Family Fun Activities - Indoor and Party Games

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Indoor Activities and Party Games

Money at my Party
Celebrating a birthday or holiday with a little family party, or inviting a few friends over can mean a good time for all when there are a some fun games to play. Here’s one that I think everyone will be interested in!

Use a tiny box, empty pill bottle, or other small container. Place some money in it--whatever you’re willing to give away. Wrap it up with layers of newspaper and tape (duct, electrical, packing tape—anything real sticky). Basically you want to make a big tape ball.

At my teenage daughters party we had lots of guests so I made three tape balls. One had a large bill in a small container, another had a small bill and the third was a “booby prize”

(a slip of paper with these instructions, “stand on a chair and sing Happy Birthday to Chelsey).

The kids sat in a circle on the floor and the 3 tape balls were spread out and given to three in the circle. With “go” they began tearing into the balls. After 15 seconds I said “pass” and play continued until someone was actually “inside” the containers. It was a little more suspenseful because I told them that two of the balls contained something that everyone wants, and the third (not knowing which was which) was something that probably know one wanted. They had a blast and I think every one of them told me how much they enjoyed it!

Cat and Mouse
You will need:
--1 piece of strong string about a yard long with a piece of wrapped taffy tied to one end, for each player
--10-20 pieces of candy for each player.
--Pan lid with knob handle on top. 3 quart size works well, unless you have lots (more than 10) playing. In that case use something larger.
--a pair of dice

Instructions:
Everyone sits in a circle on the floor, or around a sturdy table covered with padding. One person is “it” (the “cat”) and lays his string off to the side. All other players hold one end of their sting, and put the taffy end in the middle of the circle. The cat holds the pan lid in one hand and rolls the dice in plain sight of everyone with the other hand, as fast as he can until a 7 is rolled. To adapt for young children, change that number and use only one die. At that time the cat slams the lid down, trying to catch as many mice (taffy) as possible.

If mice are caught then they have to give one piece of candy to the “cat,” who then rolls the dice again. If no mice are caught then the cat becomes a mouse --puts his taffy in the middle, ready for play--and passes the pan lid to the next player who then becomes the cat and rolls the dice.

If the cat slams the lid down when there wasn’t a 7 rolled, his turn as cat ends, and he passes the lid to the next player. If a mouse pulls his string (i.e. his taffy out of the middle) before a 7 is rolled, he is penalized by having to give a piece of his candy to the cat. “Faking someone out” is okay, as long as the lid doesn’t touch the ground, or the mouse doesn’t actually move his taffy.

Play continues until all have had a turn to be the cat, or until someone runs out of candy, or until you’ve played a certain amount of time determined at the beginning.

Note: do not wind string around wrist or fingers, it hurts if you’re pulling hard and your mouse gets trapped! Also, have extra taffy and string on hand to make needed repairs when the “chase” breaks the string or taffy wrapper.

Dark Tag
This was a favorite of my children when they were little. Turn off all the lights and pull the shades across the windows. My kids even covered clock faces and the TV screen—anything that gave off light. It’s also a good idea for everyone to wear dark clothing.

“It” counts slowly to 25 while everyone else finds a hiding place. Once the person that’s it finds another person, that person becomes “it,” and counts out loud so that everyone knows there’s a new “it”. At that time players may change their hiding spot if they want.

It’s funny when the one just laying on the couch or standing in the corner through the whole game was never caught!

Scream
This is a simple but fun(ny) game for 10-25 people. Players sit or stand in a circle where everyone can see everyone else. The leader of the game stands outside the circle and instructs everyone to close their eyes. Players turn their head in any direction they choose. When leader tells players to open their eyes, they look directly into the face of the person seated directly across from their view, whether that be to the right, left, or straight ahead. If the person you are looking at is looking back at you, both of you let out a BIG Scream! Both are “out,” and lay down “dead.” Leader again instructs players to close their eyes (except those who are out), turn their heads in the direction they desire, and open their eyes. “SCREAM” if your eyes meet another’s. Play continues until one or two are left. Silly, but fun! And kids of all ages can play it.

