Games and Activities for School-Age Children

Word Games

• Most word games do not require boards or game equipment, making them excellent for car rides or rainy days. Try playing word bluff, in which one person chooses an obscure word from the dictionary and writes down its meaning. Everyone else writes a made-up definition on a piece of paper, and everybody votes on the definition they think is correct. Crossword puzzles and jumbles are word games that children can play alone.

Arts and Crafts

• Arts and crafts activities allow kids to work creatively and improve motor coordination. Give children drawing paper, crayons, colored pencils or watercolors and let them create a picture. Using modeling clay lets kids work with their hands and create a small sculpture. Older children can build an airplane or birdhouse from a kit under the supervision of an adult.

Scavenger Hunt

• Set up a scavenger hunt for kids that takes them throughout the house or neighborhood. Each clue should contain a riddle or hint about the location of the next. Leave small tokens, such as toys or coins, along the way to keep kids interested. Hide a prize at the end, or reward the children with an ice cream sundae or other treat.

Outdoor Games

• Outdoor sports keep kids active, promoting healthy body weight and self-esteem. Encourage kids to organize a neighborhood soccer or kickball game. Playing flashlight tag, broom hockey or four square are other outdoor activities that keep children occupied. Let kids make up their own game rules or invent a new game.

Card Games

• Card games are easy, require little equipment and can be played indoors on a rainy day. The games crazy-eights, go fish, UNO and gin rummy have simple rules that school-age kids can follow. Card games improve children's counting and pattern recognition skills. Playing solitaire is a fun activity for a kid playing alone.