Hobbies And Interests
For Sports Fans
Challenge your boys to come up with a safe indoor sport on rainy days. Tell them they must first come up with the concept, object, rules and a tournament. Give them some guidelines, such as which room the sport can be played in and which activities the sport must exclude, such as throwing balls or jumping off furniture. Have the boys write down the important information into a rule book and then implement the plan. If boys are at a loss for ideas, suggest tossing round container lids into large pots placed around a room, sock juggling or mini golf using spatulas and paper cups. Give the sports names that relate to the boys' interests, such as "Ninja Disc Throw" or "Pocket Monster Golf Tournament."
For Aviation Fans
Air shows have captured the attention of boys for a century. That's why a paper airplane show will bring sunshine on the rainiest day. Grab a paper airplane idea book from the library and tell your boys to come up with their own jet fleets. Provide paper in various colors and weights, as well as markers, paper clips and tape. Remind boys that the secret to a great flight is a lightweight plane that gets a good launch. Once the airplanes are made and decorated, the boys can hold their own air show. Include contests for the best-looking and most innovative planes. Hold additional contests to see which plane flies the farthest and fastest.
For Super Heroes
Use a rainy day to turn your boys' fascination with super heroes into a comic book project. Encourage them to invent new super heroes and make their own comic books. Help them by setting up drawing stations at tables in your home. Stock each table with the tools the boys will need. Place paper and pencils at one station where boys will sketch out super heroes and their arch enemies. At another station, leave instructions to come up with a story line that includes a problem to be resolved. At another table, provide colored markers and paper with story panels for comics. Finally, create a stapling station where boys can collect their papers and staple them together into new volumes of their super hero adventures. Hold a reading afterward so the boys can share their super heroes.
For Young Bankers
Help your boys learn about math and money with a project to create their own play cash. Like the comic project, this project works well with stations. Set up one station where boys will design and draw their money; another station where they will cut out the dollars; another station where they will dip the paper into pans of water, and a final station where they will hang the money to dry on a clothes line. When the money is dry, it will have a crinkly feel like real money. Allow the boys to buy household items with their pretend money, such as snacks and drinks. Throw in a lesson on banking, saving and investing to make it even more educational.