Find Your Family’s Wrestling Champ
We’re bombarded with “gadgets” that are meant to entertain and keep kids attention. Try some old fashioned games, and you’ll see that kids can still have lots of fun doing some simpler things (especially if you start when they’re young).

Spend an evening having a wrestling match—No “ring” necessary! Mix up partners to compete in the following.

Arm wrestle: If Dad (or someone else) wins every time, let all the kids use both hands against the “strong one.”

Thumb wrestle: Two players stand (or sit) facing each other, holding right hands in thumbs up position. Leaving thumbs up, the two clasp fingers. The winner is the one who can “pin” down the thumb of the other player, and hold it down for 5 seconds.

Leg wrestle: Two players lay on the floor next to each other, on their backs with heads at opposite ends, hips just two inches apart, and each holding the opponents forearm. Play begins with the players lifting their inside legs up and down 3 times. On the third lift, the two players lock legs, at about the knee, and each pushes down, trying to flip his opponent. The one that doesn’t get flipped is the winner.

Stick pull: For this you need a strong stick (such as a 1-2” dowel) at least 2 feet long. Two players sit facing each other, legs bent, bottom of feet together, each holding tightly to the stick with both hands. At the call of “go” each player pulls the stick as hard as he can trying to pull his opponent to his feet. The one that remains sitting and holding the stick is the winner!

Note: For any “little” ones, give the “big” ones some kind of handicap to make it fair. For example, on the leg wrestle, someone could be designated to help the little one by using one or two hands to help push the opponents leg. On the stick pull, someone could use just one hand, or you could make it two against one, etc.

Who Has the Sign?
This game works best with a group of at least 8, but can be done with fewer, and definitely more. Everyone sits in a circle. Go around the circle, each one picking a “sign” and showing all players what that sign is. For example, one person’s sign might be a thumb up, another a wink, another raised eyebrows, and so on.

Designate one person to be “it.” That person stands in the center of the circle and covers her eyes. One player is quietly designated as the one to “start” the game. “It” opens her eyes and watches the players in the circle (staying in the middle of the circle), trying to “catch” the one who currently has the “signal.” Players try to pass the signal around the circle to random players without being caught by the person who’s it.

The “signal” is held by only one person at any given time. Players “pass” the signal by first giving their sign (thus showing they “accept” the signal), and then giving someone else’s sign. That person continues to “own” the signal until the person that they passed it off to accepts it by giving his sign. After he “accepts” he then passes the signal by giving another players sign when “it” is not looking.

If the one that’s “it” catches someone either accepting the signal, or passing it off, then the one caught becomes “it.” They close their eyes until the signal is passed off to someone while the new “it” is not looking. We enjoy it so much that we play it almost every Holiday when family gets together!

Marshmallow Drop
Have mom or dad lay on the ground with an eye covering like sunglasses with a bowl of miniature marshmallows close by. Each family member takes turns dropping 10 marshmallows (one at a time) from a standing position into the open mouth of the one on the ground. The one to get the most marshmallows in the mouth wins. To make it more interesting, dip the marshmallows in chocolate syrup before dropping them—don’t move mom and dad! Caution: Play at your own risk--be careful not to choke on the mallows.

Memory
Perhaps you’ve played this before at a shower or a party. Kids get into it. Get a large tray and lay out several objects (about 20) on it. Show it to the family for 1 minute (more or less) and then take the tray away. The person that can recall (or write down) the most objects is the winner. Object suggestions: keys, credit card, spool of thread, thimble, spoon, pacifier, nut, bottle cap, drivers license, snapshot, sunglasses, watch, calculator, battery, scotch tape, thumbtack, eraser, coins, small trinkets of any kind, etc.

