Activities for 7-9 year olds
Object Play:
Building with Blocks: Unleash your inner architect and see what structures you can create with blocks of various shapes and sizes. Compete with your friends to see who can build the tallest tower or the most creative structure. See how quickly you can build a structure and how complex you can make it.
Playing with Dolls: Get creative and explore your imagination by dressing up your dolls and acting out different stories and scenarios. Compete with your friends to see who can come up with the most creative outfit for their doll. See how many stories you can come up with and how many different characters you can create.
Constructing with Legos: Put your problem-solving skills to the test and see what you can build with Legos of various shapes and sizes. Race against your friends to see who can build the most complex structure in the shortest amount of time. See how many vehicles and other creations you can make.
Making a Fort with Blankets: Gather your friends and build your own hideout with blankets and other materials. Compete with your friends to see who can build the most creative fort. See how quickly you can build a fort and how many stories and scenarios you can come up with inside it.
Imaginative Play:
Cooking up a Storm: Gather your friends and have a pretend cooking competition! Each child can come up with a unique recipe, and then take turns cooking their dishes. Use play kitchen sets to create the perfect meal, and use your imaginations to create something truly special. Who knows, you might even discover a new favorite dish!
Shopping Spree: Gather your friends and have a pretend shopping spree! Give each child a set amount of play money, and have them go around the room to “shop” for items. Use your imaginations to come up with items to buy, and practice your decision-making skills to get the best deals. Who knows, you might even discover a new favorite item!
Role-Playing Party: Gather your friends and have a role-playing party! Have each child come up with a character, and then have them take turns acting out different scenarios. Dress up in costumes, and use your imaginations to create unique stories and scenarios. Who knows, you might even discover a new favorite character!
Storytelling Showdown: Gather your friends and have a story-telling competition! Have each child come up with a story, and then have them take turns telling their stories. Use your imaginations to create unique stories, and practice your problem-solving skills as you come up with new ideas and stories. Who knows, you might even discover a new favorite story!
Social Play:
Board games are a great way to engage in social play and teach kids about strategy, cooperation, and problem-solving. Popular board games for this age group include classics such as Monopoly, Clue, and Life, as well as more modern games like Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Pandemic. Card games are another great way to engage in social play and teach kids about strategy, cooperation, and math skills. Popular card games for this age group include classics such as Go Fish, Crazy Eights, and War, as well as more modern games like Uno, Skip-Bo, and Phase 1
0. Charades is another great way to engage in social play and teach kids about communication, cooperation, and problem-solving. To make charades more fun, you can create teams and have a competition to see which team can guess the most words or phrases. Finally, hide and seek is a great way to engage in social play and teach kids about strategy, cooperation, and problem-solving. To make hide and seek more fun, you can create teams and have a competition to see which team can find the most players.
Gross Motor Play:
Running: Get ready to feel the wind in your hair and the ground beneath your feet! Put on your running shoes and get ready to race your friends in a sprint, or challenge yourself to an obstacle course. See how fast you can go and how far you can go!
Jumping: Get ready to take your jumping skills to the next level! Try out some jumping jacks, hopscotch, or long jumps. See how high you can jump and how far you can jump!
Hula Hooping: Try out a single hoop, multiple hoops, or even hula hooping with a partner. See how many hoops you can keep spinning at once and how long you can keep them spinning!
Playing Tag: Try out some classic tag, freeze tag, capture the flag, or relay races. See how fast you can run and how well you can work with your team!
Fine Motor Play
1. Coloring: To make coloring fun you can encourage them to create their own coloring pages by drawing their own designs or using coloring books with more complex designs. You can also introduce them to new materials such as watercolor paints or colored pencils.
2. Drawing: To make drawing fun you can encourage them to draw from their imagination or use drawing books with more complex designs. You can also introduce them to new materials such as charcoal or pastels.
3. Cutting: To make cutting fun you can encourage them to cut out shapes from paper or fabric. You can also introduce them to new materials such as foam or felt.
4. Stringing Beads: You can encourage them to create their own designs or use bead kits with more complex designs. You can also introduce them to new materials such as wire or string.
Sensory Play:
Playing with Playdough: Have the child create their own playdough and experiment with different colors and textures. They can also use cookie cutters to make fun shapes and figures, or use the playdough to create their own miniature sculptures.
Exploring with Sand: Have the child create their own sand sculptures and castles. They can also use shovels and buckets to dig for buried treasures, or use the sand to create their own mini golf course.
Water Play: Have the child create their own water experiments and explore the properties of the water. They can also use sponges, funnels, and other tools to create interesting designs, or use the water to create their own water slides.
Making Slime: Have the child create their own slime recipes and experiment with different colors and textures. They can also add food coloring and glitter to make the slime more interesting, or use the slime to create their own slime sculptures.
Music and Movement Play
Dancing: Have the child pick their favorite songs to dance to and create their own choreography. Encourage them to explore different movements and experiment with different styles of dance. Have them create a dance routine with friends or try out a new dance style like hip hop or jazz.
Singing: Have the child pick their favorite songs to sing and explore different vocal techniques. Encourage them to make up their own songs and sing with friends. Have them create a karaoke night with their friends or try out a new singing style like opera or rap.
Playing Instruments: Have the child pick their favorite instruments to learn and explore different musical styles. Encourage them to create their own music and play along with others. Have them join a band or orchestra with their friends or try out a new instrument like the ukulele or harmonica.
Making up Songs: Have the child make up their own songs and explore different musical styles. Encourage them to use instruments to accompany their songs. Have them invite friends to join in and make it a group activity. Have them create a songwriting competition with their friends or try out a new genre like rock or blues.
Language Play:
Word Games: For example, you could have two teams compete to see who can complete the word game first, or you could add a timer to make the game more exciting. You could also have the children come up with their own word games and challenge each other to complete them.
Storytelling: You could have the children create stories based on a certain topic or genre, or you could have them act out their stories and have a performance at the end. You could also have the children create stories with a certain number of characters or a certain number of plot twists.
Creating Poems: Try adding a challenge, for example, you could have the children create a poem with a certain number of lines or a certain number of syllables, or you could have them create a poem about a certain topic. You could also have the children create a poem with a certain rhyme scheme or a certain meter.
Making up Jokes: To make making up jokes fun, try adding a twist. For example, you could have the children create jokes with a certain punchline or a certain theme, or you could have them create jokes with a certain number of words. You could also have the children come up with their own jokes and challenge each other to come up with the funniest one.
Outdoor Activities
Playing Catch: To make this activity more fun, you can add some extra challenges such as trying to catch the ball with one hand while hopping on one foot, or trying to catch the ball with your eyes closed and then throwing it back without looking.
Riding Bikes: To make this activity more fun, you can add some extra challenges such as trying to ride without using the handlebars while balancing an object on your head, or trying to ride with one foot off the ground while counting backwards from 10
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Exploring Nature: To make this activity more fun, you can add some extra challenges such as trying to identify different plants and animals while blindfolded, or trying to find different types of rocks while running around in a circle.
Going on a Scavenger Hunt: To make this activity more fun, you can add some extra challenges such as trying to find items that are hidden in the backyard while hopping on one foot, or trying to find items that are hidden in the park while crawling on all fours.
