What do your kids do to keep themselves busy after they are finished with their schoolwork???

[housemouse]

When I ask what do they do after they are done, I don't mean curricular activities like sports, dance, scouts etc... I am asking along the likes of activities they do at home--crafts, electronics kids, building or cooking something just because it is fun... things like that. I need some ideas for boys and girls 7-13 age range to keep mine busy.

 

Thank you in advance.

[...................]

Kick them outside.

[Mommy to monkeys]

My boys love legos.

 

My girls like to dress up. I have one that likes to play the piano.

 

They all like to draw. They read. They listen to music and make up plays that go along with it. They play outside and ride their bikes, climb trees, make forts etc. . .

 

Specific things: legos for boys, snap circuits, chemistry/science kits, weaving loom, art supplies!!!, basic outdoor toys(balls, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk etc), and plenty of books!

 

 

 

[regentrude]

read books, play outside, ride bike, write stories, play with Playmobil (for hours and hours and hours)

[Dory]

Books, lego, k'nex, elaborate made up scenarios with their stuffies and dolls (the younger two). If the weather is nice they'll head outside and build snowmen, snow forts, or in the non snowy times of year they play on the trampoline (I cut up pool noodles into threes and the boys go nuts on the trampoline with each other. They can't hurt each other with those soft things and it really gets a lot of energy out of their system), slackline, bikes, or horses. Or sometimes they decide to go exploring in the trees which I allow so long as they don't go alone.

 

We only allow screens on weekends unless they are researching something for school or doing their computer courses (computer programming and typing). On the weekends they spend some time on Minecraft and play some wii.

[Ewe Mama]

Driving me crazy! :D

[Mergath]

Dd reads books, draws, plays with the cats, and does imaginative play in her room or plays with her toys.  If it's warm enough outside we go to the playground.

[73349]

Admiring his rock collection

Flipping through books above his reading level

Playing with toys (matchbox cars, etc.)

Helping me bake (on Wednesdays, usually, if it's too cold/far/rainy for park day)

Practicing piano or just messing around

Imagining or re-enacting scenes with stuffed animals

Telling the same few knock-knock jokes and stories over and over

Playing with his camera (often taking pictures of the stuffed animals)

Pestering the cat

Pestering me to show him YouTube clips

Asking me questions.

[Ellie]

I need some ideas for boys and girls 7-13 age range to keep mine busy.

 

 

:blink:

 

It never occurred to me to come up with ideas to keep them busy. They figured things out on their own.

 

If they had told me they were bored and needed something to do, I would gladly have given them some chores to do around the house, which is probably why they figured things out on their own, lol.

[momacacia]

Knitting, writing letters to girlfriends, playing with sibling (the two girls do this--usually some intricate princess or family-based tale), any manner of arts and crafts, and reading. I'd love them to go outside more (without my taking them on walks with me) and need to start making that a requirement. They have kickballs, and other sport equipment to play with together.

[Sahamamama]

I tell my three, "Go figure it out. I'm not your cruise director."

 

They usually play Rainbow Fairy Princess Ballerinas with their (not real) ponies in the basement playroom. If the weather is decent, they play Narnia Mary Poppins Peter Pan Princesses with their (not real) ponies outside. Sometimes they are Atalanta, running to catch the wind. ;)

 

Paper, colored pencils, scissors, and glue work for hours around here.

 

Legos, Lincoln logs, too many toys.

 

Dolls, baby dolls.

 

Puzzles, board games.

 

Naps. (They don't sign up for these, but they get them 3-4x/week, anyway.)

 

Help me make supper.

 

Fold laundry. (This is normal, daily work, but it's nice to have a load to hand to a child who is bored.)

 

Do chores. (Daily, and I can always think of more if you are bored.)

 

Spend time with rabbits (they are indoor rabbits).

 

"Go call Grammy." :biggrinjester:

[Dagne]

Unless it's raining, my older boys head outside to play street hockey, basketball, football, lacrosse etc. They usually get at least an hour in before the other boys on our street get home from school and join them. On rainy days, they read, write stories, draw, play lego, play music, watch movies, or play sports in the basement. 

