Hobbies And Interests
Scrambled Words
Ages 7-10. Have an adult write or copy from a book a paragraph in scrambled-up words. Write the story so that most of the words are mixed up a little, "smoehting lkie tihs," then have the kids unscramble the words to reveal the story. To make it even more fun, have the story give clues to a scavenger hunt and let the kids run around the house or yard looking for prizes.
Write a Book
Ages 3-10. Gather a group of kids together. Different ages are fine. Get a white board and marker or a chalkboard and chalk. Have one child begin a story and ask each child to provide the next line. Write down or have an older child write down each line. Soon the story will develop with each child contributing a line. Kids will laugh at the lines others come up with. Later, each child can copy the story down in a book of his own to illustrate and keep.
Sensory Books
Pick a book to read to your child---or have your child read it to you---that has fruit or fuzzy animals or something else "sensory" as a part of it. Some suggestions are: "Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z" by Lois Ehlert; "Growing Vegetable Soup" by Lois Ehlert; "Pat the Bunny," by Dorothy Kunhardt; "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle."
Prepare a few of the fruits or vegetables before you read the book and as you read, you can taste and feel the fruits. Do it outside and the game becomes more fun since you can then smash the fruit and really feel it.
Make-a-Word Tag
Give the person who is "it" a small bucket or basket of letters. Write large, bold letters in black marker on index cards. Place loops of tape on the backs of the letters. When the other kids start running around, the person who is "it" runs and tries to place a letter on the other kids. Once a person is tagged with a letter, they stand in place. When "it" spells a word, the last person tagged is "it."