Once again, the weekend is here, you should be excited but the idea of spending another boring weekend indoors with every member of your family quietly cooped up in some corner of the house glaring at the TV or browsing the internet may make you want to leave the house and look for fun activities to do with your friends.
We live in an age where families don’t get to spend enough time together in a meaningful way even if they are under the same roof all day long. This is dangerous because children get to breed antisocial behaviour which affects their future interactions. Remember, the family is the basic unit of society.
Spending quality time together as a family not only builds family unity but also creates wonderful memories for children, is a great way to relieve stress and instil important cultural values.
Therefore, here are some suggestions for low-cost and mainly home-based activities to get the family bonding.
1. Social responsibility activities
Book your family in for a volunteer session at a local children’s home or old age home. Also, engage in some of the many corporate activities that involve tree planting, cleaning up the environment and raising funds for a good cause like heart problems. These activities will strengthen the family and also teach the value of improving the lives of others in need and giving back to the community.
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2. Sports and physical activities
You can take a long walk around the neighbourhood or any other physical activity of interest. For instance, have each member of the family ride their bike at a local park.
Spring cleaning can also be a fun activity, have the house help take her leave over the weekend and delegate chores appropriately to everyone. While cleaning, members can share stories or sing rhymes to make it more interesting.
3. Short Trip
Taking a short excursion to a local historical site such as the National Museum can be both a learning and a fun experience. Also, consider a tour around the city to learn about the main streets and important monuments. Remember to pack for a picnic and you can all share the intrigues of the day trip.
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4. Music, Crafts and Storytelling
Explore your family’s creative genius by organizing indoor activities that require artful expression. Learn how to play instruments and have a family concert, get some crafts and design African ornaments for one another or draw portraits of each other. Parenting: Teach Your Children To Be Creative Thinkers While You Still Can
Another idea is to create a traditional village setting and tell stories. Through this process, it is easy to identify and nurture talents, especially of the children.
5. Gardening
Digging your hands into the earth is considered therapeutic. So, if you have enough space outside the house for this activity, get the appropriate tools and delegate an appropriate activity for everyone. Also, get books that will provide guidance on how to plant and nurture various plants.
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6. Cook
Everyone should be able to use the kitchen, especially when mum isn’t around. Thus, having a family cook-off session will help each family member learn some kitchen basics and even prepare a wonderful meal or bake some pastries. Profits from the sale can go to the family vacation kitty.
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7. Themed weekends
Plan a theme for every weekend where every member can participate, learn and have fun. For example, a formal dinner theme in which everyone has to dress up well, learn table manners, basic etiquette and how to socialize. Other ideas include movie marathons (Of course you must select family-friendly movies) and Talent showcases.
8. Indoor Games
Purchase some family-friendly board or card games which mix learning with fun. These can help develop strategies such as Chess and Checkers, spelling and vocabulary such as Scrabble and money skills such as Monopoly. Some card games teach math skills and how to work with a partner. Unlike a computer, board and card games are great for indoor camping and when there is a power black-out. Travel: 6 Games That You Can Play On A Family Vacation
Also, designing building blocks or making a card box car or plane and testing it not only boosts brain function but is also fun and challenging for everyone.
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9. Story writing, Reading, Trivia
Plan for a weekend where everyone writes a story, or poem or reads a book and presents it in front of other family members. This will help boost self-confidence, literature and public speaking skills. Some weekends can also have general knowledge trivia challenges for fun and learning.
10. Religious activity
Engage in family activities at your local Temple, Mosque or Church together. This way you can develop the family bond while nurturing your spiritual bond with God. This is also an ideal place to interact with other members of society and learn important values.
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