by 12 people |
Why Not Turn Off the TV and Video Games, And Encourage The Kids To Play Outside For A While?
Many kids today seem nearly glued to their X-Boxes, DSs, Playstations, Gamecubes, TV's or other electronic devices. But what ever happened to good ol' outdoor fun?
The kids in our neighborhood are unlike many in that they play outside a great deal. One of their favorite places to play is the vacant lot beside our house. Below you will find 10 of their most favorite things to do on a vacant lot. This lens (a lens is a one page website on Squidoo) is the first of a series on fun things for kids to do without a tv or computer screen!
Sure, none of these ideas listed here are new. But that's just the point. The outdoor games and activities we played as children were lots of fun! Don't you think?
Come take a stroll down memory lane, and maybe you'll even get inspired to have a "no electronics day" at your house every now and then...
I'll even leave a space on the page for you to share some of your favorite outside childhood games and activities!
#1. Climb a tree!
There was a beautiful dogwood tree in our backyard.
Wanna hear about the fun we had in it?
That wasn't the best part of the tree though. The best part was the branches. My older brother and I used to climb up in them. It was so much fun! Being way up high like that, feeling the breeze upon our skin, gave us such a wonderful feeling of freedom, peace, and joy!
There was one place up in those dogwood branches that was great for sitting. Another place, where the branches criss crossed just right, even offered us a safe place to lie down. Yes, up high in the tree! It was awesome. We'd take a book up there, lie down in the branches, and just read, enjoying the birds singing all around.
We moved to a new house, and thus a new backyard, near the end of my third year of school, but I never forgot my love of climbing trees. I remember even as a young adult climbing a tree just to get back that old feeling!
Here's a photo of my son climbing a tree on the vacant lot beside us.
#2. Catch Fireflies..and then let them go again.
Observing Lightning Bugs light up the dark!
Ah, the memories of warm, summer evenings!
Remember how magical fireflies used to seem to us as children? They carried their own lights with them, and turned them on and off like flashlights!
Catching Fireflies
#3. Watergun fun!
Spraying one another with a stream of water! What fun on a hot summer day!
Turning the hose on someone who came running by as we were refilling our waterguns was such fun too!
At my son's karate school, they have "water fight night" once a month during the warmer months. All the kids wear their swimsuits and run around the parking lot (from which cars have been restricted) shooting not only each other, but also their karate instructors! Now how fun is that?!
Playing with waterguns often goes on closer to home too. The neighborhood kids all love it!
Waterguns
Clilck on a watergun to find out more about it or to make a purchase.
#4. Wanna dig a hole to China?
Building pretend foxholes or WW1 trenches, even trying to dig to China!
What is it with kids and digging holes?
And yeah, seriously, I do recall trying to dig to China. Okay, I didn't really think I could dig that far, and I guess even if I could have dug straight through the center of the earth, I would have ended up somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean rather than China..but it was still a fun game to play! I guess kids just like to dig and explore the world around them!
Last year my son and I learned about the trenches of WWI as part of our homeschool program. My son was fascinated by all that he learned. Therefore I guess it's only natural that he and the neighborhood kids began to dig their own pretend trenches and foxholes to play in! (And yes they were truly grateful that they didn't have to LIVE in those trenches, but just play in them for an hour or so at a time! They do know that real war is not a game!)
Boy am I glad all this digging goes on on a vacant lot, and not in our own yard!
#5. Build A Dirt Track For Your Remote Control Vehicle
Remote Control Vehicles Can Be Lots Of Fun!
Next the fun begins; driving their remote control cars over the track! Steering these as they travel quickly on a bumpy dirt track isn't as easy as one might think!
There are different trails branching off the main one, so there's a variety of ways to go. The main trail leads you, in a round about way, back to the start too, so you can keep on going for a while if you'd like!
Remote Control Vehicles On Amazon
#6. Ride Bikes
Riding Bikes Has Long Been A Pleasure Of Childhood
But don't forget your helmet!
I bet many of you have a similar story to tell.
