what does your 9/10-12/13yo girl like to do?

[dragons in the flower bed]

My sister is really into making YouTube movies right now. I'm wondering what else there is out there for a girl who is not into dolls. Any ideas? What do your daughters do in their spare time? What books or toys or websites are they really into?

[LauraGB]

Dd is really into secret agent novels lately - Horowitz's Alex Rider and Mucahmore's Cherub series. I think she want's to be a spy (much like Mom did after her wild affair with Ludlum :blush:). She loves to write, read, play softball, photography, and draw. Loves, loves, loves music. Lately she's been seriously into chess, too.

[MamaT]

I have a 10yo and a 13yo.

 

My 10yo is my athlete. She is a competitive gymnast and pretty much lives and breathes gymnastics. When she's not at school or gym (pretty much all day every day), she's looking at leos for gym online.

 

My 13yo is my dancer, artsy, creative, computer geek. She is also very practical and business minded. She makes movies for you tube, has a program for writing songs on the computer, and has started an on-line business. When she's not doing that, she's cooking (and making a MESS).

[Pink Fairy]

Drawing, playing piano, reading, sewing, writing, roller skating, and writing/acting in plays.

[elizabeth]

Dd is into rock music, playing guitar and piano(jazz for Momma), crochet,embroidery, writing fiction , reading, anime club and last but not least,photography. Her other delight in life is driving her poor father insane with endless chatter about subjects he is totally ignorant of ,such as Supernatural tv, Doctor Who and specifically Mr David Tennant's absolute perfection as an actor ,vampires and the all important question ,can we go out for ice cream???!

[Guest]

My daughter just turned fourteen, but for the past couple of years she has been busy with Star Trek (novels and series), horseback riding, Legos, drawing, musical theater, learning about spying and cryptography, and riding any rollercoaster she can.

[LauraGB]

Dd is into rock music, playing guitar and piano(jazz for Momma), crochet,embroidery, writing fiction , reading, anime club and last but not least,photography. Her other delight in life is driving her poor father insane with endless chatter about subjects he is totally ignorant of ,such as Supernatural tv, Doctor Who and specifically Mr David Tennant's absolute perfection as an actor ,vampires and the all important question ,can we go out for ice cream???!

 

Oh, how funny! You added all the details I left out! Dd draws...anime. The music she listens to is primarily current rock and alternative, and she recently took a knitting class with me and when she's not reading with the music on, she's knitting with the music on. And all those piano lessons for all those years...culminated in her playing Linkin Park and Cold Play, and a few Ella Fitzgerald and Glenn Miller songs I printed off for her. :)

[gingersmom]

My daughter is an ice skater and on a synchronized skating team. We spend 5-7 days/week at the skating rink.

[AngieW in Texas]

My just turned 12yo is very much into legoes, guitar, architecture, and writing Warriors fan-fiction.

[whitestavern]

My 10yodd spends her free time reading, listening to music, writing (she loves creative writing of all sorts, from advertisements to full blown books), playing with her brother, 7 (they are big into imaginative play). She still does play with dolls (the American Girl ones anyway) and legos and barbies a little bit. She takes dance lessons, golf lessons and plays on a softball team so she practices those skills in her spare time as well.

[Chris in VA]

reading (older/classic novels and others, favs include Secret Garden, Mysterious B Society, and anything she has on her permanent shelf) She reads at least a couple hours a day

 

playing outside--she has a treehouse and we live in the woods, so she's always creating little leaf dolls or splashing in the creek (really just drainage water...) or who knows what else

 

sewing or making little projects--she used a couple of boxes and some tubes to make a bunkbed for her dolls (which she doesn't play with much) the other day, and she likes to handsew little things like change purses

 

goes to Am Girl and Fetch! pbskidsgo.org sometimes

 

writes pen pal letters to her cousin about once every 2 weeks

 

We've been watching BBC Robin Hood together nearly every day for the last 3 weeks in the pm after school.

 

She self-entertains quite well.

[BridgeTea]

Our 11yo likes to whittle, ride bike, swim, play on her rope swing, dig worms for her chickens, make jewelry, chop things in the kitchen, play with Magnetix, play ping-pong, and fly airplanes on the wii. She lays in the grass and I assume she is daydreaming. Her music favorites are Christian pop, Celtic, classical, and country. Tonight she spent a long time outside shooting paintball guns with her Dad. Don't know how long that will hold her fancy, but she initiated it.

 

She shows up at the breakfast table and lunch table with a book in her hand (usually one of the bird guides or cookbooks) and reads through her meal. She takes NatGeos, Smithsonians, or science books to bed with her, but definitely goes on fiction streaks at times, also. Lately it's been rereadings of the Percy Jackson and Frog Princess book series. Her favorite TV show is MythBusters. Computer websites include pbskids.org and CrayonPhysics.

 

What wonderful diversity we have in our little women! I like reading what others are up to.

