Hobbies And Interests
Fax, Scan, or Copy?
According to multiple Kaiser Foundation studies, children from the ages of 8-18 spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes a day accessing entertainment media. Today&'s children are used to being connected to their world through technology. Playing games using office technology is just another way to show girls how they can communicate with their world. Find a place where children can learn how to fax, scan and copy, such as a home office, school or church. Teach them how to use the machines and then let them practice sending a fax, scanning a document and a photo, and copying an article. Once they have mastered the basics, give them a task to complete. For example: "You are an artist and must fax a description of your latest piece to a buyer." Give them your fax number and e-mail address, or get permission to use the address of one of their parents. Everyone who completes her task successfully gets to eat a snack and a drink in the real employee break room or in the kitchen, if it&'s a home office.
May I Take a Message?
This is a game you can play at home and it can actually benefit you. Teach your child how to answer the phone and take a message. Explain that she needs to write down the name of the person, and when that person called. If he wants you to call him back, she needs to write down his number. When the phone rings, let her answer it. Monitor her for three or four phone calls. When she is ready, give her the title of "Home Secretary." Every time she answers the phone correctly and delivers the message to you, give her a play coin. At the end of the week, create a pay day for her and let her cash in her fake coins for real money. This game will save you time and give her practice with manners and writing skills. You can even give her a bonus for neat handwriting and perfect spelling.
Budget Crunch
Begin this game by explaining to your daughter that a budget is used to keep track of your money. Use graph paper or a spreadsheet on your computer. Give your daughter an example of a budget relating to her allowance and what she would like to buy. After she understands, let her select a business she would like to own. Tell her she has $50,000 to start her business. Other children can pretend to be customers, building owners, tax collectors, insurance agents, manufacturers, designers or other players in the game. The children either give her a bill to pay or money to deposit. She keeps a record of the transactions on the computer or the graph paper, and subtracts or adds to get the balance. Your daughter has to make sure her company never goes in the red. After around 10 transactions, your daughter can train one of her friends to take over her business. Play can continue until all the girls have had a chance to be owner.