I'm just looking for suggestions for things that my son can do with his friends when they are over other than tv/video games. He likes star wars and will often play with his action figures, but some kids that come over are not interested in this. My son isn't really into sports other than swimming and there are usually not enough kids around at one time to play a game of football, baseball, kickball. They sometimes will play board games, but sometimes his friends don't want to do this either. Anyone have any other suggestions?
Art Project, Legos, Lincoln Logs, Match Box Cars, Bake Cupcakes and Decorate, Scavenger Hunt, Hide n Seek etc..
I too have an 8 yr old boy. And well he likes soccer so we purchased some soccer goals that can be staked into the ground. He just loves having those to play with. to play with by himself and especially with others. Also microscopes can be pretty fun for any young boy...they love to look at stuff magnified. If you do come up with some other good ideas please send them my way too! :) good luck Y.
Good old fashioned card games are always fun for my son (8), and his cousins.
I have two boys, one who is ten. I second those who said Legos, matchbox cars, nerf guns and building forts. How about some "dress up" clothes for imaginary play? My son and his friends often pull out his old Halloween costumes to play with, and my son will also "dress up" in hats, mittens, ski goggles, etc. to go on spy missions. Inexpensive walkie talkies help with those. I don't like toy weapons, and it is only reluctantly and recently I've agreed to have some at our house, but boys this age love the nerf guns and foam/plastic swords or light sabers. If you don't mind some messes, building with clay is a great sensory activity. Make some homemade playdough. I have a great recipe if you want it.
Are you brave enough to try a cooking project with them? There are cookbooks for kids--check the library. Get them started making things that are nutritious; it's more fun to eat if you've been involved in making it. Bread that they can shape? Cookies they can decorate? Pretzels they can shape? Things made out of cheese?
Or do you have an attic or basement wall they can color and write on?
Twister is always fun. Its active but like a board game. Don't know if you have big yard or outdoor play area but my son and his friends always set up like an obsticle course (some things include like shotting a soccer ball into the net and taking a shot with a basketball as well as climbing, jumping, running through "tires" usually hola hoops, walking the tightrope (which is a jump rope on the ground) etc. Boys can come up with a million different combos for this if you plant the idea and get them started once they will come up with all kinds of other fun things to do with this and do it over and over again! Hope it helps:)
I know this sounds weird but here goes. Pick up a Cub Scout Book and kinda work out of that. You wouldn't believe how many ideas you can get from it. I'm sure you have some shoe strings around, well sit down and teach yourself how to tie knots then teach the boys and let them practice and show them what the knots are good for. The book will help you with most of it. It is also great for getting your son and his father together. Remember father/son time is quality not quanity. The knots were just one idea but there are many. Things like how to fold a flag and display it, what are the different kind of trees and plants or why will a bowling ball keep rolling until something makes it stop. Once learned, these are thing that can impress their friends even tho they aren't in sports. Just a thought, K.
I would send them outside with a couple of balls or Nurf guns/toys and leave them alone. I can't imagine a group of kids that age that couldn't figure out how to entertain themselves. Is going to a nearby park or playground an option? But just a yard, no matter how small, should do.
I have an active 7 1/2 year-old daughter, and when she gets "bored" I tell her to go outside. She'll grab a ball and pretty soon she and the neighbor have made up a new game. Don't over-schedule or supervise their play, just let them be and see what happens.
When my 9 year old has friends over they have nerf dart gun battles in the basement, or they take apart the couch cushions in the family room and build forts, or they make a pile at the bottom of the stairs and then take turns jumping on the cushions. They play outside on scooters, and in the summer they turn on the hose and make a "river" in the alley.
Up in his room they take the basket of his old matchbox cars and send them zooming around the room and crashing into each other (until I come up and make them stop because they are marking the walls). Sometimes they play with Legos or Pokemon cards. And with his really good friends, sometimes they take breaks to read comic books.
But mostly -- they just go off and play. They don't need me to tell them what to do.
What do you think is going on that your son and his friends can't figure out what to do on their own?
How much time do they spend doing video games and watching tv on a daily basis? My son gets 30 minutes a day, which might be why he is pretty resourceful about play.
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I suggest sending them outside when you are out of ideas. Just running around playing tag or looking at stuff can be a hoot. You could put up a tent outside or in your house like in the basement and let them 'camp' with comic books and popcorn.