 

Dd (8) only plays outside when I insist on it, so she mostly draws, crafts, creates cities out of boxes and construction paper, helps me bake, plays pretend with Ds4, watches old sitcoms, surfs Pinterest, or asks for more school work. 

 

[Gil]

They play with each other, with toys and with animals. We do not have digital media at home so listening to the radio, playing in the street/yard, playing in the house, drawing, mud-puddles, cleaning up, doing chores.

 

 

[Maela]

Chores, elaborate pretend games, board games, do MadLibs, art/crafty stuff that my dd comes up with, playing with toys, park/backyard.

 

I like to play board games and I direct the chores, but the rest they do on their own. Right now they're playing pretend - sounds like a Lord of the Rings/Les Miserables mix.

 

Sometimes they'll convince me to jump on the trampoline with them. :-)

 

ETA: I forgot puzzles! We're all really into puzzles lately.

[kirstenhill]

My boys are often found building with Legos, playing minecraft, playing outside, drawing pictures, doing imaginary play (often based on minecraft or favorite books/shows). My daughter loves making crafts, playing with her American Girl dolls, and reading, primarily. I taught her how to use Pinterest and gave her her own "secret" board - she is very good about finding craft ideas and following the directions on her own. All the kids love playing with neighbor friends, so late afternoon/early evening before dinner is often spent doing that if friends are home and not busy.

[kiwik]

Ds5 can play imaginative games alone for ages if ds7 doesn't interfere. Ds7 likes outside stuff. I wish they could have the sort of free range country childhood I did but ds7 isn't really sensible enough anyway.

[Tanaqui]

Squabble with each other and whine until I throw them out and lock the door.

 

Well, it seems like that some days. Most days they're fine, and I just forget :)

 

But no, entertaining themselvesis their job, not mine. Left to their own devices they play made up games I don't comprehend, or they cook, or they go outside and inside like cats, with no rhyme or reason, or they decide suddenly to do lots of exercise, or they suddenly go on a cleaning kick and criticize my housekeeping (so long as they do the laundry, they can complain about my laundry skills all they like), or they make masks, or they read.

[bluedarling]

My 8yo reads, does origami or draws, mostly.  She might pick up her instrument for extra practice, or play on the piano.  I allow 30 minutes for electronic educational value games on weekdays (Reading Eggspress, Clue Finders, etc.)  The teens don't have a lot of free time, but they read, play with hair/makeup, do computer programming (supposed to get knocked off but often I forget), play with the dog, or more often talk/argue with each other.  Oh, and snack...ALL...THE....TIME.

[Garga]

Now that mine are 9-12 it's up to them to figure out. When they say they're bored I tell them in a gentle way, "Oh yes! I know what you mean! Every single human on the planet has this trouble. (Insert commiserative sigh here.) All of us have to figure out what to do with ourselves when our work is done for the day."

 

My 12 year old hates being outside but I've been forcing him to go out for 1/2 - 1 hour a day after school. I show him mercy after 1/2-1 hour and let him back in. It's been getting better, though. He used to stand around fuming for the first 20 minutes when I made him go out, but now he actually gets up and goes out without a fuss. All that to say that making them go outside to play may or may not work.

 

My kids don't seem to want to do hobbies. They play with toys when they're inside. Lego, action figures, stuff like that.

 

Wait--my oldest makes cookies for our church's homeless outreach. He will make a batch of cookies about 3 times a week. It takes him a Very Long Time to make cookies. Like, it can take him 2 hours to make a batch of 36 chocolate chip cookies. He listens to a podcast while baking and that slows him down.

 

They are allowed electronics an hour before dinner.

[housemouse]

It's not that mine can not entertain themselves, they do and many times do such a very good job that the house is a bit too quiet. I was just looking  for few idea of something for them to try that we may not have thought of.

