Play Date Activities

• Play dates benefit children of all ages. Activities with another child give young children interaction time with others. Having a special time to spend with someone his own age helps a child learn to share, build relationships and also encourages academic learning through play and discovery activities. Play dates can include two children or develop into group activities consisting of many children.

Play a Board Game

• Children learn to take turns and follow directions by playing board games and other non-reading games. Some examples are Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, Cootie, Ants in the Pants, My Dog Has Fleas, Connect Four and Barrel of Monkeys. Card games like Old Maid and War are also games children can play with two or more players.

Stir Up Some Fun

• Let the children help stir up a cake or press out some cookie shapes. Kids can also create their own snacks by arranging pre-sliced fruits or veggies on a plate, spreading a topping onto a piece of bread or shaking up some pudding. Not only is the preparation fun, eating the snack and helping to clean up keeps children busy doing something they enjoy. Other things kids can stir up include dough to play with, putty to make, and bubbles or paints to use.

Dress-up Dramatic Play

• Provide a box of old clothing, hats and shoes for the kids to dress up in. While they are playing and interacting their imaginations are also working. Some other dress up ideas include leftover costumes from Halloween, Christmas hats and stockings to wear or pieces of fabric for kids to create their own apparel.

Make a Craft

• Encourage imagination by setting out a few craft materials, like paper plates and scraps of paper or magazine picture cutouts with glue and crayons. The kids can make their own creations and enjoy every minute of this activity.

Musical Fun

• Provide different types of age-appropriate musical instruments, like horns, drums, xylophones, kazoos and tapping sticks for kids to make music with. Children can also play musical instruments and sing along with music CD's. If desired, use objects around the house for kids to use as instruments. Some examples include pans and lids to clang, metal or wooden spoons to tap and paper towel tubes to hum through.

Build and Pretend

• Throw a blanket over a table or clothesline to make a play tent. Provide some large cardboard boxes for kids to crawl in and out of. Cut a "door" in an appliance-sized box to make a cabin. Give kids grocery boxes to sit in and pretend to drive a car, fly an airplane or rocket, or sail a boat.

Outings

• A play date away from home is a nice break from the norm. Meet another parent and child at a park, zoo, library or movie theater. Discover new things with another family at a child's museum or science center.