Just wondering, if we as a community, could come up with a list of both FUN and productive ideas for pre teens when they have too much time on their hands on a weekend?
I have in mind a rather small group...with little supervision?? Probably spending a night or two together?
Anyone?
Thank you so much for all of your responses!
I was not actually asking for myself, but rather was hoping our recent trolls might find these suggestions beneficial!
Alas, it seems they have not.
Again, TY all for your responses. Kind of makes me wish the kiddos were all young again. Had some fun times when they were those ages!
Karaoke at a parents house. Bowling hanging out talking baking, community service - lice the animal shelter idea. Making jewelry like the nicer stuff not kid stuff
At that age (I assume you mean 10 to 12 or so?) my girls and their friends were mostly interested in their favorite TV shows, music and boys.
They also liked playing with clothes, hair and makeup.
Friendship bracelets and decorating/repurposing t shirts was a fun activity.
They still liked doing crafts (especially jewelry and bead crafts) and playing board and video games as well, especially Rock Band and Karaoke type games.
They also liked baking at that age, though they were much better at baking and decorating than they were at cleaning up lol!
At sleepovers they often told ghost/scary stories and pulled out the Ouija Board, and played other old school games like truth or dare.
But these are things they WANTED to do, if you are looking for something more educational or productive I might suggest giving them a challenge of some sort, like collecting food around the neighborhood for a local food bank. Offer them prizes or some other kind of incentive to make it interesting and fun.
If the list is good and comprehensive, even a mom could use some of the activities when we are bored!
First suggestion:
Have each girl bring only a said amount (say $20 each) and take them to a good thrift store for jeans, t-shirts, dvds, etc. They could spend hours there and whatever mom who took them can also use the hour to shop and then wait in the car.
Afterwards, go home have them launder the clothes and then have a fashion show.
This will teach a lifelong lesson on economics and an alternative to shopping retail. I only learned of thrift stores when I turned 40! I have been a regular ever since, rarely shopping retail for clothes, dishes and other used goods.
Fun question!
I'm not really sure what you are asking...
Would you be able to take them to an animal shelter to play with the animals there? Some require parental consent, so I don't know if that would work for your situation. But the cats and kittens especially love the snuggling and play time with people, and it helps them become acclimated to people and adjustment upon adoption.
Some places will allow you to "check out" a dog and take it off site for walks. Where I live, you can take them for a few hours and go walk them on the beach. (same issues with parental supervision/consent though).
If they are musically inclined, could they do a performance somewhere? My daughter goes at Christmas and plays Christmas music and classical music (piano) at the local hospice center. They love it.
If you have an assisted living facility in the area, perhaps you could ask if the kids could help with a small garden on site. Or build/paint a birdhouse they could install somewhere for the residents enjoyment. Or maybe they could pot some plants/flowers/bulbs and deliver those?
There are some fun games that are played on the Ellen DeGeneres show as well as Hollywood Game Night. You could choose the best ones and either buy, download or create your own economy version. I'm thinking of "Who Am I" and "Heads Up". I've seen them done with everything from iPads to post it notes, or stretchy headbands (like sweatbands) and velcro with magazine or internet photos attached. (They also have a marshmallow game but it's pretty dangerous if unsupervised - I'm actually shocked that Ellen does it since there have been deaths when the marshmallows soften and clog the throat. I'm just giving you the alert on that because you can find a lot of her games on YouTube, but that one's not good to teach kids especially if they will share it with their little siblings.)
By "productive", do you mean "socially valuable to others" or just "not entirely stupid involving the internet or prank calls"? Karaoke is fun for performers and extroverts. There have been a lot of posts lately on how to make dog and cat beds for shelters, using old tshirts, sweatshirts and sweaters. That's a great use of clothing that's stained but clean, and out of style. It's also easy to collect the raw materials from neighbors and relatives. You can also find instructions on line or at any fabric store for those no-sew fleece quilts that can be given to nursing homes, battered women's shelters, or to ambulances for transporting young children.
Make welcome bags for those shelters for women or kids - send the kids out ahead of time (perhaps with a letter from you) requesting donations from stores (most supermarkets will give you $25 in merchandise of your choosing) - think deodorant, sanitary products, new socks, etc. Ask area dentists for toothbrushes (kid or adult) and the small toothpaste tubes. Add in a small hair brush or mirror, whatever you can get on a small budget. Buy a roll of cellophane and some curling ribbon at the craft or party store, and make a little goody bag. If you need leads for a shelter, ask any local domestic violence hotline or your police department's domestic violence officer. They will not be able to tell you the location of shelters, but they can give you advice or connect you to someone by phone to get a wish list. Remember that these women and their kids often escape with nothing but the clothes on their backs. See if you can present the finished products directly to someone who will get them to the residents - it's great if the kids can do that with an intermediary rather than leaving things for you to deliver because it removes them one step from the reality.
Bake cookies or healthy breads (zucchini, banana, cranberry) or muffins for the police and firefighters working the night shift? Take the girls down there to present it?
I love the thrift shop idea!
I was going to suggest manicures, pedicures and facials. Or cooking and baking.
Scavenger hunt at night in the back yard with flashlights...
What about unsupervised time online, maybe surfing parenting websites?
;-)
We often build a bonfire and provide hotdogs and marshmallows. The kids love it. We also have a zipline in our woods and the kids love to light up the platform with battery operated lanterns. :-)
