Do

1. Kids-only playhouse. From assembly to decoration, siblings can have great fun creating a “no grown-ups allowed” playhouse. A little parent vs. kid dynamic can unite siblings and cultivate teamwork. Add mess-free paint to unleash their inner artist and work on those fine motor skills.
2. Go on vacation! Get pretend passports and boarding passes and have your kids pack a bag and set chairs up, airplane style – use tape to add seat numbers and maybe even a ticket counter. Add some dolls or stuffies to fill the other seats. You’re the gate agent (taking tickets), then the flight attendant (serving snacks and asking questions about their trip), and then you’re the customs agent (stamping passports). Maybe kids take turns being the pilot! Fabulous fun that also works on those language and literacy skills.
3. Parent vs. kids ‘Hide and Seek’. Kids form a team and stick together as they oppose parents in a rousing game of Hide and Seek. Nothing like a little exhilaration to get the giggles flowing.
4. Parents vs. kid ‘Treasure Hunt’. Kids hide jewels around the house and grown-ups have to find the treasure (and vice versa). Give tricky verbal cues if you want to ante the game up with critical thinking skills. Kids equally love the hunt for shiny, colorful trinkets as that butterfly feeling of you approaching a treasure they’ve worked so hard to conceal.
5. Use command strips to install a little fairy door somewhere in your house. Tell your kids that you received a letter that a fairy has taken up residence in your house because she’s heard that you have children who are working hard on being kind to each other. You’re the fairy – leave your children littles notes telling them the kind words you overheard them say to each other or kind things they did for one another. Your children can leave notes for their fairy, if they like.
6. Build a fort! Go back to basics with tables, sheets, blankets or pillows or make this chalkboard fantasy fort your base. Maybe it’s a tent or a snow fort and you’re a bear or the abominable snowman trying to breach the entrance. Let your kids team up against you and defend their lair. Just the act of having to build a fort will also get those critical thinking and motor skills kicking in high gear.
7. Grab a few puppets or jolly helpers and a theater like this, and get your kids cracking up with a wacky puppet show featuring puppets that just so happen to have the same names as your kids. Tell them an entertaining tale – maybe it features some sibling problem-solving skills as they work together, and of course it ends with the siblings triumphant. Don’t forget to sell opening night tickets!
8. Make lunch or dinner a bit more fun by playing restaurant. Serve as wait staff and seat your children together, present them with the daily special(s), and take their orders. You could even create a menu if you wanted to work on those fine motor and language and literacy skills (just writing some food items on a piece of paper will suffice). If everyone needs a laugh, become the forgetful waiter and see how long it takes to get everyone giggling at your antics.
9. Head outdoors! Encourage your kids to share what they’re learning and exploring using a nature journal, or challenge them to work together on this fun neighborhood scavenger hunt. If they can complete it in 20 minutes, celebrate with ice cream for everyone! Quick and invigorating teamwork with little preparation required.
10. You need help stat – a stuffie or baby doll has been injured! Role play hospital with these kits (for younger kids, for older kids, for aspiring veterinarians) and watch them be hero healthworkers – together. Set the scene up with a dramatic tale and let them them come together to save their beloved stuffie. Empathy and cooperative play at their best.