I’m sure most parents have noticed this at least once, where your kids seemed to be more interested in the box rather than the present inside it! This just goes to show that children (well, at least young kids) do not need expensive toys to be entertained.
What they really want is the quality time with parents and siblings. And it doesn’t really matter whether they are helping with housework or creating crafts or just being silly. Here are a few ideas on how to have some inexpensive yet fun children activities.
1. A Trip To The Farm
I don’t mean just any so-called petting zoos in town. I am referring to a real farm, especially the Grace Farm Serendah. Among the activities offered include animals feeding, cattles milking, rubber tapping, oil palm leave harvesting, vegetables planting as well as learning the art of primal hunting and survival skills. Certainly it’s a great experience for urban kids.
Learning should be conveyed through interactive activities, and surely experiential learning beats the learning about animals from flash cards or iPads apps, doesn’t it?
And because this is a community project, they charge minimum cost to cover their expenses and the proceeds are used to support a few charitable organizations. With as low as RM25 per person, your kids and you will be able to learn about the life in farm.
By the way, you have to take note that there should be at least 20 people taking part in most of the programs. So gather up the relatives and friends and take a trip back to the nature.
2. Car Wash
Instead of sending your car to the car wash, why don’t you have a car wash day right at home? Washing the car is NOT a chore for children. In fact, if you have young kids, they will beg you to let them wash your car.
You can even do pretend play with them, for instance you become the customer and they assume the role as car wash operators. It doesn’t matter if they do not do a perfect cleaning job. Turn a blind eye if they miss a spot. You can pretend to be the fun customer who helps them to wash the car. At the end of the car wash, do remember to pay them. It’s a great way to teach them the concept of earning money.
And do expect to get wet. After all, kids + water = happiness!
3. Scavenger Hunt
Kids love to play detective- which is why hide and seek is popular all round the world. You can prepare a scavenger hunt right at your home. Hide a treasure (you can place a few Ringgits or perhaps packets of their favourite snack) and leave leads all around the house.
To make it more interesting, leave some “tools” like torchlight or my personal preference, glow sticks, for under-the-bed searches at some checkpoints. They are pretty cheap and usually cost around RM5 for 10 stickers of various sizes and colours- do look for those which say non-toxic.
For young children, you can draw a treasure map. This helps them to learn about directions and to understand instructions.
4. Cardboard Toys
Next time when you buy electrical appliances or replace your fridge, don’t throw away the cardboard in which it came. Keep it aside and it will come in handy for creative play.
So, what can we do with the cardboards? Well, they can be castles, race cars, play kitchens or even vegetable stalls. If you only have smaller cereal boxes, fret not. They make great buildings for a cereal box city or as scrapbook covers.
If you have older kids, you can even get them to help you to make the toys. Nothing gets the creative juice flowing better than by making your own toys.
5. Homemade Obstacle Course
There’s always such a saying: children seem to have energy of Energizer bunny. During these times, you will just need some activities which allow them to use up all those pent-up energies.
The beauty of this is that you can use whatever you can find in your home, be it a soft toy, laundry basket or even piano chair! Arrange them so that the kids can climb over and under as well as crawl through them. Ensure that the environment is safe for them.
If you are fortunate enough to have a big garden, then by all means move the obstacle course outside. It will be good for the kids to get some fresh air.
So, next time when your kids complain that they are bored or you are running out of activities during the school holidays, apply some of these ideas and I’m sure you’ll be hearing squeals and laughter soon. Your kids will be entertained and you won’t need to empty your wallet as well. So, put your smartphone down, get away from that TV or computer, and have some inexpensive fun with your kids!
