How to entertain kids -- At the market

Fun times with what you have on hand

ADDED August 28, 2008

Sometimes shopping is not the most fun activity for kids.  The waiting, price comparisons and bargain hunting is an adult activity. And unless a cereal needs to be picked out there is nothing much to do but sit and wait till the shopping is done.  Of course we have a solution for that.  Let your child play with your cell phone.  

On the surface this might seem like a risky proposition but take a minute and explain to your child how careful you need to be with a cell phone and what a big responsibility it is to be able to use one.  Then open up the camera function on you phone and show your kids how to take a picture or a movie and let them entertain themselves with this little piece of technology we all have.

You will definitely end up with a lot of photos like these actual photos taken by a three year old with my lovely wifes iphone but it is so fun!

Just another tip on HOW TO ENTERTAIN KIDS from Today is fun.
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KIDS GAMES -- Find the Shape

Fun game to help your kids learn shapes

ADDED August 27, 2008

Here at TIF we like to think that every day holds an opportunity for learning.  We also like to take every teachable moment and make it fun.  Today’s entertaining game is a great idea called Find the Shape.  It is simple and easy all at once.  It also can even help little ones learn shapes.

First find a willing player or players and second look for a shape that is easy to find.  Look for something big to start with that has an easily identifiable shape like a rectangular door or a round table.  And ask your kids to find the shape.  Then your kids can take turns trying to Find the Shape.

I will also add a few variations to the game to keep my kids on their toes.  I will ask them to Find the color or Find the empty table or even Find the guy in the red and white striped shirt.  It’s just another one of the great Kids Games we love!

Commenting is easy and fun so let us know how it going we are always at info@todayisfun.com and don’t forget to tell a friend about us. Today is fun!

KIDS GAMES -- The human adding machine

Fun family game that everyone can play

ADDED August 26, 2008

Next time you and your kids are waiting for your meal at a restaurant or in the doctor’s office, try this fun and educational activity. This game can be played with as few as 2 people and can be enjoyed by kids of all ages. We call it "the human adding machine."

We all take turns holding up zero to five fingers and then it is the human adding machine's job to add up all the fingers. Then the game moves on to the next person, and they add all the fingers up and so on. To add some fun and make it a little more entertaining, I will talk in a robot voice and sometimes give the wrong answer just to keep my kids on their toes. I will also push the subtract button on the human calculator to create a teachable and challenging moment.

My kids love to play, and I like to think it strengthens their math skills. This is one of our most simple, easy and fun kids games.

Commenting is easy so let us know how the human adding machine works for you.  We are always at info@todayisfun.com and don’t forget to tell a friend about us. Today is fun!

HOW TO ENTERTAIN KIDS -- Make a card for someone

Turn boredom around by making a card for someone else

ADDED August 25, 2008

What I like to do when I hear, “but I have nothing to do” is get out the art supplies and let my kids go to town making a card. It sure is hard to be bored if you are making something to give away.

So I will look on the calendar and see who's birthday is coming up and we will make them a birthday card, handmade cards are always the best. Just paper, stickers, markers and crayons are all that are required to say “Happy Birthday” and chase the boredom away.

Try it today if you don't have any birthdays coming up create a holiday card, a thinking of you card or even a Happy Tuesday card.  I am sure it will be a big hit.


Commenting is easy and fun so let us know who you made a card for info@todayisfun.com don't forget to tell a friend about us. Today is fun!

HOW TO ENTERTAIN KIDS -- WATCH THE CLOUDS

Find shapes and learn a little science all at the same time

ADDED August 24, 2008

A fun activity in these final days of summer is just sitting outside and watching the clouds. It is simple easy and clouds are almost always available to watch.

Today find some time to spend together outside looking at the clouds. Eat lunch outside or take an evening walk and look for animals, people or shapes in the clouds. If your kids are having trouble finding something in the clouds give them some silly suggestions of things to look for like, Grandma, the family pet or a teacher.

 

Here at TIF we love science and want to spread the love so while you are enjoying your time chatting and searching the skies if you see "puffy" or "cotton-like" clouds you can practice with your kids the scientific name for those clouds it is Cumulus.  After all it’s never to early learn.

Commenting is easy and fun so let us know what your kids see in the clouds info@todayisfun.com don’t forget to tell a friend about us. Today is fun!

