Let us have some fun with our kids!
Are you looking for easy and entertaining activities that are fun, educational and do not cost a lot?
There are so many wonderful activities that you can do on a long and boring weekend, rainy day or whenever. Let us start with the basics.
Fun activities for Children:
Cooking and Baking with kids: 
There are many kid- friendly recipes that you can try with your kids. It is a great opportunity to teach your kids some math. Exact measurements while you are baking make a difference to how something will taste or come out, therefore you must know your math!
Let us start with the basics:
- Make sure you have the ingredients!
- Now for easy clean up, I spread a plastic tablecloth before I start baking so that the table and counter shouldn’t get full of drips and flour.
Here are two fool proof recipes that you can try:
Chocolate chip cookies 
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
2 TBSP hot water
2 eggs
2 2/3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 package chocolate chips ( 2 cups)
Preheat oven to 375′. Beat butter, sugar, water and eggs. Mix in the rest of the ingredients besides the chocolate chips. Drop balls from spoon or form balls with hand. Place cookies on un-greased cookie sheet about 2 inches away from one another. Bake for 8-9 minutes.
Peanut butter cookies:
1 cup creamy peanut butter 3/4 cup sugar 1 egg 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1 cup chopped chocolate
Preheat oven to 350′. Mix first 4 ingredients, then stir in the chocolate. Drop 1 TSBP. of dough onto lined cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake 12- 14 minutes until puffy. Cool.
There are other recipe that you can try without baking, how about making your own play-dough?
Playdough recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1/2 water
3 to 5 drops of food coloring
Instructions:
Mix together flour and salt. Mix separately the water and food coloring, slowly add the water mixture to the flour and salt mixture. Stir as you pour. Knead with hands. If it is too sticky add more flour.
Keep the play dough in an air tight container. I like to give the children some materials to use to help them sculpt, play and build.
- rolling pins
- cookie cutters
Arts n crafts:
There are many different type of arts and crafts that you can create with children beyond the crayons and markers. I like to give them collage materials and glue and let them feed their own imagination.
Collage materials can included:
- buttons
- scrap pieces of materials
- cut straws
- googly eyes
- beads
- beans
- tissue paper
Be careful around little children for these can be a choking hazard.
Other times I like to give them set crafts to design. I would collect socks with missing pairs and have them create puppets out of them.
Reading time:
There are many wonderful books for all ages. I sometimes sit through and read Amazons reviews on books and flip through the pages. I like buying books that have a lesson so that I can reread it numerous times to the children.
Public libraries are wonderful resources to borrow books for free. Many times a public library can get you a book you are interested in form one of their branches if they do not have one at the location you are in.
Brooklyn, NY has many libraries as do most boroughs in NYC and around the US states. In addition, many of the libraries offer classes and educational workshops besides books. Sometimes they may have a read aloud for young children too. Take a look!
Board games:
Games promote many skills making it an ideal way to learn and play. children learn to share, work cooperatively and use their heads to solves problems and to help them win.
There are many reviews on games, however I like to start with the classic board games and move on from there.
Monopoly
Rummicub
Settlers of catan
Scattergories
apples to apples
hoot owl hoot
chess
clue
jenga
spot it
telestrations
labyrinth
battleship
pandemic
ticket to ride
life
hedbanz
suspend
guess who
scrabble
blokus
trouble
sorry
zingo
rush hour
5 second rule
qwirkle
charades for kids
twister
stratego
mancala
Puppet shows:
Give your children the opportunity to put up a show for their dolls and you! Use the puppets that either they created, stuffed animals or real puppets to enact a scene or story.
Painting:
Painting is something that is calming and relaxing. Finger paints is great for sensory pleasure. Painting can help children describe a scene and lets them become artistic and creative.
Lay out a plastic tablecloth around the painting area so that the things should not get dirty. Put on a smock or a junk article of clothing, roll up sleeves and begin!
If water is needed nearby , keep a small cup handy though make sure the cup is sturdy and won’t tip.
Painting is great way to learn about colors and see what happens when you mix and blend colors, let the children experiment. Ask them if anyone can get a green or purple!
blue+red=purple
white+red=pink
red+yellow=orange
yellow+blue=green
red+green=brown
black+white=gray
Letter writing:
Writing letters improves handwriting vocabulary and ELA Skills. Choose to write letters to a pen pal, grandparent, cousin, birthday child or just about anyone. Everyone nowadays loves to receive letters for they are not too common! All we mostly get in the mail is bills so write right away!
Letters can include a description of your day, a paragraph about yourself your family and your hobbies or just a follow up from the last time you spoke.
Water Games:
Playing with water is great for sensory needs however it is a great calming technique and perfect for those long afternoons. You can either fill up a bathtub or sink and places various toys and tools for experimentation.
You must watch your children at all times to prevent accidents. I like to fill up my kitchen sink and have the children play nearby as I cook or bake.
Place various items some that float and others that sink. To add some zest and excitement you can color the water by adding a few drops of food coloring, (Be careful for it may stain clothing and toys placed inside).
Do you have any great ideas or fun activities for children while on a budget? Let us know!
