I first visited this topic when Hailey was 8 years old. I had seen toddler activity lists being circulated out the wazoo and I get it; toddlers need a lot of hands-on and constant stimuli (bless you mama, I remember those days). Flashback to Hailey at 20 months old.
But there are also a lot of us with slightly older kids that feel stuck somewhere between the pasta sensory bin and them being too cool to hang out with us. (That won’t ever happen, right?).
The 6-10 year old crowd needs some fun activities, too, which is why I’ve compiled this list of things we’ve enjoyed doing together over the years when we are all hanging out at home together. These things have been hits for both my kids during those big kid ages and I hope they inspire you to have a little fun. I’d love for you to share in the comments your favorite way to play and bond with your big kid, too!
Fun Things To Do At Home With Your 8-Year-Old
Craft Crates
We’ve used Kiwi Crate for years. They have so many different options for different ages and interests; they never fail to be fun! I love that all the pieces needed come in the box, so I don’t have to worry about our at-home art and craft supplies. My kids have received subscriptions for birthdays and holidays; any we don’t get to immediately we keep in a craft closet for when we have down time. It’s a great rainy day activity!
Obstacle courses in the yard or living room
We have this ninja slack line and set it up in the backyard to help create obstacle courses. We use chalk to draw hopscotch or ladders on the driveway, then chase each other through the course, over obstacles and more. Stuck inside? Obstacle courses make a great indoor activity, too! Take all the pillow off the couch and do the same thing. We’ll also add in that you have to “hop like a frog” between this one and that one, or crab walk backwards. Anything to switch it up!
Scavenger hunts through the neighborhood or house
Outside hunts can include things like a four leaf clover, a purple flower, a lady bug, etc. Inside options can be a 1984 penny, a yellow lego, a pipe cleaner, a dust bunny (what, just me?). I write a list and then either together as a team or in competition, we see who can collect all the listed items the fastest. This makes for a fun and easy (and inexpensive) activity option!
Learn a new hobby together, like knitting
David’s mom taught Hailey to knit and she loves it. She’ll sit on the couch and knit while listening to podcasts or a favorite audiobook. Knitting, crocheting, sewing, and the like are great to work on fine motor skills. You can order knitting needles for kids and yarn online, or pick it up at a local craft store. Then learn through YouTube (so many great tutorials!), or buy a circle loom all-in-one kit so they can make something they can really wear right off the bat!
Create a book club or start a weekly poetry tea time
You can do a book club different ways. Read aloud, then discuss, then watch the movie. This has become a favorite family activity for us! We also participate in a monthly poetry tea time with friends. Once a month, one of us hosts and makes tea and snacks. Then we take turns reading or reciting poetry to each other. The kids find it to be a lot of fun and find the silliest poems they can to share. Stuck at home? Go virtual and do it with zoom!
Write letters and mail them
Who doesn’t love giving and receiving mail?! We also paint pictures and mail them. Bonus! We’ve learned how to weigh our letters to determine how many stamps we need to mail it. Math and creativity all in one!
Work on a new skill
Hailey has learned to email her grandparents and friends, so our new skill to work on is typing. But there are so many skills to learn at home- how to make scrambled eggs, start a friction fire (parental supervision needed of course), learn to sew a button, etc, etc. For the crafty and outdoorsy kid, I highly recommend the book Attainable Sustainable, which is full of so many life skills, crafts, and fun activities.
Play board games that don’t make you want to rip your hair out
The great thing about an 8 year old is you can move past Candy Land into really fun and engaging board games for the whole family. Our current two favorites are Ticket to Ride and Parcheesi. But also, don’t sleep on Monopoly Deal; it’s a fun, faster card game version of the original! Games are a great indoor activity for rainy days, but also are a fun way to jazz up a picnic or a lunch on the porch.
Let them create the menu and take the lead
This can be done for a real meal, or an afternoon snack. My girls love creating “Sister’s Restaurant,” complete with menu, forks rolled in napkins, background music, and some super crazy food options. My only rule is that is has to be truly edible so we don’t waste food, and we stick to that most of the time.
Geocaching
Ok, we haven’t done this on our own yet, just at Vermejo, but it’s on my list! Have you tried it? Thoughts? I hear it’s fun for adults but also makes a fun activity to do with kids in the area you live.
Building challenges
You can use legos, Magnatiles or Goobi, masking tape and toilet paper rolls, cardboard boxes, or heck, toothpicks and mini marshmallows! Creating different challenges is a blast. Who can build the tallest? The strongest? The best bridge? The coolest castle? Etc, etc. It’s great for motor skills, creativity, and lots of laughs.
Work on phone and Facetime skills
Hailey loves Facetiming with her friends and family, and it’s been great practice at learning to effectively communicate. I’ve been coaching her through etiquette of how to ask questions, hold the camera still, etc.
Watch old family videos and look through albums
The girls and I LOVE family albums, so they’ve actually been helping me finish up our albums that I’ve fallen behind on. We use Mixbook and they always turn out excellent. Here are the other ways we turn family memories into keepsakes.
Have a slumber party
Whether it’s in a tent in the backroom, a mattress on the back porch, or a pile on blankets on the floor of the bedroom, nothing excites my kids more than mom joining in on a slumber party. It doesn’t have it often, which only adds to the excitement, but painting nails, telling jokes, and reading books all piled into the same space is the ultimate bonding experience.
Make a time capsule
Any parents understands that the days are long but the years are short, so have a little fun and capture the season you’re in by making a time capsule together. You can take pictures or collect things they love. Make drawings. Write a letter with all the child’s current favorites, like favorite book, favorite movie, favorite food, etc. Bury it in the yard together or hide it away in a secret spot in the attic to be forgotten about until a specified date in the future.
Work on a puzzle
A simple activity but for the right kid it can be such a hit. Puzzles are great practice for concentration and special reasoning, plus fine motor skills. Start with a 250 piece puzzle to get into the groove, then step up to a bigger challenge like a 500 piece, or dare I say, 1000?!
Create an herb garden
Whether you head outside to dig in the dirt or create your own indoor herb garden, big kids will get a kick out of watching their plants grow and then being able to eat and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
All in all, what matters most that I’ve noticed in intentional time. It doesn’t have to even be an extended amount of time, but setting aside an hour that is solely focused on being together does wonders.
Plus, I’ve noticed it forces me to reconnect with my inner kid and forget about the outside world for a while. Being silly is good for the soul!
What do you love doing with your big kid at home?
