Hobbies And Interests
Shopping Mall
The point of this game is to provide your child with basic props and let him figure out what to do with them. According to the "Parenting Exchange," put out by Illinois State University, children learn more from toys that require them to think for themselves. Some boxes big enough for him to get into make great stores. He can decorate them to look like whatever shops he wants. You can help cut doors and windows, but let him give you guidance. Very young children may need some help figuring out what to do, but give as little help as possible. If one of the mall stores is to be a pet shop, for example, suggest to your child that he get some toys that could be pretend animals, and let him figure out what to bring. The more he can do without your intervention, the more he is developing his creativity and resourcefulness. A variation of this game would be for him to make a circus, a zoo, a rocket ship or anything else he can think of.
What If?
Games that have more than one way to play encourage children to think and tap into their resourcefulness. Create a fort in the house, using blankets and chairs, a card table or whatever you have on hand. Play with her, but let your child take the lead in building the fort. Ask her "What if?" questions as you go along, such as, "What if we wanted to make the fort bigger? How would we do it?" You can also ask her questions that use her imagination, like, "What if we were sleeping in the fort and we heard wolves trying to get in? How could we keep them out?" There are no wrong answers to these kinds of questions. The idea is to get her to consider how to solve problems, real or imaginary.
Band
To play band, the first thing your child needs to do is make his own musical instrument. He may need help getting started, but just give him a few ideas, show him some pictures of instruments or make something simple to help him figure it out. Drums are always easy to come up with. Suggest he try different materials for the drums and drumsticks to get different sounds (such as plastic, metal and wood), but don't tell him how to do it. A rubber band "guitar," glasses or bottles with different levels of liquid in them, and so on make good musical instruments. Then have a concert, even if there is no audience, and let him make up the music as you go. The more he is left to figure things out on his own, the more resourceful and confident he will become.