Free Activities for Kids: 5 Things to Do Today with Your Kids

Here are five simple and fun activities for kids that take minimal preparation and set up--perfect for summer's slower pace.

1.Watch the clouds while laying on a blanket and eating a popcicle.

2. Do the Hokey Pokey. Seriously. Just do it. Here's a video with music to get you started.


Now do it again!

3.Balance a ping pong ball on a spoon. Put a ping pong (or similar) ball on a spoon and see who can carry it the longest without dropping the ball. Create an obstacle course if you're feeling really ambitious.

4. Play 'What am I?'  This is a fun guessing game that works critical thinking skills. Adjust the clues accordingly for age. Here's an example.

I am small.
I have wings.
I'm red and black.
I'm a real lady.
What am I?

5.Play I Spy with flashlights in the dark. This is best done at night, but a dim room would work too. Use flashlights as pointers. Kids love to play with flashlights! We do this a lot at bedtime and there's no more complaining about having to got to bed--they can't wait to turn on their flashlights.

Animal Addiction: 5 Steps for a Spectacular Safari

Here's a list of some fun animal inspired games and websites that will be sure to provide several hours of fun.

1. The ABCs with animals. This game is perfect for waiting rooms or while running errands. Take turns naming animals that start with each letter of the alphabet. Anteater, Bumblebee, Cat etc... This will get kids thinking and eat time with discussions of the difference between an anteater and aunteater (Shel Silverstein has a cute poem on this very topic).

2. Walk this way. Avoid parking lot meltdowns by asking kids to hop like a bunny, waddle like a duck, march like an ant etc... on their way into the store. How many different animals can you come up with? Do a bit of role reversal too and have your kids t

3. Visit www.switchzoo.com where kids can design their own wild kingdom for free. Every wonder what a praying mantis crossed with a buffalo might look like? You can find out on this website!

4. Check out the San Diego Zoo webcams to see what animals are doing in real time. Just click on the Live cams tab at the top of the page and select which animal you would like to watch.

5. Bussongs.com has the lyrics and, in some cases, music to a whole menagerie of animal songs.

6.Don't forget to set up a jungle hunt or safari. For older kids, hide some stuffed animals around the house/yard and give them a list of what they need to find. Younger kids will enjoy following a string of yarn to the animal's hidden location.

Happy hunting!

Free Activity For Almost Any Age: Use Toilet Paper Like An Egyptian

It's a dreary day of thunderstorms and pounding rain  here at the Juice household, meaning there's no way to go outside and burn off energy. We've colored, built towers, watched Elmo, and been to Gymboree and we still have four hours until bed time.

What to do?

Why, break out ancient Eypgtian arcehology and toilet paper, of course. Isn't it obvious? This activity is messy and a bit wasteful, but if you do it right, toilet paper will buy you an hour of free time. Here's how...

1. For older kids, make like an Egyptian and TP your offspring. Yes, I'm serious. First, visit National Geographic's mummy page or Discovery Kids Mummy Maker to learn about mummies. Then, hand kids a roll of toilet paper and instruct them to make themselves into mummies. Supply stickers and markers for children to decorate their bandages with. This is a great activity for sibling groups because they will help wrap each other up.

Then play Walk Like An Egyptian by the Bangles and encourage a mummy dance party. (Discussion of the 80s pop culture movement is optional and perhaps better left unexplained.)

2.For older preschool age kids or younger elementary age kids, use toilet paper as a measuring tape and have kids number the squares sequentially in marker. For example, how many toilet paper squares tall is your child? How big around?

Wrap them up in toilet paper or let them wrap and unwrap you. Play TP catch or roll TP on the floor to see who can unravel the most toilet paper in one push.

3.Toddlers will marvel at how the toilet paper unravels as it rolls. Put on some upbeat music and let them run wild. If they have the coordination to kick, play TP soccer, which for toddlers means kicking TP around the room, missing often, and occassionally wiping out.

4.For infants, substitute tissue paper for toilet paper and use a pacifier to avoid unwanted snacking. Tissue paper works better for infants because it's more durable, comes in a variety of colors and designs, and crinkles delightfully in little fists. It provides sight, sound, and tactile stimulation to get baby's brain buzzing.

5.Most kids would enjoy toilet paper streamers in a door way for an impromptu, sensory stimulating curtain that will take peek-a-boo to a whole new level. Secure streamers with painter's tape to minimize potential damage to wall finishes.

Mess Control

You will have toilet paper every where if you don't confine kids to one room. Shut doors, lock the baby gates, and set some ground rules.

Provide a trash bin and suggest kids dispose of toilet paper they are finished with.

If you want parenting time-out, though, let the kids run wild in limited space and deal with the mess later.

Engage kids in the clean up by making it a race to see who can clean up the most toilet paper first.


Photo Credit:jeltovski