Cheerio Catch
You’ve probably all done it before—throw something in the air and try to catch it in your mouth. Do it with cheerios and make a contest of it with your family. Set a timer for one minute. On the word go everyone throws Cheerios in the air and counts how many they can catch in their mouth before the timer goes off. Or make teams and have one person throw Cheerios to their teammate 3-5 feet away. Switch the “toss” and “catch” roles and see which team can catch the most Cheerios in a designated amount of time.

Be creative and come up with some variations on the game. When you’re finished remember to let the dog in to clean up after you!

*Note: this is not a game condoned by the makers of Cheerios—just something we’ve had fun with. Play at your own risk—don’t choke!

Fun Little Quiz
Have you got kids that email their friends…or you? If so they may have shared this one with you. Take this test mentally--do not write down or call out the answers.

• Pick a number from 2 to 9. It can be 2 or 9, or any number in between.
• Take that number that you've chosen, and multiply it by 9.
• That should give you a two digit number. Take those two digits and add them together.
• Take the resulting number and subtract 5 from it.
• Take that number and correspond it to the alphabet, numbering the letters. A =1, B=2, C=3, and so on.
• Take your letter, and think of a country that begins with that letter.
• Take the last letter in the name of that country, and think of an animal.
• Now, take the last letter in the name of that animal, and think of a color.
• When everyone has finished just tell them “Remember, there are no Orange Kangaroos in Denmark!” (They’ll love it)

A Quiz with a Lesson
Read this quiz out loud to your family (complete answers not necessary!) –

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel, appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you. Easier?

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards: they’re the ones that care.

Watching the News—Good for Something
Watch the news together as a family, and then discuss it for 15-30 minutes. Possible stimulating questions to ask:

• What did you think about the news story where...?
• What things can we do to help avoid being victims of crime, house fires, etc.?
• How did you feel about this statement… made by the news reporter?
• Considering the story about... Is there some way we can help?
• Why do you like or not like watching the news?

Of course, many news stories are not appropriate for young children so use discretion, either screening for the news items you want your kids to hear, or saving this activity for when your children are older. Some parents have the news going, either on TV or radio regularly around the house on a daily basis. Take a few minutes to stop and listen with your kids when something is mentioned of interest, and then discuss it. Some parents spend so little time conversing with their children in a day that it’s hard to believe they live in the same house. Here’s a ready-made opportunity to bring them into your world and for you to understand their view of things better.

Exercises in Giving Thanks
I believe that gratitude will take a child even farther in life than most admirable qualities. “Noticing” the good things, all that you have, and the fact that it’s all been given to you, and remembering all those who touch your life in any way creates a heart of gold in a person.

Just a couple ideas for inspiring some thoughts of gratitude:

• Kneel as a family and offer an earnest prayer of thanks before you eat your Thanksgiving meal.
• Have everyone list the top 5 things they’re thankful for. Cut them apart and throw them in a hat. Pull them out one by one, read them, and guess who wrote that one and why.
• Have everyone make a list of things they’re grateful for. Lay the lists on the table for all to see. Each one take a turn and cross off one item (on anybody’s list) that perhaps they could live without. See what thing is left at the very end. Talk about “why” that one was not crossed off and why it is one of the MOST important things to your family.
• Have everyone write a letter to each member of the family thanking them for something special they’ve done for them, or a fond memory they have of doing something with that person.
• Ask family members to respond to—“if you had to choose the best thing, sometime in the past year, that happened to you, what would it be?”

Holiday Family Service Projects
A friend told me that her father taught his family, “you will never miss that which you give away.” They did not have a lot of money, and yet he was very generous (and happy).

Nothing will bring the Holiday spirit faster than giving gifts of service. Leaving food on your front door step or in the shopping cart, for the food bank, is wonderful, but doesn’t offer a rich “family togetherness” experience like other things can.

