50 Ways to Spend Time with Your Kids
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You’ve heard that expression that kids spell love t-i-m-e. Well, if you’re like me, you spend so much t-i-m-e doing school with your kids that it can be hard to make quality time for the non-academic things. That’s why I wanted to make a list of fun ways to spend time with your kids – it’s my cheat sheet when I’m out of ideas and I wanted to share it with you.
Color (It’s relaxing and gets your creative juices flowing.)
![IMG_4453[3]](https://weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/IMG_44533.jpg)
Paint
Draw
Sculpt with Play-Doh
Make collages from old magazine photos or fabric scraps
Watch TV (Let them pick the show!)
Make s’mores – indoors or out or make fake s’mores with graham crackers, Nutella, and marshmallows
Crunch leaves
Go for a walk around your neighborhood
Take a nature hike
Play video games (even if you stink at them)
Bake cookies
Fix a meal – for yourself or someone else
Play board games (Flat Traveler optional)
![IMG_4271[3]](https://weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_42713.jpg)
Teach them a new card game
Go out for ice cream
Make milkshakes at home
Toss a ball (football, baseball, tennis ball)
Have a Nerf gun war
Have flashlight wars
Have a pillow fight
Make shadow puppets on the wall
Make paracord bracelets
![IMG_3777[3]](https://weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IMG_37773.jpg)
String beads or buttons to make jewelry
Draw on the window with dry-erase markers
Build a fort with boxes or pillows
Stay in your PJs and watch a movie (don’t forget the popcorn!)
Make puppets and a puppet theater, then put on a show
Go grocery shopping, just the two of you (and let your child pick out some candy or a small treat)
Make Shrinky Dinks
Pick flowers for a bouquet
Ask them about their hopes and dreams…and listen
Visit the library
Play dress-up or have a fashion show
Learn a new skill (They can teach you!)
Chat with each other by text message (Yes, it sounds crazy, but my oldest will often tell me things by text that she feels uncomfortable saying to me face-to-face.)
Build something (Yes, with hammers and nails…boys like that.)
Take your cameras (or cellphone cameras) and go take pictures of stuff
Clean their room together (Maybe not on the top of the list, but productive, helpful, and they often don’t mind doing it, they just don’t know where to start and don’t like being in there alone.)
Turn some music up – LOUD – and dance
Use fingerprints to make ink stamp pictures
Tell stories
Play Legos
Go for a drive
Do a craft project
Do a service project
Melt old crayons into nifty-colored new ones
What suggestions would you add to the list?
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Wendy is one of the owners of Hip Homeschool Moms, Only Passionate Curiosity, Homeschool Road Trips, Love These Recipes, and Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She married her high school sweetheart, Scott, 31 years ago, and they live in the South. They have three adult children. Hannah, age 27, has autism and was the first homeschool graduate in the family. Noah, age 25, was the second homeschool graduate and the first to leave the nest. Mary Grace, age 19, was the last homeschool graduate. Wendy loves working out and teaching Training for Warriors classes at her local gym. She also enjoys learning along with her family, educational travel, reading, and writing, and she attempts to grow a garden every summer with limited success. (But she's learning!)
Geocaching!!
Oh, I love this list! 🙂