HOW TO ENTERTAIN KIDS -- ANATOMY ON A PLATE

A fun way to learn about our bodies

ADDED August 21, 2008

 

Kids want to have fun, and parents want their kids to be learning all the while. Well this activity is win-win. This is a way how to entertain kids, while helping them learn, too.

Today your children are going to learn about anatomy - that is, what's inside their bodies. We'll use your child's arm as a starting place.

In our arms, we've got bones, muscles, blood, and all of the above is covered with skin. We are going to demonstrate these things using some items from the fridge.

Bones are firm and hard, so show this with a carrot, or a couple apple slices.

On top of bones are muscles. For this, use a bit of meat, such as sliced sausage or hot dog.

For the blood, use that old standby: ketchup.

And finally, for the skin the best thing is a tortilla.

Place the ‘muscle' on top of the ‘bone.' Squirt some ‘blood' on the ‘muscles,' and cover this all up with ‘skin.' That's it. Now your kid has an idea bout these anatomical parts. You can push stuff around the plate, to show how bones move. You can also show how bones can break under the skin.

This fun activity will also demonstrate a real difference between kids and adults. Once you're done learning, kids will eat this anatomical re-creation. Chances are, their parents won't find it overly appetizing.

Have a great weekend filled with fun and learning!

HOW TO ENTERTAIN KIDS -- THE INVISIBLE BALL

Mom always said, don�t throw in the house (but she didn�t say anything about an invisible ball)

ADDED August 20, 2008

 

You and your child pretend to throw and catch a ball. That's it. This activity might sound a little dull, but kids seem to like it.

The fun here is in the variations on the throwing and the catching. You can throw the ball hard and throw it gently, you can toss it up high or pitch it down low. Have your kid do a diving catch or a one-hand grab. And you can vary the ball, too-see how differently you and your child throw a ball that is really hot, or sticky, or very fragile.

Have fun with this, but also remind your young ones that this is just an activity, and that society looks down on people who opt for lives as professional mimes.

How to entertain kids -- Music Lessons

No musical ability, or musical instruments, required

ADDED August 19, 2008

Kids are endlessly fun and entertaining for their parents.  So why shouldn't parents request specific entertainment?  And who wouldn't like to be serenaded with some music?

Well, before your kids can perform music for you, you'll have to teach them how to play some musical instruments.

And it doesn't matter if you own no instruments or if you have no musical ability yourself.  You can still talk about different kinds of musical instruments, and how they sound.

First, you'll need some "instruments." Use some of your kid's stuff for these:  different books and toys.  Anything that they can hold and isn't too tiny.

Once you've got the "instruments," start holding each one up and demonstrating how it sounds.  (As best as you can, imitate the sounds of various instruments.)  Say things like:  "You play a guitar by strumming, like this.  You can put your other hand here, to change the notes."

Demonstrate the strumming of a guitar, the plinking of a piano, the honking of a trumpet.  See if you guys can move on to the piccolo, flute, harpsichord, even bagpipes!

This will be a fun introduction to instruments for you little ones.  And one day soon, your kid just might have a real instrument, so now you can practice listening to their musical efforts while trying not to wince too visibly.

Kids Games -- Sprinkler Hokey Pokey

And other sprinkler amusements

ADDED August 18, 2008

It's still Summer and it's still warm.  One easy way to cool the kids down, without schlepping them off to a water park or beach, is to turn on the sprinklers and let them run around in the spray.

I am a person who likes to get my money's worth, so I want my children to get as wet as possible while the sprinklers are on.

To extend the fun and make this more than just merely running around, I try to create some games for the kids in the sprinklers.  

One game is "Sprinkler Hokey Pokey."  Call out body parts that the kids must douse in the sprinkler spray:  "Everybody stick  your right foot into the water."  (For each body part named, the kids have to run to a different sprinkler  -- they can't stay stuck in the same place.)   I try to be as complete (and as tricky) as I can while calling out what to soak:  shoulders, hair, belly button, elbows, back of the neck, and so forth.

Another method of making the kids as wet as possible is calling out things for them to find and go touch.  I tell everybody to go touch a pink flower, or a broken brick, or the kid nearest them, and so forth.

Oh, and one last thing here:  as far as I'm concerned the trick is to get the kids as wet as possible, while staying perfectly dry myself.  If you can swing that, I feel it'll be a successful outing.

Kids Games -- How long until we get there?