[Peaceful Isle]

My kids read, run around and drive me crazy, ask for snacks and drinks, make messes I have to clean up, beg to play on their tablet, tell me how deprived they are because the don't have.... , go outside and run the hose and crank up our water bill, wipe their dirty hands on the walls, draw, play chase in the house, practice their music lessons, sing at the top of their lungs, go to their individual activites (voice, basketball, etc..) wrestle in the kitchen while I'm trying to cook, ...

 

But I love them and will miss it when they are all grown up. :(

[Rosie_0801]

Dd plays with wooden blocks, lego, reads, uses her rainbow loom, cuts grass with hedging shears (not sure why, but whatever floats her boat,) plays piano and spends hours sitting on top of the washing line singing. 

[eternalsummer]

:blink:

 

It never occurred to me to come up with ideas to keep them busy. They figured things out on their own.

 

If they had told me they were bored and needed something to do, I would gladly have given them some chores to do around the house, which is probably why they figured things out on their own, lol.

this.

 

I do furnish supplies for things they seem interested in, or that I would like them to become interested in (this part rarely works), but generally if I see them walking around bored and something needs to be done (something *always* needs to be done), they're corralled into doing it.  They don't walk around bored much :)

[MerryAtHope]

:blink:

 

It never occurred to me to come up with ideas to keep them busy. They figured things out on their own.

 

If they had told me they were bored and needed something to do, I would gladly have given them some chores to do around the house, which is probably why they figured things out on their own, lol.

 

LOL, mine quickly learned not to say "I'm bored." I LOVE bored children! Have I got a job for you....

 

The other day I asked one of my teens if he was bored--because I wanted to watch a movie together. He quickly said no, that he learned years ago not to be bored!

[Farrar]

They still play pretend with each other and make various pretend related play stuff. It's all very mysterious to me.

 

If I manage to separate them, they code on Scratch, make little movies on the iPads, draw comics, read, do electronics projects, write stories, play board games with me or dh...

 

I don't plan stuff for my kids but I do strew things for them and have things like art supplies and project books at the ready. I don't mind the "I'm bored" thing. I just say, hey, how about this or this or this. If you don't bite, fine, but stop wandering around in circles and get out of my space. And eventually they either run out the clock staring at the wall until time for activities or screens or something or they find something to do.

[violamama]

Mine like:

paper mess creations: cutting paper to leave tiny shreds everywhere, using whole rolls of tape

pokemon cards

books

ipod music listening time

hand sewing

making stuff like "God's eyes" out of sticks/yarn

 

Yours might like finger weaving, crocheting, knitting

 

Honestly, mine really value their free time. If they get in my hair or each others' too much in our afternoon "quiet time" then I start asking them to do chores. 

Very rarely (twice a month?) I give them free iPad game time or put in a movie. 

[Gentlemommy]

Mine are weird. "Toys" do not, or have ever, held their interest for long. My littlest might play with Legos for a few minutes, but I usually save those for when she has to wait for her sisters at the gym.

Other things-they have one hour of TV/electronic time, which they usually take right after school is done. This lets them decompress and not use their brains for a few minutes lol.

They read, color, build forts/tents, play pretend games, go outside and ride bikes, scooters, skates, ect. or we go to the mountain/preserve/park and they run around.

Lately they've been crafting a ton-using cardboard boxes, scraps of fabric, paint, clay, and whatever else they find in the recycling bin to make doll furniture, dioramas of the ocean, and a bunch of other random projects. It drives me batty because there are scraps of paper, paintbrushes, glue sticks, dried paint, bit of felt, ribbon, and sponges ALL over the dining room (turned art room). It makes me cringe, but I try to let them have lots of freedom to make messes and be creative. Same with when they build forts, they like to make them and then leave the, up for a few days. In the living room. Again, drives me crazy, but I let it go. Some of the things they've made and created are amazing, and the less I restrict the mess or inconvenience, the more they imaginative they are.

[Kathie in VA]

Lol there are times when they took so long spacing out that when their work was done.... They set the table for dinner !