Sure, the neighborhood kids all love riding bikes in our cul-de-sac, but they also enjoy riding them on the vacant lot. I think they LIKE going bumpity bumpity over the rocks and tuffs of grass, and especially down the hill to the road below! After they'd built the track for their remote controls though, they often used it for riding bikes too!
Mountain Bikes
Click on a picture to find our more about that bike or to make a purchase.
#7. Use Your Imagination!
Let's Pretend...
Did you take sticks and pebbles to build miniature doll houses and use twig people as the dolls? Did you draw on or cut a large cardboard box and turn it into a castle, clubhouse or a rocket to the moon?
Did you pretend you were royalty? Or a bad guy or a cop? Or maybe you role played being a settler on the prairie? Perhaps you were Lewis Or Clark, exploring the west? Or the Vikings or the Pilgrims making journeys across the ocean? Maybe you were Leonardo da Vinci in your imagination? Or a doctor or veterinarian?
When you're using your imagination, the sky's the limit!
Tell us your story!
What did you like to pretend when you were a kid?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byI loved using my imagination, and often pretended...
Upon-Request says:
Fun lens - We had a vacant lot at the end of our street. Some days it was filled with kids. Thanks for the memories
Posted November 28, 2009
Bonnie says:
My little bicycle was my horse. I rode it all around an empty church parking lot. The parking spaces were "stalls". Later when I was a teen, I used to find a comfy tree to climb and read....
Posted October 19, 2009
aj2008 says:
We used to try to dig to Australia, then there was the den in the woods......and lots of bike rides.
Posted August 17, 2009
ajgodinho says:
Oh yeah, we played pretend games when we were kids and though we didn't have a vacant lot next to our house, we did find vacant lots elsewhere to play. In our backyard, we pretended we were a famous band - this was with my siblings (two older sisters and a younger brothers) - We were the BGs 'cos all our nick names started with B and our last name started with G! ;)
Posted August 16, 2009
puzzlemaker says:
Yes, we pretended all the time. We had a horse pasture to play in and did play in it every single day. There was a creek through the middle of it which was always a source of interest.
Posted August 14, 2009
Momtothezoo says:
My best friend, Terri Petersen, had a phenominal imagination and totally pulled me into her adventures...we had wonderful summers together living within the realms of anything our minds could create!
Posted August 14, 2009
sittonbull says:
When I was growing up, I feel very privileged to have had little else but a vivid imagination and like minded friends and lots of open country, with creeks and rivers, farms and ponds, dirt roads, mountains close by, etc. I'm in my "golden ? years" and have not outgrown the joy of using my imagination.
Posted August 14, 2009
OhMe says:
Oh me! Yes, we had a vacant lot and used it all the time for all kind of fun imaginative play
Posted August 14, 2009
Joan4 says:
Oh my! we pretended constantly. we'd say "let's play like...." and yes, we had a vacant lot next door!
Posted August 13, 2009
Nah, who cares about imaginations?!
#8. Hide & Seek, Freeze Tag, and Other Outdoor games
Active Outdoor Games!
Hide-n-seek was always a favorite of mine, inside or out! And places like our vacant lot, where there are lots of places to hide, make it even more fun!
Yes, he's in there. Do you see him?
What's your favorite outdoor children's game?
#9. Explore Nature and Collect Things
Explore the wonders of nature!
Even keep a written record of them, if you'd like!
What about Rolypolys and Granddaddy Long-Legs? Remember looking for either of them when you were a kid? I do. Rolypolys, anyway. I wasn't as fond of Granddaddy Long Legs! I had friends who used to search for them though!
Did you collect rocks, leaves, feathers, seeds, or anything else you found out in nature? My son has quite a few nature collections, including everything from feathers to rocks to bones!
Why not suggest your kids grab a notebook and pencil and record some of their findings and discoveries? It could be a notebook just for nature observations and drawings!
Or maybe they'd like to start a new nature collection?
#10. Run, Jump, Or Create an Obstacle Course!
Vacant Lots Usually Allow Plenty Of Room For Being Active!
So run and jump all you want!
