Kids Activities: Once A Day Timed Activity Bowl Idea

Make a fun craft with your children that will bring you closer together through fun family activities.

Spending time with your kids is necessary for both their personal development and growth as well as your own. It's important that the time you spend with your kids is meaningful, however. An hour or two spent in front of the television or playing video games does not do much for the bond between a child and parent. If you are looking for a creativity activity to with your kids that has lasting benefits, try making an activity bowl! Making an activity bowl is fairly easy. Not only does it provide a creative project for you and your kids to work on, but it also provides other activities to share with your children on a daily basis.

An activity bowl is just that...a bowl. What is most important is what you put inside of the bowl. Essentially, you will make small cards to put in the bowl, and each card will have some sort of family activity written on it. Each card will be folded, and on the outside, you will write down the amount of time it will take to complete each activity. Then, each day, you and your children will pick an activity based on the amount of time you have that day. Find a card with that amount of time written on it, open it up and get started!

In order to make this craft, you will need the following materials:

One large bowl

A packet of note cards

Ribbon

Hole Punch

Markers

Scissors

Making the Cards: To make a card, cut a note card in half. On one side of the note card, write down an activity. Be creative! Some ideas include: take a walk, color, sing a song, clean your room, do the dishes, do jumping jacks, tell jokes, visit your grandparents, call a friend, and so on. Make sure you pick activities that will take varying amounts of time. Brainstorm with your kids for ideas. The ideas you come up with will be very different than the ideas your kids come up with, which makes this project fun. Once you have a fair amount of note cards, fold each in half. On the outside of the card, write down the approximate amount of time that each activity will take. This way, you will know the amount of time necessary for each activity without opening up the card, so each day will be a surprise. With a hole punch, punch a hole at the edge of each folded card and tie a ribbon through it to securely close the note card.

Once you have finished making all of your note cards, toss them into the bowl. If you want to let your kids decorate the bowl, do so! Essentially, your project is done, but it will last for days to come. Make it a point to get together with your kids each day and then decide how much activity time you have, be it five minutes, a half hour, an hour, or an entire day. Next, pick a card with a corresponding amount of time, open it, and start your activity!

© Demand Media 2011