Weekends, holidays and vacations – these are times when it’s really hard to keep kids occupied through the day. And as parents, we all try to let our kids have an extra bit of ‘outdoors’ so they tire out and hit the bed early.
I don’t know how it works for other parents, but if my boy doesn’t get enough exercise in a day, he isn’t tired enough to fall asleep at 8 pm. I’m particular that he goes to bed at 8, coz he usually wakes up at 6!
It’s really hard to do something exciting if you’re both working parents and need to work for at least a few hours a day, albeit at home. And of course, we don’t get to take a couple of months’ off of work! I try my best to use things at home to keep my little ones busy. The one cool thing is our backyard. Here are three easy, running games I let my kids play every afternoon. Not only do they burn off their excess energy, but I get to enjoy my cup of tea in ‘calm’.
Tag
All the kids are running around and one child is the ‘catcher’. When the ‘catcher’ catches a running child, he is ‘tagged’ and is now the new catcher! And this child now tags another child, and they go on till they all run out of energy!
Sharks and Minnows
Pick one child as the ‘Shark’ and he stands in the centre of the playground. Mark two sides on either side of the Shark as the two shores of the ocean. The kids have to ask the Shark if they can cross the ocean. And when he says yes, they have to run across to the other end without being tagged (eaten) by the Shark. And if the Shark gets someone, he too becomes a Shark in the ocean and both of them will try to get the Minnows running across. The last child left is the winner.
Steal the colour
Keep 6 colours of face paint in various spots in the garden. One child is the ‘Color stealer’. All the children have to look around and find the different coloured face paint sticks. When a child finds a colour stick, they have to make a mark with it on their face and then put the stick back. The aim of the game is for the kids to have all the colours on their face. And while they are at it, the ‘Color stealer’ has to catch the kids who are looking for paint. When a child is caught, they have to erase one colour streak from their face and then continue looking. The one who manages to get all the colours on their face is the winner!