About Squidoo
Squidoo is a company which provides free webspace for people to use to share their experiences and thoughts, sell things, post information online, create pages in honor of their new baby, share recipes, etc. The Squidoo lenses (mini websites) people write can be about anything they want...well, within reason, of course! (As a matter of fact, this list of Fun Things To Do On A Vacant Lot is a Squidoo lens!) They're lots of fun to write, and hey, you can even earn a little money in the process!
If you'd like to make a Squidoo lens yourself, feel free to contact me for more information, or click here to get started making a lens of your own.
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What Was Your Favorite Childhood Game To Play?
Come on and tell us about it!
We'd love to hear!
Anyone can leave a message here. You do not have to be a member of Squidoo.
I'd love to hear from you!
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- poutine poutine Nov 23, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
- Wonderful ideas for young people to play outside inside of sitting in front of video games.
I like alll your ideas.
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- Gaye Botsford Gaye Botsford Oct 19, 2009 @ 7:37 pm
- My brother and I would play "King of the Mountian" and it was not a mountain, just a hill, but if you were on top, it was eaiser to push the other one off and stay king, until you (they) got tired...:-)
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- OhMe OhMe Oct 14, 2009 @ 6:12 pm
- I just had to pop back in here and give you a well deserved blessing on this great lens.
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- lollyj lollyj Sep 1, 2009 @ 8:31 am
- GREAT LENS!! Brought back so many happy memories. We had a huge yard when we were kids, so all the neighbor kids spent most of their time playing games and make believe in our yard.
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- aj2008 aj2008 Aug 17, 2009 @ 6:39 am
- Delightful lens - SquidAngel Blessings for you.
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- ajgodinho ajgodinho Aug 16, 2009 @ 4:48 pm
- We played alot outside growing up and loved it. We did many things like exploring and playing many different outdoor games. I guess it was good thing that we couldn't afford much of toys and gadgets, so we were forced to be creative in how we spent our free time. It's great to see that your son and his friends play alot outdoor and are creative in their ways. You did an excellent job with this lens and provided some wonderful ideas!
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- Pukeko Pukeko Aug 15, 2009 @ 3:13 am
- Hi Janiece - here is the ultimate complement to this lens. I had brought it up to read, got distracted and when I returned my children were reading every word and didn't want to give back the computer because "please wait mum, this is really interesting!" I am lensrolling it to my homeschool page.
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- stargazer00 stargazer00 Aug 14, 2009 @ 11:33 pm
- I love the lightning bugs. We don't have them out west. The owner of a vacant lot in our neighborhood once put on an Easter Egg hunt for the neighborhood kids. That was really fun for the kids. Another vacant lot was a community kid project called the Dippity Do's. A series of dips and jumps for bike riders.
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- OhMe OhMe Aug 14, 2009 @ 12:30 pm | in reply to sittonbull
- Believe me, John, I have thought about making a Camp Cripple Creek lens on many occasions but wasn't sure how to get in touch with everyone involved to get permission to use pictures. It might not matter since so much time has passed especially if I don't use names. It would be fun. Once again, you may have inspired me!
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- puzzlemaker puzzlemaker Aug 14, 2009 @ 11:10 am
- My favorite childhood memory of playing is riding our bikes miles and miles from home. I really should go back there and see how far it was. We would be gone from home for hours and no one knew where we were. Also, a interstate highway (I-77 in South Carolina)was being built beside our house and we would go over there and jump in all those ditches and walk through the huge culverts and on the mounds of dirt.
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- Momtothezoo Momtothezoo Aug 14, 2009 @ 10:55 am
- This was a great lens to bring us back to a time when life was carefree. Thank you so much for the memories! 5*
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- sittonbull sittonbull Aug 14, 2009 @ 9:04 am
- This is a magnificent lens that brings back memories of my childhood and my kids enjoyed some of the same things (some of those at Ohme's Camp Cripple Creek (do I smell a lens there Ohme?). Technology is great, but it has limited somewhat the development and enjoyment of using the imagination for the kids of today.
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Lensmaster Janiece has been a member since December 6 2008, has rated 556 lenses, favorited 119, and has created 42 lenses from scratch. Janiece T donates their royalties to Diabetes Research Institute. This member's top-ranked page is "Great Board Games To Play With Your Family!". See all my lenses
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