Fun for elementary kids, age 6-9

Fun for Kids 6 to 9 Years old

sidewalk chalk

It is 3 times the thickness of regular chalk because the rough cement or pavement chews it up so quickly. It is a cheap thrill since you can buy it at dollar stores or Walmart. Kids can draw pictures, write slogans, draw hopscotch and other games to play, as well as drawing roads for bikes and scooters. The next time it rains, it all disappears. A paintbrush and water can be almost as good--the pavement or cement turns dark where the water is drawn, then the picture disappears as soon as the water evaporates.

Build a Tent with Sheets and Furniture

This will require some help from Mom or Dad to set up, but after that, provides a novel play place that will entertain for a long time--the perfect answer for what to do on a rainy day. Grab 2 or 3 flat bed sheets and clothes pins or C-clamps or string (what ever you have on hand) and find places to drape the sheets, and fasten the corners to higher places(doors, cupboards, bookshelves, etc.) so kids can play under the tents. Even so, the middle sags pretty low, so a broom pushed up in the middle can make the tent ceiling a little higher. Tables are the easiest place, and you can expand the play area by pulling the chairs away from the table and draping the sheets over the chairs. Make the experience even funner by serving a “picnic” lunch in the tent.

Decorate photos

This is a surprisingly fun little activity--give each child several photos of themselves and family members, along with markers, stickers, and white-out. A few well placed stickers or lines can transform them into pirates, prison inmates, or princesses. They may need some coaxing to get them to believe you that it is o.k. to desecrate photos, since they are probably often told to keep their fingers off the photos! This activity costs very little, especially if you use photos that you were just going to throw away anyway--duplicates, pictures that are too dark, or pictures where the kids are scowling (I bet I am not the only mother who has had that happen!!)

Make objects with clay

Play dough kits provide all kinds of gadgets to make play food, vehicles, people, etc. The problem with play dough is that it doesn’t dry well, so once you make the items, the various colors can’t be separated, and the whole glob gets mashed back into the container and as the colors mix, turns to brown or gray. If you use Model Magic, Your children’s cute little projects can be saved and showcased for a long time. The best ones can be used as Christmas tree decorations, and thus happy memories can be recalled every year-- ”Remember the year we made dinosaurs?” view more clay making ideas

Junk Sculpture

If you save just a few of your toilet paper and paper towel tubes, plastic lids, various sizes of cereal and cracker boxes--instead of throwing them all away, they can come in handy on a rainy day. When your kids get really bored (you generally know this when they are fighting like cats and dogs...wouldn’t it be nice if they would just walk up to you and say, “Mom, I’m bored.”?) Drag out some of this “trash” along with some craft materials such as tape, glue, and scissors, and see what their imaginations serve up--cars, battleships, robots, castles, games, or musical instruments, are just a few ideas. Wood scraps, or fabric scrap would keep them busy, too.

view houses made from cracker boxes

Beauty parlor

Just about every little girl loves to play with hair. If your daughter doesn’t have a sister, invite some friends over, or take a nap and let her play with your hair (what a great excuse to lie down, right?) If you like playing with hair, too, the experience becomes even more fun for your daughter and her friends. If you don’t have so many ideas for what to do, you can buy or borrow this Klutz book. While you are at it, check out the hair book for big girls--I think it has more ideas than this one (I don’t have a photo of it because I lent it to someone and never saw it again.)

Dress-ups

There are 2 Klutz books that are great for this--the dress up book shows you how to make a tutu out of newspaper or bubble wrap, a princess dress out of a tablecloth, as well as ideas that might appeal more to boys, such as pirates, super heros, how to make an arrow “through” your head, or hold your head under your arm. The other book to buy is the face paint book which comes with a pallet of face paints that last for a remarkably large number of painted faces (another book I loaned out that never got returned.) The kids can look at the photos to get inspired, then you can step in and help their dreams come true. Of course, you don’t need a book if you have old prom dresses you can hem up, or clip with clothespins. If you don’t have any, buy hats, shoes, skirts, and lacy blouses at Goodwill stores or garage sales.

Paper dolls

You may think that your girls would have no interest in such an old fashioned activity. That’s what I thought when my sister sent my daughters some American Girl paper dolls. Was I ever wrong! Perhaps it was because the dolls had books that gave the dolls a history. Children are not so good at cutting out their paper dolls at this age, so they will probably appreciate some help. If you wait until they are able to cut out their own, they may decide that they are too old to play with dolls anymore. If your daughter gets frustrated because the outfits won’t stay on, cover everything with contact paper, and fasten the outfits on with double stick tape. The contact paper makes it so you can remove the clothing without tearing them.

You can even make a paper doll of your daughter!! Take a photo of her in her bathing suit, and then in her favorite outfits. Enlarge them on a color copier, and glue the bathing suit photo onto thin cardboard (such as a cereal box) and cut it out. Then cut out the outfits, and be sure to cut tabs so the clothing can stay on.

