• Perform a Puppet Show

          Direction:

1. Hopefully you have a collection of hand-me-down clothes and thrift store finds in a dress-up box for your kids.  They can use these to create costumes for a play, with you as the audience.  Or they can let their stuffed animals star as puppets, and hide behind the couch for a dramatic reenactment starring their pretend friends.
   

• Make an Indoor Clubhouse(Blanket Fort)

         Direction:

1. Get your child started, and see how else they architect a little place of their own. Blanket forts can be even more fun by adding friends or sleeping all night inside the fort. There are many ways to create a blanket fort. The simplest, by far, is made by draping a king or queen size sheet over a kitchen or dining room table. More room can be added by turning the chairs with their backs facing the table and drape the sheet over the chairs as well.
2. Another easy fort to create involves bunk beds – hang a sheet by tucking it under the top mattress and cover the bed below. The end of the bed can be covered by a towel or small blanket and you have a fort!

 

• Supply some Cardboard Boxes

         Direction:

1. If you haven’t recently moved or purchased a new appliance, go to your local grocery store and see if they have any cardboard boxes you could take off their hands.  Bring a few home, and let your child’s imagination take over.  They might build a castle, take off on a spaceship, or go sailing to a new world.

• Rearrange the Bedroom

          Direction:

1. If your child is old enough to safely move small furniture around, let him explore his creative side and rearrange his bedroom.  Depending on the result, it could be an afternoon set up, or it could be a new permanent look. 

 

•   Learning Mats

            Direction:

1. Find or buy a carpet remnant at least four feet by six feet. Use stencils to paint numbers, time tables, letters, foreign words, or other designs, depending on what your child is learning at the time.
2. Make a hop-scotch pattern, a huge checkerboard, or big, open shapes to be used as part of an obstacle course. Play musical hop by turning on music while your child runs around the rug. When you stop the music and yell out a number, letter, design, or shape, the child has to run to that location and do a little dance. You can make up all sorts of games to play on your learning mat.

 

• Mini-Museum

        Direction:

1. Children love to collect just about anything, and enjoy sharing their discoveries with others. Help your child create a mini-museum, where she can display her collection.

• When You Were Born

         Direction:

1. On a quiet afternoon or evening, cuddle up with your child to look at her baby scrapbook together. If you haven't made a scrapbook, look through keepsakes like her hospital identification bracelet, her baby booties, and maybe even a prenatal ultrasound image.
2. Talk about the day your child was born, the day she came home from the hospital, how and why you chose her name, and so on.
3. You'll probably enjoy telling these tales as much as your child will enjoy hearing them.

 

•  Go On a Treasure Hunt

        Direction:

1. Think of some unusual spots around your house, or plant some treasures in rooms and on shelves (in an age-appropriate location, of course).  Then make a list of objects, and have your child go on a treasure hunt.  If they can’t yet read, draw a sketch of the hidden item.

• Family Tree Activity

         Direction:

1. Collect photos of the people you want to include in your family tree.Before you draw your tree on poster board, sketch it on scrap paper.
2. Show your child and her siblings at the bottom of the tree and work your way up the branches to show her extended family.
3. Using your sketch as a guide, pencil your family tree on poster board, then draw over your pencil lines with markers.
4. Glue each photo in its proper spot onto the tree and label it with the name and birth date of the person pictured.
5. You might also note marriage and death dates if you like.
6. Post your family tree in a prominent place where the whole family can admire it.                                                                                             
   

                                                                    

• Family Newspaper

          Direction:

1. Create a family newspaper to report on happenings in your home, record opinions on current events, and showcase hobbies, interests, and achievements.
2. Encourage each family member to contribute to the newspaper. Younger children can dictate stories and draw pictures, while older children can write or type their own pieces, like :: family vacation, birthday celebration, sports, recipes, interview with parents or school happenings, creative writing, jokes etc.
3. Assemble your newspaper on a computer or by cutting and gluing articles to sheets of paper.
4. Circulate your newspaper by sending copies to your family members.
5. Be sure to make enough copies so that each child can save one for posterity.