arcara Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Any ideas on helping my 7yo boy find a hobby? My girls are so easy - They enjoy crafts, art, sewing. I know of so many thing I can expose them to, but my mind is just blank for my son. He's enjoyed a few Lego kits that he's received as birthday gifts, but he doesn't have interest in them once assembled. I just draw a blank when trying to think of boy-things for him. Thanks! Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_midori Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Pocketknife admiring? Can that be a hobby? lol - that's what my 8yo likes! Maybe someday I can turn that into actual carving... My 6 & 8yo boys also like: playing with legos, doing imaginative play of all sorts of very specific, recurring situations, and drawing (generally as a part of the imaginative play). I don't know that any of those things count as hobbies, but they sure do get very involved in them & they take up most free time... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I was going to suggest carving. My dd wants me to get her this book. Supposedly the author explains how to make carving tools out of popsicle sticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parias1126 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 My 8 year old DS enjoys rock collecting. He is always picking up rocks while we are out and about no matter where we are and keeps then in an IKEA bin in his room. He also loves drawing with those kid's books that teach them how to draw simple things. His most recent and loved activity is mountain biking which he does with his dad. I love it because it's great exercise for him and a great example for us to set for him at a young age. It also gets him outdoors, as well as getting quality alone time with dad. There is so much more.... What about skateboarding, basketball, Pokemon, card collecting? The list goes on and on and on.... He may be one of those kids that is just not into anything. My oldest daughter was like that until she was about 12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 What are his favorite school subjects? Maybe that could help us think of appropriate options. Does he have any interest in music or sports? DS9's favorite hobbies are guitar, swimming, and inventing in his tinkering/science lab (working on getting this set up again after our recent move...). He also enjoys woodworking but that requires more $ and supervision. Oh, he does love to weave on our lap waving frame. Photography or drawing (DS9 likes ink and graphite)? He could pair these up with nature study to create a field guide to your neighborhood. My kids loved this project and we are going to start anew this year since we have moved to a very different climate. Now you've got me thinking that it is time to find DS6's joy. He wants to play drums, so we'll see how that goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar7709 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Besides Lego (which is #1), my 7yo likes roleplaying games, collections, archery, reading, cartooning, photography, solving mysteries and spy stuff. He's a busy kid...so lucky he and DH share a lot of interests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Why can't he do sewing and crafting like his sisters? I know my boys would love it if I could teach them that. I knit and they both enjoy that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcara Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 Thank you for the ideas so far. I wouldn't mind him doing crafts or sewing like his sisters. He just doesn't seem to have any interest in it. I'm just looking for ideas that I can present to him to see what he's interested in. His favorite subject is math, so I'm not sure what kind of hobby goes along with that :) Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I have two 7 y/o boys sitting right next to me and here's what they say are their hobbies: drawing, playing chess, video games, archery, kayaking, birdwatching, building with Legos, taking hikes, Beyblades, collecting bird feathers, collecting rocks and crystals, climbing trees and riding their bikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sctigermom Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I have a 6 year old and he likes: -legos to free build. -collecting rocks. He has a little plastic "briefcase" he stores them in. -digging to see what he can find AKA treasure hunter -collecting bugs. He doesn't kill bugs, but he is always searching for intact dead bugs. We have a board in his room we glue them to and label them. He also has bug identification cards and bugs in some kind of acrylic resin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 IMHO, age 7 is a little young to have actual and developed hobbies. This is an age of many abilities, but for most kids, specialization doesn't usually occur until they are older. Just the same, try: ----------------------------------------------- If he likes legos, see if this book can challenge him beyond the kits he has. Check it out from the library. http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Ideas-Book-Daniel-Lipkowitz/dp/0756686067/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343696306&sr=8-1&keywords=lego+idea+book --------------------------------------------------------- There is also Junior Lego League. (Registration of teams for the next "season" is August 1st!!! Woohoo!!!!) ---------------------------------------------- How about photography? As cheap as cameras are getting, we are considering getting one for dd5 within the next year or so. I was stunned when I learned that the last "family camera" Loverboy bought for us was $70. Photography is an easy hobby because you can set him loose with rechargeable batteries, and only print the pictures that are good. 1) Make him responsible for recharging the batteries. 