Here are some ideas:

• One year my son arranged for our family to help serve dinner at a homeless shelter downtown on Christmas eve.
• Another year we got friends together and brought prepared food from home, and served the women and children in a women’s shelter.
• One year we took part in a drive to earn money for the purchase of items for a crisis nursery. It’s fun for your kids to help purchase items with the money they earned.
• Every year we try to be a part of a church or community giving tree, or sub for Santa.
• Community organizations allowed us to take part in food collection for holiday food drives. You can volunteer to sort food at the food bank also.
• Random acts of kindness are fun for the kids. One year I learned of a family that couldn’t afford a vacuum cleaner. I let my son take one to the door, after dark, and then run for our car, which was hidden down the street.
• As gifts for family or friends give service coupons. Examples include: promise to teach something (how to cook, how to ski, etc.), offer to take someone on a special outing, give a back rub, give a week of making someone’s bed, offer to make a special dinner (with Everything but the Chef that’s easy!), give a shoe shine, offer to shovel snow, etc.
• Carol down the halls of a nursing home. It opened my kids eyes!
• Deliver goodie boxes you’ve decorated.
• Carol to neighbors.
• Every time you pass a bell ringer, let your children put money in the pot.
• Check out the BSA, Angels of Mercy, and other organizations that support our troops. Recently the BSA has a CD/DVD drive where they collected these from people (the ones they were willing to give up), and then sent them overseas for our men and women in uniform to enjoy. There’s always something good going on you can be a part of!

It’s important to spend time together as a family so why not spend a little time you’d spend together anyway, in service this holiday season?

Remembering the Year Gone By
Take time to reminisce about the past year with your family. Make it a game by having “topics” that family members draw out of a hat such as: my fondest memory, our greatest challenge, my/our biggest success, one of my blessings, how I changed—show children pictures of themselves a year ago—one thing I’ve learned that means a lot to me, new goals and dreams, etc. You’ll get to know each other better, gain a greater appreciation for one another, better understand where each is coming from, and appreciate your blessings!

Fudging in the Kitchen with the Kids
There’s no time like the Holidays to put those kids to work helping prepare for all the festivities. Have them help you make and package treats for the neighbors, and then pick a night to go out together to deliver the goodies. On Christmas Day, or for a bigger surprise the week after, whether your family sings well or not, here’s a great opportunity to find out. Deliver your gifts on the neighbor’s doorstep as you sing a few bars of a familiar tune. The neighbors will love your effort, if not your voices. A simply delicious recipe follows that kids can help with, and it makes a nice gift. Your friends will think you’re quite the cook!

Simply Delicious Fudge
12 oz milk chocolate chips (or any flavor)
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla (or try variations—mint extract, mapleine, orange extract, etc.)
Poly Party Gift Sacks

Empty chocolate and milk into microwave safe bowl (medium size at least so doesn’t boil over sides). Microwave on high for 3 minutes. While cooking, line an 8x8 pan with foil, and spray with non-stick spray.

Remove candy from microwave and stir in vanilla (or other flavoring) for a full 2 minutes. Pour into pan and chill. When completely cool, lift fudge out of pan: peel off foil. Wrap whole fudge in festive cellophane, or cut fudge in 2 or 4 large squares, or bite-size pieces, and pack in party sacks. Have the kids help tie a ribbon or twist tie at the top, attaching a holiday gift tag. Now that’s SIMPLE!

Easter Story—Hands on Teaching in the Kitchen
Whether you’re into the religious side of Easter or not, it’s a fact that many are. To learn what Easter is all about to millions of people, here’s a fun activity to do with your kids. Holidays are great excuses to spend a little extra special time with them.

Easter Story Cookies
full credit goes to Rachel Keller (see -- http://www.allhomemadecookies.com/recipes/drop/easterstorycookies.htm)

A couple years ago, I discovered a recipe for Easter Story Cookies. I was intrigued with the idea and decided to try them out. What a wonderful opportunity this presented to further teach the truth of Easter.

Begin this recipe on Saturday, the day before Easter.

• 1 cup whole pecans
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• zipper baggie
• wooden spoon or a wooden meat hammer
• duct tape or packing tape
• Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon or hammer to break them into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon of vinegar into the mixing bowl.

Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave his life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste. Then put your pinch of salt in the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing! Add 1 cup sugar to the bowl.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because he loves us. He wants us to know and belong to him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 10 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheets.

Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus's body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape to seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

Leave the kitchen. If you've been making these cookies just before bedtime, GO TO BED! Acknowledge that the kids are probably sad that they've worked hard to make these cookies, and now have to leave them in the oven overnight. Explain that Jesus' followers were in sad when Jesus died and the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Ask the kids to notice the cracked surface. Have them bite into the cookies. The cookies are hollow! Explain that on the first Easter morning, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

HE HAS RISEN!

Fish for Chores or Rewards or Just for Fun
Whether it’s Spring or not you can go fishing with the little ones! You can do it right in your own family room too. Get a wood dowel and duct tape a piece of string to it (1-2 feet long). At the end of the string tie or tape (one side) a little magnet. Cut out some 3-4 inch fish from construction paper. Fasten a paper clip to the mouth end of the fish. Throw the fish around the room or put them in a large bowl, etc. Let the kids hold the dowel and catch the fish by dangling the magnet over them and carefully lifting them up when the magnet grabs one of the paper clips.

You can get little kids excited about doing chores this way. Put one job on each fish and the one they catch is the one they “get to” go and do right then. Or put something silly that someone has to do when they catch that fish, such as run around the house singing for 2 minutes. When the kids have been good it could be a way to “reward” them with something special, writing the “prize” on the fish.

Musicians Not Needed
Whether you’re a concert pianist or can’t carry a tune in a bucket, little kids love marching in a family band around the house or neighborhood. Grab a couple of pan lids to use as symbols, fill jars with rice or dried beans and use as shakers. Sandpaper taped or nailed to blocks of wood and rubbed together make a nice sound (and a little mess:). Grab the kazoos, a stick to use to beat a metal garbage can (or lid), etc. What can your kids come up with—probably quite a few things before they’re even two!?

Early Season Camping
Little ones love this idea. It may yet be nippy outside, depending upon which part of the country you live in, so set up your tent* in your living room, or family room. Once it’s dark outside, no more lights on in the house. Everyone has to use a flashlight. Tell stories in a circle, sing some silly songs and have “s’mores” for a midnight snack (at 8 or 9 o’clock is okay!). Sleep with blankets and pillows or sleeping bags in the tent.

Here’s how my kids make s’mores indoors (supervise carefully). Turn on the burner on the stove (gas or electric doesn’t matter) to about medium high. Put large marshmallow on a long skewer or on a large metal fork. Hold a few inches above the burner turning to brown all sides. When done to your liking put marshmallow on top of a graham cracker half (2 sections), add ½ Hershey chocolate bar, and top with other half of cracker. Let sit for a moment, so marshmallow can cool and slightly melt chocolate. *If your tent is full of last summer’s dirt or you don’t have a tent, just pull some large blankets across the furniture, holding corners down with heavy objects (my kids always used books). Sleep under the blanket cover.

Crazy Dinner
Give everyone a set amount of money to spend on “dinner.” We have a large family so everyone got $3. Drive to the grocery store together and inform the kids that they can buy anything they’d like to, using only the amount of money given them, and that they must “share” their item with the family for dinner. At the store everyone “scatters” to find their special item. Mom or dad can help little ones choose and pay for their item. Meet back in the car, or at a designated spot in the store. Keep the items a secret until you reach a “crazy” spot where you unveil and eat your dinner. Not very healthy, but okay once or twice! On one of our crazy dinner nights we ended up with several choices of chips and soda pop.

Who’s “It”?
Most of our family birthdays happen to be in the spring. Here’s a good birthday party game idea for a larger (10 or more) gathering.

