Any Ideas?? First Summer Home With All Four Kids And I Am Running Out Of Cheap, Fun Stuff To Do?
They are 3 girls- 10,10 and 9 months and 1- 9 year old boy…The baby is easy to entertain and my biological 10 year old will keep herself busy by reading or whatever. The other kids are my full time step kids… the girl “is bored” and will just sit there and stare at me while I am doing housework or making dinner. The boy is content with just sitting there and playing the gameboy or computer. We are VERY short on money this summer since it was unexpected that I would be quitting work to stay home let alone that they would come to live with us full time.
Any ideas would be great. We have done the museums on free day, the zoo on cheap day, the library, the free water sprinkler park…
I don’t mean to gripe, but…
Should I have to “find” things for the 10 and 9 year old to do while I am making dinner and such? Shouldn’t they at least be able to entertain themselves with all the stuff they have?
Tagged with: Cheap • First • Four • Home • Ideas • Kids • Running • Stuff • Summer • With
Filed under: Free Baby Stuff
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
I am a stay at home mom myself. I have four girls, 7, almost 6, 3 and 7 months. I know very well how hard it is to keep the kids out of your hair and not feel guilty about “neglecting” them. But what I’ve figured out is that it’s ok to let them entertain themselves. In fact that has become a well-worn phrase in our house, “go entertain yourselves.” The library is a stay at home mom’s life boat. All kids, if they’re bored enough and don’t have learning problems, will read if they are allowed to read what intrests them. Giving kids chores (I’m not a slave driver or anything) is also a good way to keep them busy. I read somewhere that parents who spend too much time focusing on their kids do damage to the child independence and to the parent’s relationship. Kids need to be given a little instruction and some materials and left to their own devices sometimes. My oldest (step-daughter) likes anything artsy. I hate artsy. lol. But a coloring book and a box of crayons is enough to keep her busy most of the time.
But basically, if you give them some genuine, focused attention on a regular basis, they will be just fine “entertaining themselves” the rest of the time. It sounds like you do that. The zoo, water sprinkler park? Hello! Kids love that stuff. Keep up the good work and kudos to you for be willing to stay home with the kids. Remember to do something for you, at least once a week and take 15 minutes every day to breath and relax and pat yourself on the back.
i went to the craft store and bought a few items, then i went to yard sales and bought boardgames, I also went to the town and got the pass for the car so I can go to the beaches and town parks, I also made a point to get tennis rackets and balls and go to the local park and play with them. I also get a family pass to the big zoo near us and can go whenever I want, and I pack a lunch and go. it is hard but I manage, also I ask the kids to help in all the chores because I don;t have a maid and can’t afford summercamps.
Hope this helps. Treat everone the same and try hard to make this summer fun for them, no pressure but i have a step daughter and I try for her to make her feel comfy here since this is her home too. i purchased a trampoline and make then go out and play.
Why not involve them in what you are doing? Let them measure, or cut, or flip or what have you. This gives you a great opportunity to have them learn some independence!
Even at 10 yrs old you can have so many options, that none of them sound good. Why not suggest having a friend over. Or let them go to a friends house. Set up the sprinkler outside and give them some of those water footballs to toss at each other. Give them water balloons and let them fill them in the hose. As a last resort, if they are refusing to play board games with each other, refuse to play outside with their bikes/scooters/skates/water play, and are just following you around…
That is when you inform them that you will find them things to do, starting with cleaning up their room. To clean up their room they can donate all the toys they don’t want to keep because they don’t want to play with them. Give them big garbage bags and tell them to fill them up. Once they are done with that they can start helping you around the house. I am sure there is dusting, laundry, dishes, bathrooms, you know, everything that they make messes out of.
Yeah they should but i know what you mean. When your making dinner or doing dishes they stare at you in complete boredom and make you feel guilty.
It’s not your job to entertain them! Are there some board games in the house? Puzzles? There’s something for them to do. You could send them out to ride bikes or some other exercise. That would be good for them.
if you feal like entertaining them and perhaps doing some educational stuff have them do a project that you can look up online. like.. make a piramade and talk about how they made it and stuff. it says your doing homework.. maby to even help you you can ask them to quiz you or encorperate what your learning with them. if your learning math then maby teach them something that has to do with it..
oh and the dollar tree is a very awesome place with about everything.
As a trained chef (and primary mealmaker in the house), I’m all for getting the children involved with the cooking. Your 10 and 9-year olds can be a huge help in the kitchen, and not just with the dishes – measuring, mixing, stirring, and simple cutting. Just keep an eye on them at the stove and with electric equipment. Also, work with them on knife skills and judge what kind of cutting and kives they’re ready for. Kids are more likely to enjoy food if they have a vested interest in it, and having helped make it is a huge investment. It also teaches them valuable life skills – how to cook for and take care of themselves – so important!
For other ideas, a woman in our area (San Francisco) runs a workshop titled “101+ Fun Things to Do with your Child.” She has a great list on her web site: http://www.soulfulabundance.com/Email_newsletter.html
She has lots of ideas for things to do around the house. Some of the outing sugggestions are in the Bay Area, but you might have similar places near you.
Good luck!
My step kids are about the same age (5, 8, 9, 11) and they were doing the same thing to me until they finally left to visit relatives for a month this summer! They are so used to having their days filled with school, friends, and homework that they don’t know what to do with themselves. When did the town beach a lot, we went to the park, went on a few nature walks, etc. I got them an expensive slip n slide…that lasted one day! Finally I got to the point where I told them if they couldnt find something to do on their own, I would find something for them! At that age I feel like they should be able to keep themselves occupied. Organize a kick ball game or play hide n seek outdoors. My kids were playing hide n seek with cheap water guns. Whoever got squirted was “it”. I also let them do water balloons one day. I bought a large package and told them to fill them up with the hose. (just make sure they pick up the pieces of popped balloon!). All you can do is offer them suggestions/buy them cheap things and tell them to use their imaginations. School is almost here! Hang in there.
Put them to work helping you and when you get done, take them swimming(i used to LOVE swimming at that age) it is good exercise. Put a 1500 piece puzzle together, play UNO, take them to a historical place, like living history.Water balloon fights(fill a few with kool aid just for fun).
go to a thrift store and buy some cheap board games
buy some really cheap craft items,such as paper,paints,brushes,glue,and glitter.beads,sparkly things etc. go to the library and find craft/baking books
get the kids to help prepare dinner!. do fun things like buy pizza bases and let them decorate their own.
ask the kids what they would like to do,and make a weekly roata so that everyone gets a turn. there are lots of free things to do.go on nature walks and collect small smooth rocks,the kids can paint on them and glaze with varnish. they can play outdoor games,in the yard,or take them to a large space of grass if there isnt any where you live.
look in the library for adverts for free things to do,
why not brainstorm witht he kids. get a huge piece of paper,and everyone throw around ideas-then whittle them down to the feasible ones.
Enjoy!
There are tons of things to do that don’t require any money at all. The trick is to think like a kid does.
You can go on a nature walk, picking up leaves and flowers that you find interesting along the way. Then have them do a craft that uses the items that they collected on their walk. Crafts are an easy way to keep them occupied while you catch up on household duties.
For the child that is computer savvy, teach him how to start a blog or do research on the web. Then send him on a online treasure hunt to find out random facts about all sorts of different topics. For instance: ask him how many oreos can you stack end to end to make it to the moon? It may take a bit of time, but the answer is out there.
If they like animals, offer to dog sit for a neighbor for the day and let them take turns taking care of the dog. Then let them loose in the backyard to give him a bath. It will be wet and messy, and they will love it.
Good luck!