FUN THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR CHILDREN

Submitted by Nancy Shannon. Nancy is the wife of Sanford, has 5 grown children and 2 grandchildren. For over 20 years she had a daycare business. She also has been a minister on staff at Family Harvest Church in Tinley Park for over 20 years.

Hi Linda
 
This is just the beginning of some ideas.  I do want to emphasize…I believe we need to tell the ladies to ask God for ideas. I remember even before I knew the Word I would ask God to please give me some fun things to do with the kids today.  Later when I learned the Word, I found out I was doing Proverbs 3:6 and John 14:16.  This gave me the confidence I heard from God, which to me completed me and helped me to be satisfied with being home with my kids and half the town of Frankfort.
 
 
THESE are games for a party, however I implemented them throughout the year just to make each day fun.  Even if you only do one thing a day…it makes a memory for them.

 
FISH POND

Great for birthday parties. Make your own fishpond by covering a very large cardboard carton with a sheet and decorate by pinning cutout paper fish to the sheet. You can usually obtain a large appliance or furniture box, which would be ideal for this purpose, at a furniture store. If you can't get a box just hang a decorated sheet over a doorway. Use a fishing rod or a stick or yardstick with a string tied to it. Tie a clothespin on the end of the string. Have a helper sitting in the fishpond (cut out top and back of box to allow him to sit in it to attach favors to the clothespin when each child goes fishing.) I use leftover scraps of gift wrap to wrap the little surprises. Children love to unwrap prizes!   You could also make this on a smaller scale and put scriptures on the fish and that could be their Scripture for the day.

PAPER BAG GUESS

Label paper bags with each letter of the birthday child's name and put objects that start with the corresponding letter in the bag. For instance, for AMY you could have a bag labeled "A" with an apple in it, a bag labeled "M" with a mug in it, and a bag labeled "Y" with a Yo-Yo in it. Players guess what's in each bag by feeling the outside of the bag.

OLD CLOTHES RELAY

This game is really fun to make a movie of and watch later. Especially if your DVD allows you to run the movie backwards. Divide players into two equal teams. For each team have a suitcase or box containing a large shirt, shorts, boots and hat. In turn each player must put on old clothes and run to a certain point where they take the old clothes off and put them back in box, then run back to start where the next player repeats the process etc. until one team finishes and wins.

GOODY GUESSING

This is a good party game that guests can play as they are arriving. Fill 4 or 5 jars with candy, nuts, raisins - anything edible counting the pieces as you put them in. Then let the children guess how many are in each jar. Whoever guesses closest wins the jar.

JELLY BEAN HUNT

Assign a point value to each color of jelly bean. The higher value will go to the color with the fewest number of beans. Hide the beans in the party room. Actually they should all be in sight but placed on or near an object of like color so that they are camouflaged. Set a time limit at the end of which the player with the most points wins the game.

MEMORY GAME

This is fun for all ages - just so they are old enough to write. Prepare a tray with about 20 objects on it. Give each child a pencil and paper. Hold the tray up so they can see it for about 30 seconds then remove the tray from sight. See who can name the most objects they saw in a 3-5 minute period depending on the age.   Remember ROMPER ROOM…this game is very old!

NATURE SCAVENGER HUNT

Make a list of things to find in nature such as a pine cone, bug, leaf etc. Duplicate the list for as many players you have or one for every two people, if you want to send out teams. Set a time limit and the winner is the first team back with all the objects or the team with the most objects at the end of time limit.   Again, you can do this with one child without it being a birthday game.

PICTURE LOTTO

You can buy this game or make your own. To make your own, purchase 2 inexpensive, identical children's picture books. Try to find a book with lots of small pictures like a picture dictionary or book on birds or animals. For each child you need a sheet of construction paper on which you will glue 6 pictures. Glue the identical set of 6 pictures on little individual squares of paper. So, for 6 children you would need 2 sets of 36 different pictures. To play the game draw one of the individual pictures and give to the child who has the matching picture on his paper. The first child to cover all 6 pictures wins. Continue playing for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. until all children match all their pictures.

Also, a  great way to make use of catalogs, magazines, etc. is to take paper or butcher paper and hang it on the wall. Then pick a theme....i.e. Ocean - Have the children look in magazines and catalogs for things that would go in an ocean. This would often be more than a one day project. Sometimes it would hang for 2 -3 weeks because they loved doing it daily.

PIG RACE - This game takes a little preparation but the kids love it. You will need a different color sheet of construction paper for each child. For a large group divide into groups and have elimination races. Out of each sheet cut 9 small squares and 1 large pig. Mark off an 8 step race track using pencils, napkins or whatever. Line the children up shoulder to shoulder behind the first step. Give each child a colored pig. Shuffle your little colored squares and draw them out one at a time. Whoever has the matching color pig takes a step when his color is drawn. The first one to complete all 8 steps wins.  

STRING HUNT

Great for birthday parties where you want to give each guest a favor. For each child you will need a small block of wood wrapped with a very long (several yards) piece of yarn. Make sure each child has a different color yarn. Just before the party unwrap the yarn by winding it back and forth, over and under and through the furniture in party room. At the end of each piece of yarn tie a favor. As the guests arrive give them their block and let them wind up the yarn as they follow the string to the favor.

VALENTINE TOAST

Melt butter and add red food coloring. After toasting bread cut out a heart with a cookie cutter and brush on red butter.   I DID THIS OFTEN!  KIDS REALLY LOVE IT.  YOU CAN ALSO MAKE A PUMPKIN, CHRISTMAS TREE, OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF TOO!

EDIBLE EASTER BASKET

Color coconut green with food coloring in a few drops of water. Place green coconut in an ice cream cone and add colored jelly bean eggs.

EASTER EGG NESTS

Using the Rice Krispies Marshmallow Treats recipe shape the cookies into nests and fill with green coconut and jelly bean eggs.

POTATO PRINT PAPER

Make your own gift wrap for Christmas or any occasion. You will need a roll of plain white shelf paper, potatoes, and different color inkpads. Cut a potato in half, then carve out the design you want. Remember the design will be the raised portion of the cut-out. Stamp the potato on the ink pad then on the paper.