Children's Game and Activity Boxes

Indoor Creative Solutions for Elementary Age Boredom Busters

Aug 10, 2009

Providing parents and babysitters with innovative approaches to developing creative activities designed to capture the interest of school age children.

The start of the school year often means hours of homework, sports, and additional extra-curricular activities that keep children and parents alike hopping from one event to the next. However, there are still days where there is no planned activity to monopolize time.

In this modern age of video games on cell phones, the internet, television, movies, and video games, it appears inconceivable to an adult that a child would run out of things to do. Children today are used to being constantly inundated with a To Do List, and so creative entertainment techniques are foreign to them.

One solution to this dilemma of impromptu entertaining is to create an activity box. An activity box is simply a shoe box or coffee can that sits in a convenient location in the house. It is filled with craft sticks or popsicle sticks on which are written ideas for activities.

Indoor Activity Ideas

Read 1 chapter of a book
Color 1 page in a coloring book
Make 1 beaded bracelet
Draw 1 picture
Watch 1 30-minute TV show
Write a short story
Act out your favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Play a board game
Sing along with the radio 3 songs
Dance to 3 songs
Create a dance to your favorite song

Outdoor Activity Ideas

Ride bikes
Play catch
Run through sprinklers
Find an interesting flower to dry
Locate 2 interesting rocks
Hide items in yard for a scavenger hunt
Search for insects

Each activity box needs to be specifically tailored to the child for which it is intended. As the child’s interests and talents evolve, the contents of the box need to evolve as well. Some examples of arts and crafts activities to try include napkin rings, placemats, and masks. Parents may also want to let each child decorate his or her own box as one of the activities.

One way to ensure that children will use the activity box is to give them 1/2 to 3/4 of the sticks that will go into the box and let them create their own set of activities. This stick set can be modified, added to, or adjusted by the parents, but when children know that there is a 50% chance or better of pulling an activity that they themselves created, will increase the likelihood of the system being used. In a short period of time after implementing this system, children will be more creative and have more fun.

The copyright of the article Children's Game and Activity Boxes in Kids Indoor Activities is owned by Cecilia Johnson. Permission to republish Children's Game and Activity Boxes in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.