Hobbies And Interests
Homemade Miniature Golf
Children as young as preschool age are old enough to enjoy a homemade miniature golf course. Start by making golf clubs. Collect one wrapping paper cardboard tube for each child. Cut a piece of cereal-box cardboard to 3 by 10 inches. Fold that rectangle in half so that it is now 3 by 5 inches, and staple to the end of a tube as the club head. Set up a golf course, using plastic cups, sand buckets or any other open-ended container. Lay them on their sides and mark numerically. Provide lightweight plastic golf balls and let the children loose on the course.
Indoor Hopscotch
Hopscotch moves indoors from the playground on rainy days with a carpet court. Home improvement or carpet stores sometimes have 12-inch squares of sample carpet they are willing to give away. If you can't find these, buy a couple of inexpensive indoor/outdoor rugs and cut them into 12-inch squares with a craft knife. You need 9 squares plus a half-circle rug for home. Paint the numbers 1 through 9 on the squares and the word "home" on the half circle rug. Lay the squares in a hopscotch court formation with the half-circle at the top. Sew some simple beanbags to use as markers.
Make Your Own Board Game
Making their own board game is a way for children to explore their creativity to make a game that will last through many playings. Cut a piece of cardboard to 12 by 24 inches and glue felt to both sides. Provide your children with a variety of felt shapes to design their board. They can even decorate both sides for a double-sided game. Wooden pegs, small toys, large beads or coins work as markers. Let the children dictate the rules so that you can write them down. If needed, provide a spinner or dice from another game or make these from cardboard.
Easy Juggling Balls
Juggling encourages good hand-eye coordination and is fun for even small children. The weight and size of juggling balls is important. Too heavy and they might hurt your children as they fall down toward them. Too light and they are hard to control. Help your children make their own juggling balls by filling balloons with lentils. First blow the balloons up and let the air out to loosen the latex, then use a funnel to fill the bulb with lentils. Cut the end off the filled balloon and a second one. Stretch the second balloon over the filled one. Make sure the opening of the filled balloon is at the bottom of the second balloon.