The school day is done and the kids are home. It’s time to think of something to do. If you don’t want your kids to plop down in front of the television as soon as they get home, an activity that leads to childhood obesity according to the Centers for Disease Control, inspire your kids to stay active.
The good news is that you don’t have to break the bank to participate in entertaining after-school activities with your kids. With a bit of imagination and creativity, you and the kiddos can spend time together as a family having a great time. Here are five fun things that you and the kids can do after school on the cheap.
1. Play Some Old-School Games
Those games that you loved as a kid are still fun to play. Take the kids outside and play a game of Capture the Flag, Double Dutch, Pickle in the Middle, or Four Square. Chances are that unless you’ve already introduced your kids to these games, they have no idea what they’ve been missing. You can find a comprehensive list of the games you used to love but may have forgotten about here. Don’t stand by and watch your kids play; get in there and participate.
2. Scavenger Hunt
If you have time while the kids are in school, set up a scavenger hunt outside. In fact, you don’t have to use any of your own materials if you don’t want to. Challenge your little ones to find something gray, a number, a word, something round, or anything else that you can find that takes a little bit of searching. Make a list of 10 to 20 items, and let your kids compete against one another to be the first to check off the entire list.
3. Tape Ball
If you have a roll of masking tape and a few scrap pieces of paper, you have hours of fun at hand. Make a web of masking tape in a doorway. Take a Sharpie and mark point values for different places on the web. Hand your kids a ball made of crumpled paper and challenge them to score points. You can vary the difficulty of this game by using fewer or more strips of masking tape, raising or lowering point values, or making your balls bigger or smaller.
4. Cooperative Sidewalk Art
You only need a sidewalk, a timer and a package of sidewalk chalk for this fun game. Let the first child pick out a piece of chalk. When you yell “go,” your child begins a drawing on the sidewalk. Each child is given 30 seconds to draw. At the end of 30 seconds, the next child takes a piece of chalk and continues the drawing. Give each child an equal number of turns to draw. Consider setting a time limit for the drawing of five to 10 minutes to keep it fun. If your kids are still interested, begin a new round of drawing.
According to popular kids company Oh Mama, this can also be a great indoor game with nothing but a piece of paper and some crayons. They say, “while using chalk is the traditional version, those that live in snowy places shouldn’t have to miss out. The game works just as well indoors using crayons and a large sheet of paper so everyone can participate.”
5. Can Bowling
Most homes have a baseball or two, and you can save tin cans from dinner. Help the kids decorate clean tin cans with paper, paint and ephemera. Stack the cans in a pyramid two feet in front of a wall in the family room or kitchen. Put a pillow behind the cans and against the wall to prevent errant balls from damaging your paint job. Let the kids use baseballs to bowl the cans over. Keep score or don’t; the beauty is that the choice is yours.
Time after school doesn’t have to be spent in front of the television. When you use your imagination and the things you have sitting around the house, you and your kids have plenty of things to do. Use these ideas as they are, or use the ideas as a springboard for your own imaginative activities.