[Wabi Sabi]

My two play together making up silly skits and mysterious pretend games that I don't quite understand, go outside, or read. If the oldest is gone for the day, the youngest will keep herself busy in her room writing little messages on scraps of paper, playing school and teaching math to our dog, brushing her dolls' hair, or making clothes for her Beanie Babies out of toilet paper and string. She keeps herself busy, LOL.  My oldest is quite fond of just laying on his bed and listening to music too. We have a no screens during the daytime rule, but I'll make exceptions for shows that are somewhat educational, so there's also some lounging around watching Reading Rainbow, Liberty's Kids, The Electric Company, Magic School Bus, etc. 

[BatmansWife]

Give JB colored/printed duct tape, empty boxes of cereal (in reality, she uses the boxes before the cereal is gone...so I have bags of cereal in no boxes on my shelves), scissors, scotch tape, toilet paper/paper towel tubes, colored embroidery floss, assorted fabric and felt, and a low temp glue gun and she will happily spend hours and hours creating things.  Mostly for her growing collection of Our Generation dolls.  She has made quite a few pairs of amazing doll shoes and slippers, adorable hand-sewn pillows, sweet little lamps (non-electric ;) ), etc. 

 

Before getting her OG dolls she made all kinds of stuff for her Polly Pockets (the larger PP's).  She made them a house with shingled roof, individual rooms, carpet made from an old towel, wallpaper from scrapbooking paper, wood floors from wood-grain looking contact paper.  She made an entire gymnastics training studio for them that included balance beams, cheese mat, round-off / handstand mat with little hands and feet on it as a guide, a spring mat for a vault, other kinds of mats, handmade leotards, and the coolest trampoline she made out of cardboard, toilet paper tubes, duct tape and the butt of her outgrown red tights.  :lol:

 

This past summer she started making her own little skateboards.  They are so cute.  The wheels were pony beads and the axles were part of toothpicks.  Then we went to a garage sale and scored BIG time...we found a box of Tech Deck skateboards.  She's been wild about those...learning finger tricks on the boards (ollies, nollies, manuals, kick flips, & more) and, of course, designing and making an entire skate board park with lots of different obstacles and ramps.  And, she knows the names of them all...stairs, half-pipes, quarter-pipe, pipe, foam pit, a rail (made from batteries and a pencil). 

 

Other things she likes to do is play on her real trampoline outside...although now that there's snow she plays on her snow hill.  She reads and plays on the kindle.  Bakes cakes and then uses the decorators tube to make creative frosting for the cakes. 

 

I'm always looking for crafty kits to keep her busy.  Rainbow Resource a lot of really good ones.  Recently I had our school get Knot-a-Quilt. Sewing with Felt, Sew Cute kits (oh, my gosh...they have a new Octopus made from a glove!  They didn't have that before.  OK...that's going on my list.  The "Sew Cute" line has a lot of other kits that look good), One Stitch at a Time, Super Embroidery Kit, Begin to Crochet Set, My First Embroidery Book. What she wants now is her own sewing machine. 

 

She loves her doodle books from Amazon.  The Girls Doodle Book, Fabulous Doodles, Girls World of Doodles, and Doodle Bugs are some we have.  Some of doodle books out there are black and white, some have colored pages and you add to the doodles and finish the pages.  Along the same lines are the anti-coloring books. 

 

Of course, I can't forget to mention the Rainbow Loom.  That's occupied hours and hours of her time too.  There's a couple of really good loom sites that she likes and she is just about to start trying to knit on the Rainbow Loom. 

 

Last week she started her first paint by numbers painting which is really turning out cute.  I also have a stack of one-player logic games which I wish she'd use more.  But, she's just always so "busy" creating and making things. 

