You have to be a bit courageous for this one, but it can also be fun. Host a sleep-over for a few (not too many!) of your child’s friends. They can bring sleeping bags and sleep on the bedroom floor, or you can clear out the family room or den and have them sleep there. Prepare snacks, cookies, popcorn, and have a movie or two ready to go. I think this works best (at least from the point of view of the parents) for pre-teens; they go to sleep earlier and are not likely to have other friends coming over to visit, but the age limit is up to you and your stamina.

Frisbee is another old standby, with the advantage that Frisbees are readily available and inexpensive. (In fact, many Frisbees are given away as freebies by stores and other organizations every year.) There is something fascinating about the way a Frisbee spins and floats through the air. Learning to throw and catch a Frisbee may take a little practice if your kids have not used one before, but they will quickly get the hang of it. You really need some wide-open space, either a large yard or a park with a lot of open grassy areas.

Planting a tree with your kids is a great weekend activity. Although you can certainly start from a seed or kernel, the results are usually better, and the feedback more immediate, if you get a sapling from nursery. Your child can be part of the process of choosing the type of tree to plant. You can also begin the discussion about the importance of trees in photosynthesis, using carbon dioxide and producing oxygen—the opposite of what animals and people do. Trees can create wonderful memories as well. I remember planting a peach tree as a kid using a peach pit buried about a foot in the ground, and completely forgot about it until the tree came up months later. In a few years we had a bumper crop, and those peaches were always extra special, knowing that they had come from a tree that I had planted.

Sign up for our RSS feeds, or receive our frequent posts delivered direct to your e-mail box. Just click the appropriate button in the side bar.

And our new book “Mr. Buddy and Grandy” is available.  The book contains a series of short stories about a grandfather and his grandson and the things they did together–written to be read to a boy or girl, but also enjoyable for adults. The overarching theme of this book is that just doing simple things together with a child pays big long-term benefits in building a strong relationship. Click the Buy Now button to pay by Pay Pal or credit card.

Or order from Lulu.com

This activity is always popular. Everyone likes cookies, and baking them can be almost as much fun and eating them. Easy-to-make recipes are widely available (Nestle’s Toll House, for example). If speed and easy clean-up are priorities, you can just go for the slice and bake variety—they are surprisingly good! Your child can help arrange the clumps of dough on the cookie sheet. A tradition at my house is to taste a little of the raw cookie dough. In 10-15 minutes your cookies will be ready to eat!

Teaching a young child to use his or her imagination is great fun, and helps teach a useful skill. A game of pretend can be spontaneous or planned, but however you get started let the stories evolve as you and your child each tell part of the tale. Let your stories develop and build off of each other. Some of my favorite story lines are living in Alaska, going deep sea fishing, camping in the mountains in the snow. Just make up what happens as you go along, taking turns to add to the adventure. As this is Thanksgiving, your story line could be about being a Pilgrim and having the first Thanksgiving feast with Native Americans. You will be amazed at how creative young kids can be.

For Immediate Release

Burbank, California — November 25, 2008

“Mr. Buddy and Grandy” is a compilation of short stories about a grandfather and his grandson and the things they did together. The overarching theme of this book is that just doing simple things together with a child pays big long-term benefits in building a strong relationship. Although the stories focus on a grandfather and his grandson, many of the same activities would translate equally well to things that any adult could do with children, boys or girls. Fully illustrated, “Mr. Buddy and Grandy” was written in a style for reading to children, yet also enjoyable for adults.

“This book was a labor of love to memorialize what my grandfather did for me, and also to offer ideas to other adults of the things they can do with their children or grandchildren,” said the author David Rozzell. “I believe that the more time adults and children can spend together exploring the world around them, just doing simple activities, the stronger their family bonds will be and the better prepared for adolescence and adulthood the children will be.”

Along with the book, a pamphlet “25 Things To Do With Your Child: Things That Are Fun To Do and Won’t Break the Bank” will be offered free of charge with every book purchased. “Given the financial pressure that everyone is now facing, it is especially important to find inexpensive ways to build and maintain good relationships with children,” Dr. Rozzell added. “The message of “Mr. Buddy and Grandy” is that building a great relationship with a child doesn’t have to cost much. “Mr. Buddy and Grandy” promotes better adult-child relationships through the ideas described in the stories, and the pamphlet supplements those ideas with more examples of simple, inexpensive things that adults can do with their children or grandchildren.”

fun-things-to-do-with-kids

“Mr. Buddy and Grandy” is published by Lulu.com, the online marketplace for books and related digital content, and is also available directly from the author at his Web Site http://www.rozzell.com. The author can be contacted by e-mail at david@rozzell.com.

About the author

David Rozzell earned a Ph.D in Chemistry and has edited one scientific book, but this is his first foray into popular literature. He currently resides with his wife and five children and stepchildren in Burbank, California.

###

Yes, I’m serious! This is obviously predicated on your liking sushi, but if you do, going to a Japanese sushi restaurant is a blast. Sit at the sushi bar, talk to the sushi chef, and let the chef recommend things that your child can try. Your child will get a chance to experience a very different kind of restaurant from the usual places children go for lunch or dinner. The variety is amazing, and everything is fresh and healthy. If your child is adventuresome, a variety of different fish, eel, octopus, squid, shrimp can be sampled. Things can get pretty exotic if you like, with delicacies like roe and sea urchin. And if you must have cooked fare, that’s always available, too. Teriyaki chicken, beef or salmon are standards.  Just order what your mind and stomach can handle, and enjoy the experience. I guarantee that your child will be talking about this for a while!

As places to buy fresh produce and get something to eat, farmers markets have really caught on in recent years. Many towns now designate one day of the week for a downtown farmers market, and just going and walking around the stalls to look at all that is offered makes for a great outing. Grab a snack while there, or even get a fresh grilled sausage, hot dog or burger and have a fresh-squeezed fruit juice. Fresh strawberries or a watermelon brought home from a farmers market seem to be more special, and somehow often taste better, compared to something bought from the supermarket.

Pet stores can be a lot of fun as a quick, easy-to-do activity. There are pet stores located in almost every town, and most have a variety of animals on display, which change from week to week depending on what animals have been sold and what new animals the pet-store owners have recently brought in. 

For example, near where I live, the closest pet store has puppies, kittens, rabbits, colorful birds of all kinds, and a wide range of fish. The shop parrot (not for sale, the parrot is the owner’s pet) will often respond “Hello!” to your hello!” when you walk in. What a nice treat for any young boy or girl. Just going in and looking around is a lot of fun, and you can talk with your child about each animal that you see. And not to be overlooked—going to a pet store is free! 

Special Offer! ”Mr. Buddy and Grandy” describe many simple activities that adults and children can do together, told in short stories. At $12.95, ”Mr. Buddy and Grandy” is a wonderful value. And if you order direct from Rozzell Books and pay with Paypal, you receiveFree Shipping and a Free Pamphlet ”25 Things To Do with Your Child: Things That Are Fun To Do and Won’t Break the Bank.” Pay only $12.95 total including first class shipping and also get the free pamphlet. To order click the Buy Now button below and pay through Paypal using your credit card or electronic funds transfer.