Car Map

If you son loves to play with cars, you can buy inexpensive car mats; sometimes dollar stores even sell them. If you make your own, you have the advantage of being able to make a map of all the places you usually go--home, school, church, library, post office, McDonald’s, etc. I took photos of these places, and glued them to cardboard boxes that collapsed flat for storage (not shown here.) You can draw or paint it on an old sheet, fabric remnant, or plastic tablecloth. Unless your son has amazing navigation skills, this does not have to be to accurate, except perhaps the parts you walk in your neighborhood.

Paper Towel Tube Marble Chute

The simplest way to do this is to buy a toy. There are a number of different sets that are sold in toy stores that do this. One wooden set has magnets so you set up the course on your refrigerator. If you want to save money, you and your son can use cardboard tubes and cereal boxes to create a course. Ping-pong balls might be substituted for the home made version--just test the balls in the tubes to see if they fit before you spend a lot of time constructing it!! If it turns out particularly ingenious, you could take a video of it and post it on Youtube!

Milk Carton Paddle Boat

These really float and move! Cut the side off of a milk or juice carton so that the top of the carton now forms the prow. Use this to form the paddle wheel. Tape 2 dowels (or pencils or chopsticks) to the sides of the carton so they stick out 3 inches past the bottom of the carton (now the back.) Stretch a long rubber band or elastic band across the 2 sticks, and fasten the paddle wheel on it. Spin the paddle wheel so that the rubber band twists a number of times. Hold the paddlewheel in place, and put the boat on water (like a bathtub full of water.) Let go and watch it float!

Card Games

Teach your children easy card games, then when friends come to play, they will be able to play the games without help. It’s also an easy way to learn to have good sportsmanship--both for losing and winning.

Snap

The deck of cards is dealt to each player until there are no more cards. In turn, each child turns over his or her top card. The first player to see two matching cards and yell, “Snap!” gets all of the cards in those two stacks.

War

Use any deck of playing cards, but remove the king, queen, and jack. Deal all the cards to 2 players. Take turns turning the top card over. Who ever has a higher numbered card gets both cards. Other card game they might enjoy:

Uno

Go Fish,

Old Maid

Animal Rummy

Slamwich

Paper and Pencil Game

These come in handy when you find yourself with a bored child, and nothing to entertain (stuck in traffic, or waiting for food at a restaurant.)

Dots

Draw as many rows of dots as you have patience for. (notebook paper can help keep the rows straight.) Each player takes a turn drawing one line to intersect any two dots on the page (horizontal or vertical only). When ever a square is completed, that person gets to put her initial in the box, and gets the bonus of drawing another line. So DON’T draw that third line and give the other guy a chance to finish the square!! (of course, eventually you have to...)

Battleship

Use grid paper, or make grids out of notebook paper two per person. put letters above each line across the top, and numbers next to each line down the side.Mark your own 5 battleships with X’s on one grid, and mark

Tic-Tac-Toe (draughts and naughts)

Draw a grid with 9 spaces (3 rows of 3) and take turns writing “X” and “O” in the squares. The first person with 3 in a row wins.

Paint rocks

If your kids would not be inspired by a pile of rocks and some bottles of acrylic paint, then buy this book. It has so many cute ideas, you may need to hunt in the yard or take a walk to a nearby stream to find more rocks. This Klutz book only comes with one rock, so you might have to invest in a quarry if you kids really latch on to this craft!!

Pillow Fight

Imagine the shock on your child’s face if you hit him with a pillow. Then watch that look of shock turn to delight when he grabs another pillow and hits you back! You will want to make some rules to protect life and property! They might include something like: Pillow fights can only take place in the bedroom or basement, Do not hit to anyone wearing glasses, and Anyone can end the game by saying, “Please stop!”

Bathtub Bombs

Make a whole bunch of paper airplanes and boats. Each person can use a different color of construction paper to make their fleets. Half fill a tub or wading pool with water, and float all the boats. Then see if you can sink the boats with airplanes. The last boat floating wins.

Marshmallow Fight

You would never believe that I first experienced a marshmallow fight at a ladies’ retreat!! I thought it was a lot of fun. All you really need is a bag or two of marshmallows, and two enemy camps: just throw the marshmallows at each other. If you really want to get fancy, you can buy marshmallow shooters, but they cost about $30! Walmart has kits for making small ones that cost about $10. The cheapest way to shoot mini-marshmallows is to buy one foot of PVC pipe per person that is just the right diameter to snuggly fit a mini marshmallow. Stick a marshmallow in the end, and blow from the other end, and watch it fly!

Crafts

Wild Fun

Old Fashioned Fun

Games

Board Games

Have a family fun night once a week and play games together. This can become a nice family tradition and build lots of good memories. Once your kids get the hang each game, they will be able to play with each other or when their friends come to play, and entertain themselves. The cool thing is, they are learning all kinds of thinking skills even though they just think they are playing. I think my son was 9 years old when he started beating me every time we played 4 in a Row! Games sold in stores usually have ages written on the box, which is can help you avoid getting games that are too hard. Here are a few games to try:

4 in a Row

Life

Candy Land

Concentration

Ravensburger--this company makes all kinds of games for young children, though they are a bit pricey.

Fun for boys

Fun for Girls