Activities for 6 and 9 year olds to do?

I am babysitting two boys this summer while their mom is at work. One of them is six and and the other is nine. However, all they ever want to do is watch TV and play video games. Any ideas for cutting back on the screen time? I've thought about only letting them play at certain times of the day, but I can guarentee they would just pull out the game boys. And when they do want to something other than video games, they don't agree on what to do. I would take them to the pool, but that isn't an option. I'm at my wits end!

 

Baking, crafts, science experiments, outdoor sports, races, cleaning (hehe, jk), etc. I bet that the outdoor activities would be the best. Get those boys moving, esp. if all they do is play video games. Oh, maybe make a treasure hunt (we used to love those as kids).

 

how about planting a garden?


art? there is an unlimited number of art projects they could do.

have them help you cook

take them to the library, go somewhere there is no tv. oh, you aren't old enough to drive yet.... what is within walking distance? Just go for a walk!

Home olympics. Yeah, that's the ticket. Have events like jumping rope and situps, running laps around the house, or whatever they can come up with themselves. Take them outside.

Let them come up with some ideas. Just ask them what they would like to do. Tell them you are going to have a no tv, no video games day every Thursday (or whatever) and that they are going to have to figure out something else to do instead.

 

The library! My kids love it, and when I did day care, I always took my little charges there. I find telling a child a little bit about a book, and then letting them get interested, or reading them the first few pages and then giving them the book is great. That's how I get kids to read. "Well. Tom Saywer does something really cool to get his freinds to do his work for him, but you have to read the book to find out how." Or. "Laura loses her dog on the way to Kansas, and really misses him, but if you read the book, you'll find out if he comes to their new home or not." Or, "You should see how evil the Ice Queen is, and how Edmund gets pulled in to her clutches by her giving him candy, but I can't tell you what kind or how he gets the candy, until you read the book." Or, "Ramona does something really naughty with some apples, but the book will tell you why and how, and she says something reallly funny about why she does it." (For the six year old, you may have to read it to him or her, if they don't read yet, but have them follow along, so the child will learn.)

The other suggestions the other mamas gave are wonderful. Especialy baking and planting a garden. I also find a rainy day trip to Ikea really fun.

 

Uggh, I have been babysitting for the last few years, and I hate it when the kids just sit around and watch TV. I would turn it off and tell them they need to get outside, get some fresh air or play. I babysit three girls, so I do not have much experience with boys. All the same, you can have water balloon fights, treasure hunts, play "What time is it Mr. Fox?", Play a drawing game (you all get a piece of paper, sit away from each other, and each go around and say something to draw, then compare pictures. You could find 2 buckets, grab a plastic cup, and have a relay race. Have each boy fill the cup up with water and run to the other side and see who fills up the bucket fastest. You could also go out back and hide something in the yard (like a toy truck or something) and have them find it, eventually giving them hot/cold clues.