Fun Family Activities for the Weekend

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When it comes to raising a family, life is already pretty full. There’s work and school. There’s
extracurricular activities and shopping. And somehow, you still have to fit in time to sleep, shower and
eat. So when the weekend rolls around, sometimes rest is all that you want to have on your to-do list.

Oh, but youth tends to have other things in mind. Kids are not thinking about all that they did on
yesterday or all that they’ll have to do tomorrow. They are just focused on what can be done today—
things that will keep them happy, active and entertained. Sure, fun to you may be doing a little gardening
or checking out the best that Bakersfield garage sales have to offer, but you’re probably going to be out
voted. The good news is that when it comes to finding fun family activities, there are many that don’t have
to feel like excruciating work for you to do. There are things that can be amusing for the children and,
surprisingly enough, inspiring for you as well.

Bake Something

What child doesn’t like desert? Take your kids into the kitchen to learn how to bake cookies, homemade
ice cream or even candy. If they are older, maybe expand that list to baking bread, homemade jams or
cooking entrees. You can even have a cooking contest where everyone in the family makes something from
scratch and whomever the family votes made the best-tasting dish, they win a prize. The extra plus for
you? Your children are learning their way around the kitchen.

Host Your Own Field Day

Remember when you were in elementary school and there was Field Day? A day when there was nothing
but outdoor activities and first, second and third place ribbons? Consider planning one with your child
with things that they like to do. It could be the traditional running races and obstacle courses or it could
be applying traditional outside games like kick ball and four square. Award ribbons can be found at stores
like Wal-Mart and Target and to heighten the excitement, invite some of their classmates or neighborhood
friends. Let them take turns being judges or referees for different events. This will give you a few minutes
to enjoy a glass of lemonade while cheering them on from the back porch.

Teach and Learn a New Thing

One way to always keep life interesting is to aspire to learn something new. Hold a family meeting
sometime within the week to ask everyone what new thing each person would like to learn and a new
thing that they would like to teach. Maybe it’s how to paint or how to crochet. Maybe it’s how to use sign
language or how to fish. Each weekend, devote some time to doing one of the things on the list. Before
you know it, you have a couple of months’ worth of activities already planned out. Perhaps hold your
own “Show and Tell” and let the person who taught the new thing choose what’s for dinner that evening as
a reward for teaching the “class”.

Take a Trip Around the World. Sort Of.

Not everyone has the money or time to take an international trip, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have an
overseas experience from your very own home. Pick another country and designate each family member
to do their research: clothes, food, music, language, etc. Then plan one weekend night out of the month
to do some of the things that were discovered. There can be a South African-themed night. Or how about
eating some traditional French food or learning a bit of Italian? You can even decorate one of the rooms
in your house to look like a picture you’ve seen of a room in Buckingham Place (London) or build a small
pyramid to represent Egypt. Maybe create your own handmade passports and stamp each “visit”. The more you get into the hang of planning a local international trip, the more elaborate it can be and it’s a
great way to learn about culture and geography.

Make Presents

School-aged children tend to have a pretty active social life all of their own. Therefore, there’s probably
not a month that goes by when someone that they know has a birthday or they’re invited to some kind of
party. And then of course there’s also Valentine’s Day, Christmas, your own birthdays and other special
occasions. Subscribe to a crafts magazine like Paper Crafts or check out a website like FaveCrafts.com for
some ideas, take a trip to a local crafts store and spend a couple of hours each weekend making presents
for loved ones and friends. It’s a great way to spend quality time, save money and learn a new skill.