A friend of mine has eight children ranging in age from 11 months (her adorable twin boys) to 11 years (her equally adorable daughter). Needless to say, finding a single activity that will please the entire lot of them at the same time is not an easy task. You can imagine what she goes through during the summer when they’re all home together. To her credit she has come up with a few creative ways to keep them all content despite their difference in age.
Here are some of her favorite sanity savers:
FOR TODDLERS:
Purchase some plastic bins and fill them with inexpensive toddler-friendly things, such as empty paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls. Toddlers can use them as makeshift kazoos and drumsticks. Fill another bin with old paintbrushes and cups of water, and then let them “paint” small toys, such as plastic animals or cars.
FOR PRESCHOOLERS:
Sun Board
Materials:
Cardboard
Yellow paint
Orange tissue paper
Yellow streamers
Gold glitter
Glue
Directions:
Paint the cardboard yellow.
Cut out a circle.
Crumple up little squares of tissue paper and glue to cover the circle.
Glue yellow streamers for the sun’s rays and sprinkle glitter all over the circle to make sun shine.
Hang anywhere that needs a little brightening.
FOR TWEENS:
Tree Scavenger Hunt: Borrow a book from the library that features different trees and see how many your kids can find in your neighborhood. The person who identifies the most trees wins a prize.
Stage a Play: Suggest a few topics and have your kids stage a play about each. Have your kids work together to write it, act it out, and find appropriate props and costumes. When they are done, they can present the play to friends and family members.
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