2) Give him a budget of how much you will spend on developing each month, or let him earn pictures by working them off. (Picking up sticks in the yard, folding laundry, dusting or vacuuming). 3) Teach a little bit about scrapbooking/presentation. 4) If your son is a part of 4H/CloverKids, this would be an easy entry for the fair. ----------------------------------------- If your daughters like creating things with crafts, maybe your son likes creating things, too. Set him free with the craft supplies to make stuff. As long as it's not pink, I'll bet he'd be open to it. Help him to sew a set of jammies with Buzz Lightyear on them. I know boys who knit and crochet and even tat! They are awesome! -------------------------------------------- Kits: Pitsco Education has many building kits for Balsa wood. http://www.pitsco.com/store/default.aspx?pt=3&pl=24&t=3-2&l=24-1&lp=0&page=2&s=32 I also got a chance to look through their "Engineering Idea Pack" and their "Engineering with Paper Idea Pack." Both look like fun! ----------------------------------------- Robot kits: Do a search on Amazon for robot kits. He can build the kits; then play with them; then race them; then let them battle to the death!!!! Mwahahahahahaha!!!!! ------------------------------------------ Someone on this site recommended Postcrossing recently. He could collect postcards. http://www.postcrossing.com/ ------------------------------------ Sports: Is there a sport he practices in his free time? Baseball? Swimming? Tae Kwan Do? Archery? ------------------------------------- Drawing: Try books from the library by Ed Emberley. Big Green Drawing Book Big Red Drawing Book etc etc -------------------------------------------- Many interests come out of Cub Scouts. If you are not morally opposed to Cub Scouts, your son's hobby could be "earning badges." And hobbies could develop as a secondary aspect of earning badges. For example: Earning the hiking badge may spark interest in hiking. Earning a wildlife badge may inspire an interest in bird watching. Speaking of, here is the best book for this age for beginning birdwatchers!!! http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/005415/b60f370c2513f62313fc8541 (Dd5 has developed into a birdnerd due to earning the birds badge for Frontier Girls). --------------------------------------- Music: Instruments make wonderful hobbies. IME (and I have worked and lived in a LOT of households that do it all different ways), instruments are appreciated when a certain level of proficiency is met; so if you purchase an instrument, make sure your son practices a little each day. Plus, lessons are expensive!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2boyzez Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 How about coin collecting? My boys are a little older and have gotten into it through Boy Scouts merit badges, but its definitely doable for a boy your son's age. You could even link it up with geography. Check out BSA coins on ebay and you can purchase a lot of 50 coins from 10 countries to get him started. We keep ours in a binder with sheets filled with 2x2s (folded coin sleeves). The kids love to look through theirs. They are quite proud of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Loverboy collects coins. One easy way to start is to find a penny from each year going back.....as far as you can. Loverboy hoards pennies so that if the girls ever do a coin collecting badge, they won't have any trouble finding "old" ones (from 1975 or so). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 my 7 year old has an extensive collection of knock-knock jokes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcara Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 my 7 year old has an extensive collection of knock-knock jokes Love this!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcara Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 I agree that it is way too early for him to specialize in anything. I'm just looking for ideas of things I might suggest to him to see what he's interested in. Maybe things he hasn't thought of before. He's right in the middle of 4 girls with a baby brother and is kind of at an age when he's wanting to be different from his sisters. I'm just looking for some things he might be able to call his own and be proud of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 (edited) My 7yo DS enjoys: legos origami --he is amazingly talented at this! quilting/sewing --they love to make little monster stuffed animals :tongue_smilie: They also each made a pillowcase in their choice of fabric crochet photography and making silly videos drawing, painting, clay, etc. paper mache anything pirate related...he has a paper mache pirate hat :lol: gardening--he just started some cacti from seed and they are so cute (don't tell him I said that) We just got a birdhouse for them to put together, but haven't done it yet. I've been looking at some simple robot kits from RR. This one caught my eye: http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/047041/ef9ade132ea0dc1109fd3573 ETA: We got this for his B-day last year and it's a huge hit! He is able to complete the projects on his own. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ELK4JQ/ref=s9_simh_gw_p21_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=02R54D2V1VQQYKBJJV83&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846 Edited July 31, 2012 by Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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