Everyone sits in a circle. One person is chosen to leave the area. Another person is chosen to be the “leader.” Everyone in the circle closes their eyes and the leader quietly taps someone on the head, unbeknownst to all others in the circle. The person tapped becomes “it.” Everyone opens their eyes. The person that left the room returns to the center of the circle and tries to catch the person who is “it.” The way he does that is to watch everyone in the circle carefully because “it” is trying to eliminate everyone before he’s caught. The way “it” eliminates those in the circle is by “winking” at them. When a person is “winked” at they lay down and do not participate until the next round. The center person has only 3 chances to catch who’s “it.”

Modified Charades
In this version of charades one person acts out a “feeling” with one single pose. Here’s how it works. Choose someone to be “it.” They write down a “feeling” on a piece of paper—for young children skip the “write it down” part. Then when the word “go” is yelled “it” strikes a pose (no noises or action). Family members call out what it is they believe they’re seeing (e.g. angry, sad, etc.) The one to guess it gets a turn to be it. If no one gets it, anyone can yell “go” again, and “it” has to strike another pose, trying to help family members get “the feeling they’re acting out” on the 2nd try. If no one does “it” chooses someone else to strike an emotional pose.

For young children use words like happy, sad, mad, hot, cold, and scared. For older kids make it a rule that they have to use words like bewildered, elated, puzzled, confused, awe-struck, head over hills in love, ecstatic, devastated, broken-hearted, enthusiastic, hopeful, depressed, feeling lucky, overwhelmed, stressed, peaceful, etc., and persons have to guess the word(s) “exactly.” A variation could be that you write several down and a person chooses one out of a hat, but then knowing the possibilities makes the emotions a little easier to guess.

Dates with Mom and Dad
The differences between my children has always intrigued me. I have six very different little individuals, and I suppose if you could have 100 children, they’d all be very different. Doing things together with just one at a time helps you see these differences more clearly and appreciate each one!

Children feel especially loved when they have some one-on-one time with mom and dad. Take turns taking your children out to do something they want to do—either you and your spouse with one child at a time, or have dad take one some place and mom take another some place, until all the kids have had a turn to spend time alone with their parents. Make it a semi-annual event. As just about everything, this works a lot better if you begin when your children are young. But don’t be fooled by your teens. They will love it too—the reaction may be a little different though! Especially if they didn’t do this when they were young: but then once you have teenagers you realize that they are still (very) young people, just in more grown up bodies.

Dance Fever
We have one night a week that we set aside to do family activities—some of them serious, and some of them not so serious. One thing that my kids really enjoyed from the time they could walk up to about 10-12 years old was a 15-20 minute dance session. We’d just put on some of our favorite dance music and “rock out” as a family, giving each child a minute here and there to have the dance floor (our family room carpet) all to themselves. When they were finished with their “spotlight performance” they’d high-five someone else who would then enjoy the spotlight for a minute while the rest watched, clapped, laughed, and encouraged.

Sometimes we’d make up a little routine (poor dad was usually the brunt of something funny) and then videotape it. Then we’d watch the tape (usually over and over and over again) laughing harder each time.

Check out the Library
Every summer it was the same routine for my kids, and they loved it. About the 1st of June (we got out of school in the middle of June) we would see what the Library was offering in the summer in the way of children’s activities. Many libraries offer craft classes, puppet shows, story time, guest speakers such as jugglers or clowns, and other reading programs that the kids can enjoy. I liked the way they did it because there was no pressure to attend anything so we’d attend those things my kids were most interested in, and if we were on vacation we’d just pick up where we left off upon our return.

Along with the twice-weekly classes our library also offered reading competitions between the different elementary schools in the area. Each week when we visited, the kids would turn in the number of minutes (or books) they’d read since the last visit, and they could compare the progress of their school with others by watching the leaves on the tree accumulate, or the temperature in a huge paper thermometer rise, etc. For my children that didn’t care to attend the particular activity, I’d let them stay in the main part of the library looking at and reading books. After the activity the kids would each get to check out several books. It helped cut down on the oft repeated summertime question, ”I’m bored mom, what can I do?”