 

In looking at what I just wrote, I see that a lot of stuff are things that are bought.  I'd say that between the store bought stuff and the things she creates herself, the things she makes herself are what she spends the most time with.  That's what she loves.  She just told me one of her favorite things is tape, and that yesterday she was "horrified" because "*Somebody* threw out an empty Cheerios box!"  How dare me!  She really is kind of an only child when it comes to playing, because her older siblings aren't interested in these things.  She just read everything I wrote and said that making all of these things is what really makes her happy.  And she's funny too...she said if someone looked at something she made and said, "Ooh, what store did you get this at?"  She'd say, "My brain."

 

 

 

 

[rocassie]

My oldest is 7, but here's how the kids spend their free time.

 

Audio books

Drawing

Legos

Playmobil

Boardgames

Computer time (they each get 30min/day during the weekdays)

Chores

Playing pretend

[SKL]

For free time after all "work" is done, when we don't have to go to a scheduled activity, my 7/8yo girls will:

 

read books or magazines

write stories

craft, knit, etc.

play with dollhouse / castle / Breyer horse type toys

DS games

apply nail polish, play with hair

puzzle books e.g. word searches

play Harry Potter

look at scouting materials and plan badge work

dig through bins to rediscover old toys etc.

roughhouse, pick on each other, plot and scheme

practice gymnastics etc.

play cards

imprison ladybugs

make a snack

watch educational DVDs

if they've earned it, watch some kid vids on YouTube

play music

chat with Mom

 

They are not big on playing outside in our yard, unless the neighbor kids are out.  But sometimes they will just go out there and hunt for treasures in the woods etc.  If we are all free and the weather allows, we might go to the park or library or both.

[Wabi Sabi]

I didn't see the original post, but I schedule in daily instrument practice as part of my kids' day. Otherwise, I mostly encourage my 10 year old boy to use any extra time during the day to read for pleasure, any book he'd like. I keep a very well stocked home library for this reason, and make a point to stock it with books that I think would be of high interest to him.  

He also has a few daily chores that generally get completed during the day. Nothing major, just simple things like feeding the cat/dog, taking out the recycling, emptying the compost bowl and taking dirty laundry to the basement. We often have one kid completing a few chores while the other finishes up his/her school work. 

[happypamama]

LEGO, origami, playing outside, playing with siblings, riding bikes, crafting, drawing, making costumes, creating things, baking sometimes, video games, reading, writing stories, playing piano, teaching themselves languages or programming, running around the house, doing chores/helping me in the kitchen, photography, puzzles and games, practicing their martial arts moves. . .

[MeAndTheBoys]

The more "bored" time I give them, the more things they find to do.

 

I agree with kick them outside.  I also am the mom who lets the boys play ball in the house, with rules--nothing thrown towards lights, only soft balls, etc.  They jump rope in the foyer too.

 

They throw a lot of stuff of the foyer balcony--paper airplanes, parachutes, beanbags, and make up all kinds of games.

 

Draw, read, Playmobil, marble run.

 

I guess i just gave them a lot of time to figure it out because i NEVER have to tell them what to do (unless it's chores) when they are done with school--they are itching to get to something.

 

I do know that it took some time in the beginning, when they were 4 or 5, to figure it out--but I let them get past that "I''''mmmmm booooored" stage, as torturous as it was to me, and they found things to do---

 

B

[TwoEdgedSword]

.

[bayareanative]

8 YO twin girls:

 

Lots of arts & crafts involving: pens, paper, elmer's glue, glue gun, cardboard, sticks, rocks, jewels, feathers, sculpty clay, beads, string, elastic, fabric, scissors, knives (for cutting cardboard) (they earned their "knife-skills" badge recently so have knife privileges), stapler, hole puncher, needle & thread.

 

Outside play involving: collecting sticks, rocks, seeds, playing with the dog, building forts, making "shelters" for birds and fairies, searching for "pets" like worms, millipedes, snails.

 

Puzzles, making & playing their own board games

 

Pretend play often based on the literature we're reading.

 

Magnatile building, making houses for their figurines

[RootAnn]

:iagree:  (all of the above) + writing/illustrating a book, writing to friends, and making a mess somewhere.