Now it's actually fun to hear this phrase in the car

ADDED August 17, 2008

 

The name of this game is, of course, a classic American kids' whine. No roadtrip is complete without hearing this complaint from the backseat - and without it being repeated every five minutes.

Well, why not turn it to your advantage? Why not make a game of it?

Since you're the adult and the person driving, you can make the best guess as to how long it will take you guys to reach your destination. So, make a guess, and announce it to your passengers. ("I think we'll be home in 20 minutes.")

This game is best played with two kids, one who can choose to say your guess is too low and the other to say its too high. I stick to my guns, and hope for my guess to be neither too high nor too low, but right on the money. The person whose prediction winds up being correct wins, of course. (If you have more than two kids in the car, you can figure out a way to make this game work. Teams of kids could hope for ‘too high, for instance.)

The true fun of this game comes after the guessing. My kids demand constant updates: they want to know how much time has passed and who is winning. We talk about how traffic and stoplights slow us down, making the trip longer. We talk about how a lack of traffic and good visibility helps us move along smoothly. (And we talk about speed limit laws - the reason we're not just putting the pedal to the metal with abandon.)

When you reach your destination, someone will have won and other people will have lost. Congratulate the winner, but here's another chance to help the kids be ‘good winners' and ‘good losers.' We're happy for the person who has won, of course, but it's just a car guessing game, and we'll do it all again during out next outing.

And in the end, everybody has won. You've taken the annoying whine and turned it into an entertaining game.

HOW TO ENTERTAIN KIDS -- CLEANING MACHINES

Fun way to get kids to clean up

ADDED August 14, 2008

Picking up toys isn’t nearly as fun as getting them out in the first place. But a twist on that chore will help get it done.

When my kids aren’t participating in the clean up, I say, “Uh oh, this cleaning isn’t happening very quickly. What we need are some cleaning machines.”

I tell my kids that now they have to crawl around the floor, because they are the machines!

And they respond immediately to this suggestion. Suddenly they are down on the floor, making odd and vaguely mechanical noises. One of my boys, in doing this activity, recently announced he was a “Toy Plow, not a snow plow,” and that his shovel was really good at cleaning the toys. And so it was.

This twist has come in handy for me, but I don’t think you should try it if time is a factor. If your machines resemble the ones in my house, the job gets done, but with lots of time spent making particular noises, breaking down, being repaired, etc.

How to entertain kids -- Clap, stomp, hop

Combine follow the leader and outrageous antics for a fun time

ADDED August 13, 2008

As the final days of summer are waning and the school year is approaching fast sometimes a little boredom combined with the need to run around can create a powder keg of childish energy.  When this perfect storm is about to strike we will head outside for a game that combines follow the leader and the outrageous antics of a game show into one kid friendly activity that is sure to get the wiggles out.
This game seems to work best when we are walking somewhere but it certainly can be played in the yard or living room with equal success. 
First everyone stands in a circle and chose someone to start, there are three moves that the leader can chose from and they can be played in any combination, either clap, stomp or hop. Say the leader starts with a hop, stomp, hop and while they are doing their moves they need to say what they are doing, “hop, stomp, hop”. When the leader finishes they say "next".  This is the cue for the group to do what the leader just did, so they all say and do a little, “hop, stomp, hop”. When they finish they say "next". And the next person in line is now the leader and they get three moves, any three moves they might chose to go for a stomp, stomp, clap or hop, clap, stomp or even hop, hop, hop, whatever moves they chose the group follows and you keep going around the circle until everyone is worn out.
Remember you can do the moves in any order and even repeat moves but you only get three moves so use them wisely.  As your players become more advanced you can make up moves to trick the group, try hop, bark, balance on one leg or jump, roll, give a high five.
The reason we like this game so much is its simplicity kids love copying their parents and they love to have fun and be silly.

Try a little hop, hop, act like a hippo today and leave us a comment, it’s easy and fun or email info@todayisfun.com don’t forget to tell a friend about us. Today is fun!

How to entertain kids -- With letters

I see my letter!

ADDED August 12, 2008

Here at Today is fun we love reading and letters.  We also are big fans of encouraging kids to read regardless of age.
The first letter I taught my kids was the first letter of their name and I called it their letter.  They understood almost immediately that this one letter was special because it was their letter.  
Once they could identify their letter, I would occasionally stop on a page that we were reading and ask them to find their letter. From there we were able to move quickly to having them pick out a book that had their letter in the title and on to letting them pick out cereal with there letter in the name. Of course we ended up with sugar cereals but it was great, they were interested and always on the look out for their letter.