[NanceXToo]

My daughter is 9 1/2. She was never into dolls.

 

She likes:

 

Playing games on the Wii, Wii Fit, and her Nintendo DS.

Going to Poptropica, Webkinz, and Wizard101 online.

Doing arts and crafts, watercolor painting, coloring/drawing, utilizing the "How To Draw" type books.

Reading. She likes picking out books at the library.

Writing short stories and poems. She's even had some published in Secular Homeschooling Magazine, which was very exciting for her.

Riding her bike, scooter, coloring with chalk.

Listening to music.

Trying to knit (her grandma recently taught her and sometimes she likes to practice it).

Borrowing exercise and dance videos from the library and doing those.

Outings and field trips.

Taking binoculars, a magnifying glass, a sketchpad and colored pencils outside and doing nature sketches.

Watching TV. She's into iCarly and stuff like that, but she also likes watching things like Planet Earth, Life, Man Vs. Wild etc with me.

Helping to cook and bake.

Girl Scouts, 4H, and doing things like taking art camp classes, going to free programs at the library, etc.

Going to the free "Build & Grow Clinics" they have at Lowe's and Home Depot, helping her dad build things.

Swimming, playing mini golf, bowling, arcade games.

[Rebecca VA]

My 13-year-old enjoys:

 

Ballet -- six days a week, several hours per day. She can barely function without it. She's constantly thinking about ballet and what goes on at the studio.

 

Writing -- She writes stories, poems, essays, and short novels at every opportunity. Talking doesn't come easily for her, so she expresses herself through her writing. She loves to write in Latin.

 

Animals -- mostly dogs. She memorized The Dog Bible years ago and is very knowledgeable about them.

 

Socializing -- She loves to spend time with the neighborhood girls and her homeschooled friends.

 

Travel -- We just got back from Turkey and she's already planning out where she wants to go next year.

 

Knitting -- She gets fidgity if she doesn't have something in her hands. She loves to knit items to give as gifts.

[Orthodox6]

DD-11 yrs loves. . .

 

reading

roller skating (at rink with friends)

crafts of many kinds

She taught herself to crochet and knit.

Oregon Trail (an "ancient" software game)

cooking

violin practice

church services

Girl Scouts

writing stories

[Melanie]

My 11 year old dances, bakes, plays piano, collects insects, makes iPod playlists, knits, and reads science books. All of this takes second fiddle to playing at the beach, though. She seems to be happiest there.

[Sasharowan]

Dd, almost 11, likes Webkins, Disney shows, making up stuff with her brothers (9 & 4), bossing said brothers, creating stuff, Girl scouts, music, and playing with webkins, American Girl dolls, and BuildABears.

[The Girls' Mom]

My kids are a little odd...

 

They LOVE pokemon..lol. Even my 13 year old. In fact they spent hours today playing it. :glare:

 

My 10 year olds: American Girl dolls, bikes, Webkins, Poptropica, and crafty stuff.

 

My 13 year old: Reading, Anime (drawing/reading/watching), writing, piano, playing Maple Story, and complaining about her sisters :tongue_smilie:

[Shawna in Texas]

Anime, sewing, theatrical make-up, making her sister repeat ridiculous phrases (This is Sparta!, I'm a banana. You're a taco., Wake-up Charlie--We're going to Candy Mountain,), and taking pictures with/of her cat.

 

Oh. She also likes talking on her phone, reading (she'll read anything I give her), and playing on the internet (youtube, lolcats, facebook,).

Edited May 21, 2010 by Shawna in Texas
details, details

[Lizzie in Ma]

Mine just turned 14.

She loves to practice her balloon art, she has a business and does parties and such. She does it free so often we should make her a 501C3. :)

Makes me a little bonkers til Sundays when she gives them away, they are all over the house.

 

She loves to knit, read, draw.

She is reading an odd mix of the Harry Potter books and the All Creatures Great and Small series at the moment. She is practicing drawing still life, sort of.

 

She has been making chemo hats for cancer patients. We find lots of free patterns on the internet and hunt down yarn at thrift stores.

 

She loves to sing and play Wii games. Hysteria Hospital is her current favorite.

 

She loves to collect sea-glass and make art with it. We bought the kids craft tubs and keep them filled with all the staples so they can do almost anything they can think of to do.

 

She loves to cook and makes dinner for the family once a week and collects recipes. We use the Food Network website a lot.

 

She still loves the Webkinz website and Zoo Tycoon and now Prince of Persia for her DS. Also Age of Mythology remains a staple in her game playing.

 

I am constantly amazed with her kindnesses. I really like 14 so far.

[Stacia]

Read, play computer & wii games, horse-riding, playing w/ all her Breyer (horse) stuff, listen to music, watch tv w/ dad (MASH, Star Trek, NCIS, Mythbusters), ride her bike, play w/ the cats, swim, travel, hang out w/ family & friends, color or draw using 'how to draw' type books, sometimes go to movies.