So you’ve just moved into your new home and you are strapped for cash. With all the moving costs that go into getting a new place, you can’t dream of taking the kids out for fun. Here are some ways to keep children entertained without television, video games or cash.
- Cartoon Strip – You may remember doing this when you were a kid. Using a note pad sketch a dog, cat or stick figures on a sheet. Repeat the sketch in different positions on each consecutive page. When you quickly flip past the pages, your children will have an entertaining cartoon strip that they help create all on their own.
- Collage – Using old magazines, construction paper, child safe scissors and glue, create themed collages.
- Popsicle House – With Popsicle sticks and glue create a home. Your children can even decorate the house with colored macaroni, glitter and colored markers.
- Hide and Seek – This game never gets old and children can’t get enough of it.
- Creative story telling – Start a story and take turns adding to it, giving every child a chance to add his part. Time the segments so it’s fair.
- Charades – Guessing games are fun and encourage group participation. While one person acts out the title of a movie, a character, song title of an object of their choice everyone else tries to guess what it is by making guesses based on your actions.
- Duck-Duck-Goose – Have everyone sit around in a circle facing each other. Walk around the circle tapping everyone on the head saying “duck” until choosing “goose”. Who ever is goose will start a chase around the circle. The object of the game is for goose to catch the person who is “it” before he takes his seat.
- Puzzles – Working on a puzzle is fun and gives children a sense of accomplishment when it is finally complete.
- Household Band – Kids can make music by using ordinary household items such as tin cans, buckets, utensils, clapping hands, stomping feet and dancing. Give the children a chance to practice and record their finished product.
- Simon Says – As “Simon” give the children simple tasks like “Simon says touch your nose” do this consecutively and purposely give a task without saying “Simon says” The ones who do the task have lost. Take turns being Simon.