Try teaching your kids their letter today and see what happens.
Commenting is easy and fun so let us know where your kids find their letter or email info@todayisfun.com don’t forget to tell a friend about us. Today is fun!

HOW TO ENTERTAIN KIDS -- What do you hear?

How to entertain kids with silence

ADDED August 11, 2008

Some car rides are rowdy. When a group of kids is going to a party or on an outing be prepared for a loud ride.  And when you mix in some sort of children's folk singer on the stereo be prepared for shrieks of joy and peals of laughter that only dogs can hear.

Today we have a quick idea that can quiet the car down, keep everybody entertained and it works with a group of kids or just a few.

What I will do to get everyone's attention is first I will put all of the windows in the car down.  The noise and sudden burst of wind will shock everyone into silence for a few seconds. When the group is quiet I will tell them of a new game we are going to play.  This is a quiet game and to play you need to be quiet and listen carefully, we are going to listen as we drive and we will tell each other what we hear.

Soon silence is all I here combined with an occasional, “Oh, I hear a horn and a truck” and “Oh there is a dog”.  

This is one of our favorite kinds of activities because it takes all of the rowdy excitement that kids have and transforms it into something structured with a little learning along the way. Try it and let us know how it works for you!

Commenting is easy and fun so let us know what your kids hear info@todayisfun.com don't forget to tell a friend about us. Today is fun!

Shoe Store

How to entertain kids with their own stuff

ADDED August 10, 2008

Seems like almost every time we are ready to go out the door I hear, “but I can’t find my shoes.” And of course when you become a parent you gain some sort of magic shoe finding power that really does come in handy at times like these. And as I was thinking of my only super power, I realized it might be fun to take all of the kids shoes and let them play shoe store.

 

So I helped the kids open up a shoe store and it provided hours of entertainment.

 

It is really simple get all the shoes out, put them in a pile and have the kids match up the pairs. Show them how to fit each other for shoes and maybe help set up a little display area. You can also give them a box or bag to take the shoes they buy away in. And if you have any little stickers laying around that the kids can write the price on this too is a fun addition to the activity. And open the store for business.
It’s nice to have two kids for this activity because once you help them open the store they can just keep playing and pretending to buy shoes from each other. But if you have an only child they can also play with you. Get out all you old shoes and do the same thing with them.


Drop us an email and let us know how the store works out info@todayisfun.com don’t forget to tell a friend about us and remember Today is Fun!

How to entertain kids - The Marvelous Museum

Another of our fun games for kids that uses the stuff you already have

ADDED August 07, 2008

 

We always want you to be able to keep your kids busy and occupied without having to buy more stuff. So today we present the Marvelous Museum. (Sometimes also known as the Magnificent Museum.)

Explain to your child what a museum is: a special building with a collection of interesting things. Anyone can come to the museum and look at the things and talk about them.

Well, there is also a collection of things in your home.

You and your kid should choose some of those things and display them around the house. Place the chosen objects on the sofa, the coffee table, the kitchen chairs - whatever works.

For a recent Museum, my boys used: a toy car, a spatula, a shoe, a dog toy, and many other marvelous things.

After the Museum has been properly set up comes part two: people come and look at the assembled things. Each item is admired and discussed. (The "people" are you and your kids, of course.)

It's good to ask questions about each thing in the Museum:

What is this used for?
Do you think it is pretty?
Can you tell me something about this object that I might not already know?

Also, it's never a bad idea to exclaim "Marvelous!" or "Magnificent!" when viewing any given item.

The next day or so after making your house into a museum, you could take your children to a ‘real,' out-of-the-house museum. There, too, you all can admire the marvelous collection of things.

And here is the added bonus to this activity: museum visitors should use quiet voices. Everyone must be on their best behavior. And of course, in a Museum, kids really need to listen to their Moms and Dads, and do as they are told!

Have a great weekend with your curious, creative, and obedient museum workers and visitors!

How to entertain kids -- Quarter Collectors

More fun with money

ADDED August 06, 2008

 

Turn your kids into Quarter Collectors. This activity will make trips to the store more fun, and it will teach your children about all our American states.

As you may have noticed, quarters these days don't just have the traditional eagle on the "tails" side. Lately these coins have been showing up with representations of each state on them.

