Activities For Children

Parents can get a little stressed during the school vacations when kids can get bored. Rainy days too can find families trying to think of suitable activities for children. There are many books available on the subject, teeming with ideas and projects for children of all ages. Parents can get involved too and join in the fun.

There is the bumper 365 Unplugged Family Activities: A Year's Worth of Ideas for TV Free, Video Free, and Computer Game-Free Entertainment. The title says it all and there are 400 pages of activities for children, in the home or on car trips. Authors Steven J.Bennett and Ruth Bennett have compiled an easy to follow guide with themes such as cooking and crafts, to tempt the kids away from the screen.

The Great Big Book of Children's Games by Derba Wise contains more than 450 games and activities for children for indoors and outdoors. They are arranged by age groups from pre-school onwards and there are 375 illustrations. There are games and activities for every scenario including the beach, water games, ball games and party games. There are team, family and solo games to appeal to every sort of interest with plenty of pencil and paper games, card games and word games.

Budding artists in the family will appreciate Art in a Box: 20 Activity Cards for Children Based on Works from the Tate by Sarah Richardson. The idea behind this book is for children to re-create paintings in the style of famous artists, such as Pablo Picasso and David Hockney. The pictures are reproduced to a high standard and many elementary school teachers use the book in class.

Swimming is an important part of learning and it can be made more fun with activities for children, particularly when they are just learning how to swim. They gain confidence from games in the water and Swimming Games and Activities: For Individuals, Parties and Groups of Children is a very good source. This manual is also used by teachers. In addition to games, it teaches the basic rules to follow in the water to keep safe and there are more than 200 activities.

There is something for kids of all ages from non-swimmers and beginners to the more advanced. Those competent enough can follow the instructions for diving, treading water and survival skills. The book shows how to use music in the pool. Teachers find the book useful for planning lessons and organizing galas and activities for children.