When our family was young my husband and I decided to establish Saturday as a play day for our family.
Friday’s were “early out” days at our elementary school, so Friday’s after school our kids came home and we got our chores done.
This left Saturday’s free to spend time together as a family doing something fun together.
We held a family council monthly where each child, we had three, was able to decide on an activity they wanted to participate in, and mom and dad got the final Saturday or Saturday’s if there happened to be five in a given month.
We found activities that need not cost money, but provided opportunities for our family to grow closer together and create happy memories.
These weekly outings developed a tradition in our family. Now as our children are older and busy with their own lives, they still want to know what we are doing on Saturday.
“Successful families do things together: family projects, work, vacations, recreation, and reunions.” “Build traditions of family vacations and trips and outings. These memories will never be forgotten by your children.” “There is a great need for family recreation and cultural activities together. We should do things together as a family. If families could only seek their recreation and cultural activities more as a family unit, I am sure that untold benefits and blessings would accrue” (Benson, 1988).
The following are some ideas for family outings from the book A Season to Strengthen the Family:
SPORT ACTIVITIES:
Hold a family sports activity such as a softball game, basketball game, volleyball game, touch football game, or a game of kickball, or soccer.
Go swimming.
Play Frisbee or Frisbee golf (miniature golf with a Frisbee).
Go miniature golfing, play beach volleyball, or broom hockey.
Go hiking or on a family bike trip.
Watch a team sporting event.
Hold a crazy Olympics or goofy track meet.
Play ping pong round robin style, or a game of badminton.
Have a tennis tournament.
Go bowling.
PARK ACTIVITIES:
Take picnics to the park, the mountains, or the beach.
Go to a park, or explore different parks in your city. Fly kites.
Go for a nature walk, to an amusement park, to a water park.
Visit scenic gardens, a wildlife preserve, an aquarium, or sea park.
Take a trip to the zoo, or to a national park or monument.
Have a family camp-out, or go fishing.
BACKYARD AND HOME ACTIVITIES:
Play croquet or backyard games like Mother-May-I and Red-Light, Green-Light.
Plan and hold a family treasure hunt.
Sleep out in your back yard under the stars.
Have a family barbeque or backyard campout.
Have a crazy mixed-up dinner or play board games on a rainy day.
Practice and put on a family play, or make a family movie.
Participate in a family arts and crafts activity.
Have a family bake-off or make a family quilt. Have specific activities for individual holidays.
SIDE TRIPS AND OUTINGS:
Go to a movie.
Visit a museum, a historical site, a factory or shop where they make something special.
Visit a farm, a planetarium, or a hands-on science museum.
Go sight seeing, have lunch or dinner out, go for ice cream or milk shakes.
Visit a local college and look at any exhibits they might have.
Go to the library.
Visit the airport, a train station, a fire station, a police station, a television or radio station, a post office, or a newspaper printing press.
Tour places of business that interest your kids.
COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES:
Attend a concert, dance performance, or play in your community.
Participate in an “arts in the park” activity.
Participate in city and state celebrations or historical commemorations.
Go to parades and fireworks events as a family.
Go to your state or
county fait.
Take a summer class to learn a new talent or skill. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or find ways to serve the homeless or other needy in your community.
The key is to start these activities when your children are young, but it’s not too late for early adolescents or teens, as activities like these provide a break from the daily routine of life, provide wholesome recreation, and build family unity and memories.
~Tami
References:
Benson, E. T. (1988). The teachings of ezra taft benson. (p. 490, 511, 531). Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft.
Smith, J. N. (2001). A season to strengthen the family. (pp. 9-10). Orem, Utah:
4 comments:
Thanks for the great suggestions! I think often we feel that doing something as a family is challenging because there are so many personalities and schedules to coordinate, but it's worth the investment. I also like the idea of having the kids be involved with choosing the activity, that's a great way to get everyone excited about it and get more involved in each other's interests.
Great suggestions!! I think you have thought this out well with many activity suggestions for younger children. I was wondering if you had suggestions of things to do with teens. I just don't think my teens would entertain the thought of playing red rover with me.... I am looking forward to your next post.
Chris,
The thought behind this post was for parents to begin the process of connecting with their children at a younger age. I agree that our teens might roll their eyes if we suggested playing red rover in the back yard, although my son and his friends think its pretty funny to play it in the middle of their 12th grade English class, much to the dismay of they teacher!!
Without knowing your family dynamics it is hard for me to give specific suggestions, but I would encourage you to start a conversation with your teen of things they might be willing to do together, whether it is just with you, or with the entire family.
~Tami
Reading this post brought back memories. When I was younger my family made it a top priority to do something together at least once a week (mostly Friday), however after time went by and we got older our outings were less each time. I would like to start doing this with my children because I do believe that family time is very important. Thank you for the wonderful suggestions!
-Liz T
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