For the last night of Week of the Young Child, we put together some activities for Family Fun Night. These activities are meant to help your little one sharpen important skills while creating a stronger bond with you and the rest of the family. Enjoy!

Bowling Game

MATERIALS:

• Plastic bottles
• Small ball

DESCRIPTION:

Collect a few plastic bottles – you can use as many or little as you want and they can be a variety of sizes, whatever you have will work! Fill the bottles about halfway with water. Line them up like you would see pins in a bowling game. Take turns rolling the ball to try to knock down the bottles.

EXTENSION:

You can create bumper for your game by rolling up blankets and placing them along the edges of the game. You can also add food dye to the water in the bottles or even glitter to make them sparkle. Try glow in the dark bowling by adding glue sticks to your bottle!

HOW IS THIS EDUCATIONAL?

Encouraging family time is beneficial for the entire family but for children it helps develop ties and bond with the other members of the family. In his activity children also get to exercise some of their gross motor skills and get some energy out.

Homemade Maze

MATERIALS:

• Cardboard Lid
• Glue
• Marker
• Marble
• Pieces of cardboard

DESCRIPTION:

Take your cardboard lid and draw out the lines for a maze on the lid. Next, take your pieces of cardboard and measure them to fit the lines that you drew on the lid. Glue the pieces onto the lid to complete your maze. Now place your marble on the maze and see if you can roll it from one end to the other!

EXTENSION:

After completing your maze, make it more difficult by cutting a few small holes into your lid. Now try to complete the maze. Try to create a maze with paper towel rolls on the cardboard lid. You can also try to create a maze with Legos and a marble.

HOW IS THIS EDUCATIONAL?

To create deep and strong family bonds, you need to create moments to spend with the family. In this activity you can get everyone involved and at their own ability! Children use their problem-solving skills to create their maze.

Large Yard Game!

MATERIALS:

• 4 long strings
• 9 pieces of cardboard

DESCRIPTION:

Take 5 pieces of the cardboard and cut out a large “X” on each one. Take the remaining 4 pieces and cut a large “0” out of each piece. Next, take the pieces of string outside and find a spot to lay them out to create a tic-tac-toe board. Using your cardboard pieces, play a game of tic-tac-toe!

EXTENSION:

Create other large yard games to play! Checkers – round pieces of carboard colored red and black, twister – colored circles placed in the grass, Jenga – large pieces of wood or even cardboard boxes, scrabble – use your cardboard squares as your pieces, just write letters on them!

HOW IS THIS EDUCATIONAL?

By creating family bonds, children understand what caring relationships look and feel like; they can then use these skills to make decisions on the types of friends they choose to have. This activity takes a fun game and ties gross motor skills into it.

Mega Memory

MATERIALS:

• Even number of cardboard squares/paper plates
• Crayons or markers

DESCRIPTION:

Collect an even number of carboard squares or cut them to make they squares. Next, come up with a theme for your game – animals, colors, shapes, etc. Draw each one twice on cardboard so you will have matches. Place all the cards on the ground upside down and play a game of memory.

EXTENSION:

Add some more academics to your game make your theme numbers or the letter of the alphabet. You can also make this a tossing game – keep the tiles with the picture facing up and grab 2 bean bags. Take turns trying to toss the bag onto matching tiles.

HOW IS THIS EDUCATIONAL?

Self-esteem and character are also key skills that children develop during quality time spent with family. Children can express their personality in a comfortable setting and just be themselves. Memory based games help children increase their ability to recall and solve problems.