The school year has started and your kids will be away for most of the day every day. If you are like many parents, you are now sitting back and taking a sigh of relief that you get a break from entertaining and supervising your children for a few months. There is nothing wrong with this, and you should never feel guilty for wanting to take a break, but of course, your job as a parent is never done.
You may want to keep this school year break going, but when your kids arrive home from school every day, they will need something productive to do. You will need to find some activities that will keep them entertained and out of trouble, but that will also help them relax after the long school day and help you relax after a day of work. Here are some ideas for games for you to use after school that you and your kids will love.
A Language Learning Competition
Learning another language is a great skill to give your kids, but many schools still do not give children this option during school hours. You can make learning a new language fun for them by creating a language learning competition. Make flashcards and give your child a time limit to guess them all right in. If he or she completes the exercise on time, he or she can have a reward that you picked out. This is a great way to keep your kids learning throughout the day and give them a valuable skill to use later in life.
An Educational TV Show
This is a great option to use when everyone in the house needs some down time. You can watch a few TV shows that usually air after school with your kids at first to make sure that the content is good and that they are learning while they watch the show. Check out http://www.direct2tv.com/ for some great options that you and your kids will love. Your kids will think they are getting a break, but they will still be learning without even realizing it.
Homemade Skee Ball
Skee ball is a very popular arcade game, but few people have the ability or space to have this game in their homes. Skee ball is a great way to help your kids learn better hand-eye coordination and learn to work with a team or independently. You can make a homemade version of skee ball to entertain your kids using a shoe box and any kind of ball. It will be almost as much fun for your kids to make as it is for them to play.
A Science Experiment
Science experiments sometimes get a bad reputation, but they can be truly fun and education for you and your kids, even though they might be a little messy. These experiments will vary depending on the ages of your kids. You will need to search for experiments that are appropriate for your kids and then arrange one that will be fun for everyone.