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Children's Games for Baby-sitting

It can be difficult to think of new and interesting things to do with children while their parents aren't home. There are many ideas out there that don't involve a lot of outside resources and are a lot of fun for both you and the children. Play guessing games, make something in the kitchen, do a fun photo project or get active with the kids outside.

Guessing Games
- Tell stories while out for a walk.
  
  Baby sitters can engage children with interactive activities that stimulate creativity. Play "I-Spy," or think of a word in a given topic or a number and have the children guess. Get the children out of the house and go for a walk to the park or around the block and make up stories about the things you see. Try to guess what they learned at school that day and make up silly stories that make them laugh. For example, "Today, in history class you learned about a talking cat that lives deep in the forests of Africa and sings the other animals to sleep at night, right? And then in math class, you learn that 2 times 3 equals 11." Have the child explain what they really learned at school.
Food Activities
- Take available vegetables and make a funny face.
  
  Bake cookies, banana bread or your specialty dish with the children you baby-sit. Allow them to help you measure ingredients. The kids will feel a sense of accomplishment and will be proud to share the homemade dish with their parents. Make pancakes or macaroni and cheese, for example, and create an interesting design in the dish. Make faces and interesting shapes with the pancake batter, or use olives, carrots and other ingredients to decorate the top of a bowl of mac and cheese.
Silly Tag
- Play active games with children who have a lot of energy.
  
  Make up your own tag game for active children. Assign silly actions to different parts of the yard. For example, tell the children, "If I'm 'it' and I tag you at the fence in the left corner of the yard, you have to jump on one foot while barking like a dog. If you're tagged by the bush under the window, you have to turn around in a circle six times." Other silly actions can include reciting the alphabet, doing a somersault or jumping jacks, singing "Jingle Bells," giving whoever is "it" three hugs or giving a high-five to another player.
Scrapbook
- Get busy with children who like to be creative and draw.
  
  For children who like to color and do crafts, have fun making a scrapbook project with them. Let the project cover at least two baby-sitting sessions with the children. Take photos of each child doing different activities by themselves and with siblings or parents. Have them smile at the camera; get them in action playing or dancing or looking serious. Bring the prints the next time you baby-sit, along with construction paper, stickers and crayons or markers for a fun scrapbooking session. Tape or paste the photos to different-colored pieces of paper and decorate them together with stickers and colors. The children will have a lasting memory, and a special book that they helped make themselves.

Kids Games