enjoy doing. Later, I wrote these ideas on colorful strips of paper, folded them, and placed them in a glass jar which has become known in our family as the “Idea Jar.”
There are two rules to the Idea Jar. Rule 1 -- if you complain, “I’m bored,” then Mom gets to assign you a job. But if you have searched for your own ideas first and still found the fun beginning to lag, then you can draw a card from the Idea Jar. Just remember Rule 2 -- you HAVE to do whatever your card says.
Some of our cards are purely fun.
1. Create a “car wash” for bikes.
2. Design an obstacle course. Try using a stop watch to see who can finish in the shortest time.
3. Use a box or jar to create a home for bugs. Now find at least 3 bugs to live in it.
One color is specifically designed for rainy-day fun.
1. Ask Mom for blue painter’s tape to make an indoor hopscotch board.
2. Go for a swim in the bathtub. Don’t forget your goggles!
3. Do two puzzles. Want to do more? Try creating a gallery.
Some offer an academic twist.
1. Read for 15 minutes – try finding an interesting, new reading place.
2. Write a story – ask Mom or Dad for an idea.
3. Write a note or make a card. Now mail it.
And others mostly benefit Mom!
1. Get to work – ask Mom or Dad for a job.
2. Turn up your music and clean your room.
3. Spend 15 minutes of quiet time in your room.
These ideas were designed for my young daughters, but with a little thought, the selection could be tailored to fit the ages and interests of any child. Perhaps if you create your own jar, you’ll find like I have that once kids get started on one of the ideas, they typically go beyond the instructions to add their own creative flair. Then before they realize it, 15 minutes of fun has turned into an hour or more of play time!
Applying Biblical Truth to Everyday Life
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