Here's all that you need to do get this activity going:

First, find a container to hold the quarters. Second, print up a map of the U.S. You can get a free printable map here or download a PDF one here.

Now you guys are all set to go. Have the container, the printed map, and a handful of quarters from different states on hand to help you explain this new activity to your kid.

Each time your child adds a new state to the collection, he or she should color the state in on the map.

With every new quarter, you and your kid should talk about the state and review the images depicted there. The Indiana quarter has a race car-why do you think that is? You can see a Scissor Tailed Fly Catcher (it's a bird) on the Oklahoma quarter. And what is that very long, boxy looking thing on the North Carolina quarter?

You can choose to give your kid a new state each day, or you both can review the change you get back from your errands.

Have fun learning with your Quarter Collectors!

And when you've got all fifty states, please mail the collection to us here at Today Is Fun. We also will accept any other forms of currency in your collection.

Kids Games -- What Will You Bring?

An amazingly simple and amazingly effective way of passing some time

ADDED August 05, 2008

 

This works well with a couple kids, but would also have fine results with just one child.

Have your children wait in one room, such as the living room. You leave the room, but before you do ask the kids, "What will I bring back?" (If you can pull it off, try to add a lot of mystery to your voice, in order to build up the anticipation.)

Then, return with one of your kid's things: a toy, or a book, or even a shoe.

"Wow! Who had any idea that I was going to return with your shoe?"

After everyone has marveled over the object and discussed whether it was very surprising or not, then it is your kid's turn.

"First return the object I brought out to its rightful place, and then surprise me with something. What will you bring back?"

This is one of Today Is Fun's kids games that is great for filling a little bit of time, or for when the kids are waiting at home. It saved the day recently as my boys and I were waiting for Mommy to get ready to go on an outing with us.

We are very interested to know: what will you bring back?

Sticks and Stones

And leaves. They make for a fun, free art project for little ones.

ADDED August 04, 2008

 

Go for a walk with your child around the block, bringing along a grocery bag. Your kid can be in charge of choosing some free souvenirs from the walk, which you will put into the bag. These items include leaves, sticks, stones, seed pods, blades of grass, and so forth. Bougainvillea leaves can be especially nice. The only guidelines here are: don't take too much of any one thing, and don't take anything that belongs to somebody else! (A neighbor's mail, for example, is not available for this project.)

Back at home, take out some glue and construction paper. Help your little one glue the souvenirs to the paper.

Voila! It's a masterpiece! Your child is an artist. And it's fun for everyone. (Except possibly for the neighbor, if your child disregarded one of the above guidelines!)

Kids Games -- Hide Some Treasure

And find it later

ADDED August 03, 2008

This is a way to add some fun to walks outside and visits to the park. The trick: hide some treasure along the way.

The treasure we use in our family is a penny or a nickel. (That way, if the treasure gets found by someone else or disappears forever, it's not too great a loss.)

First, you'll need to choose a public place that is fun for your kids. A park is perfect, or a grassy area near the library.

Then, find a place to hide the treasure, any off-the-beaten-track nook or cranny will do. Statues are especially good: our family has stuck a penny into the folds of historical personage's coat. We have placed a penny onto another statue's palm.

Another time, my boys wanted to hide a penny in a statue that, as it turned out, had absolutely no nooks, crannies, or crevices of any kind. We decided to hide the penny at the base of the statue, on the side farthest from where most people walk. Miraculously (we were all pretty thrilled) the penny was still there a few days later.

With this activity, we get the kids outside, learning about pennies and nickels, and looking at statues they'd probably otherwise ignore. Another way to squeeze some fun out of this is to have the kids come home, after having hidden the treasure, and draw up a map. They start the treasure map by drawing everything they can remember: the grass, the bushes, the parking lot, the sidewalk, the trees, and so forth. We don't really worry about correct scale, or even correct placement of things; if a tree winds up in the middle of the sidewalk, it's fine by me.) Then we draw a big red X to show where the treasure is hidden. We also talk about the phrase "X marks the spot," and how you can "spot" something.

On the way to go to find out if the treasure is still there, I make sure to warn everybody that it might no longer be there. There is a chance somebody else found it. That way, they are prepped and not overly disappointed by the penny's absence. I also bring along another handful of pennies, because if the first batch is missing, well at least we can all have fun hiding new ones and trying it all over again.

If you'd like to email us, and tell us the location of the money you're hiding outside, we'd be happy to know. fun@todayisfun.com