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Misty
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| Posted: Sept 23 2014 at 10:44am | IP Logged
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Simply put what does your family do on an evening where you don't have sports/church events? I'm looking to expand our list or here in MN you know what we end up doing....yes sad to say 'throw a movie in'. Help me have a list of things to do with the kids (16-4 yrs).
Right now we do 1-on-1 (2 times a week) were we take one child with mom and dad for an hour to chat and play. We try and do some read aloud time, game nights (not a big game family), movie night  , but would love some more ideas for those long cold MN nights! Thanks
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Misty
Mom to ds16, ds15, ds13, ds11, ds8, dd6, dd4
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 23 2014 at 11:06am | IP Logged
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Reading books aloud can be fun. Especially if you're all cuddled up (a fireplace here is perfect) and having something like hot chocolate and popcorn so mouths and fingers are busy. And especially if it's something either enthralling or funny.  When we do family read alouds for the liturgical year I usually do some picture books and then the books for the older kids.. they all tend to hang out for all of it though. 
Puzzles.. I love doing puzzles.. it's one of the few things I miss by having little ones around constantly. But by the youngest being 4 I'd give them a try. This I'd probably pair with some fun music.
Also, games, not every family will like every game.. so I'd keep trying there and see if I could hit on one that worked well.. if card games don't work, there's dice games, domino games, board games, interactive games (like charades.. hmm I should give that a try here) or other games that you have to act out or sing or draw or something. There's triva or riddles or mind bender types of games.. those can be fun because you're not as locked into having to all sit at the table. I really like the board game Divinity for catechism stuff.. it has different levels so that younger kids can play with older ones.
What about teaching crafts? Sure there's knitting or crocheting but also sewing and wood work and leather work.
Knot tying is fun. Get some lengths of rope (about 6ft each) and then everyone has their own rope to practice with and you can have races when everyone learns the knots.. there's online places like animatedknots.com that help you learn them. And you'd be surprised age isn't always the best indicator of the fastest.. My oldest son at 11 was faster than all but one of the older boy scouts. And the little ones get to tie shoes and the really little guys love running around with a rope tied to them as tails
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Aagot
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| Posted: Sept 23 2014 at 11:57am | IP Logged
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How about whittling
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SallyT
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| Posted: Sept 23 2014 at 12:33pm | IP Logged
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We're not a game family much, either, but have really enjoyed playing Scrabble lately (ok, I enjoy it BECAUSE I WIN HAHAHA! :) ).
Otherwise, read-alouds have always been popular, though as we have kind of an age spread at home -- 16, then 12 and 10 -- it's hard to get everyone on board with any given activity. (somehow I think it would be easier if I also had a 14yo in the mix, but I don't, and I don't know why I think that!). And everyone's older, so we have some degree of "too cool for school" when it comes to read-alouds any more.
And we like -- not movies so much all the time, but episodes of old tv shows that we can find for free on Hulu, Amazon Prime, or YouTube. Currently we've been watching All Creatures Great and Small off and on, but we also like funny stuff, like Andy Griffith, Gomer Pyle, Beverly Hillbillies, etc. We also have the first season of Jeeves and Wooster on DVD, and that's a continual favorite. Anything to make us laugh! We don't do a lot of watching, because somehow that doesn't seem like actual family-togetherness time, but as an option it can be a lot of fun -- and then we laugh about funny stuff for days. (OK, I know you wanted something other than movies, but old shows tend to be shorter, and it is fun to share stuff we watched and laughed at as kids. And we end up doing a lot of analysis of what makes a given situation funny).
So -- not great suggestions! But things we do.
Sally
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Castle in the Sea
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Sept 23 2014 at 1:59pm | IP Logged
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Fun to do in the winter because it gets dark early: flashlight hide and seek!
Turn off all the lights in the house. Everyone hides. Whoever is "it" gets a flashlight to help ferret people out. Somehow it is so much more fun in the dark. You can also have kids hide in pairs... big with little to keep everyone safe in the dark. We usually wind up laughing so much we give ourselves away.
Afterwards, have popcorn/cider/hot cocoa, etc.
Another fun option is to have a photo contest: have teams with digital cameras and give them subject: ex. take a picture of a star or the moon or a sibling or the dog or whatever!
One person gets to be the judge and decide which picture is best. The winning team gets a point, and the team with the most point wins. It is always interesting to me to see the pictures my dc take. Also, if you have 3-4 on a team, each team member can take a photo and the team can pick the best one to submit to the judge.
My dc really like this game.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Family Time
