moms of boys- help?

[color of my heart]

so a dear friend of mine has recently been given "partial custody" of his nephew. it's a long story, very complicated. but to explain quickly: mom is currently in treatment for drugs, as well as depression. so my friend now shares custody with his mother (the child's grandmother), since the mom was deemed unfit. he has the 6 year old 3 days a week.

the kid has more energy than "anybody on earth" according to my friend. so we're trying to come up with things that they can do. apparently he loves science, so i've been scouring pinterest for things to send my friend.

i also figured i would come here. because i know a lot of you lovely people have kids around that age. so i ask: what do you do to keep your kids busy? what do your boys like to do? do you have any suggestions?

[kelley]

My sons all love anything to do with legos/knex/building sets. And of course video games, but you don't want to try and occupy them with that most likely! My boys could also spend all day painting or using clay if I let them.

[SeattleSheri]

I assume the child is in school during the day and this is just for evenings/weekends? A lot of this depends on the child and what's available in his area. I would encourage him to check out local community centers and parks and to consider play dates with other kids.

[MamaBee]

Is there an indoor play gym around... like a YMCA/YWCA? that would help burn off some of that energy... haha.

My son (5 1/2) is on the "quiet" side... so he loves to play with legos, knex, blocks... and anything with wheels cars. He also loves anything crafty... will spend hours gluing stuff to paper and making "cards" with markers, paint, and foam stickers.

Here a few of the boards I've pined to do with my kiddo...

https://pinterest.com/mamabee/things-to-do-with-kiddo/
https://pinterest.com/mamabee/taking...-winter-blahs/
https://pinterest.com/mamabee/kid-crafts/

and if he likes science... here is my science board for kiddo...
https://pinterest.com/mamabee/hs-science/

[Robin Carlton]

Your science board is sooo cool Rebecca!

[kristijoy]

For me...the big thing in keeping a 6 year olds energy together is getting physical exercise. They need to get worn out everyday! I take him to a martial arts class (that we can both attend - which is fabulous). I would definately suggest your friend look at the Y or community center for other sports type activities (like indoor soccer!). There should be alot around for 6 year olds.

I'm gathering your friend is in a city (and needs indoor things this time of year). Lots of rec centers or the Y should have open play time where you can shoot hoops in a gym, or swim in a pool together (swimming is one of the things that really wears my kid out!). Indoor jumpy houses often have open jumping times or 'family jumping' times. Those should be relatively affordable.

If you can go outside....get a bike with a tag-along attached and go for long bike rides together. Run around in the woods and build forts in the trees. Climb trees. Go for hikes.

Also outside...a SANDBOX with trucks and water hose. Boys will play in the sand for a long time.

My husband also has assorted ridiculous games that he plays with my son mostly with pillows. Like pillow fights, volcano, eat the sandwich. They also practice hopping down the hallway with different 'steps' etc. Or dance together!

I'm not sure about your friends kid, but with my own, I found that my son (being an only child) needed some help actually learning how to play. What do you do in the sandbox? How do you tell stories with legos? An adult that wants to play and bond with him will really make a difference.

[jaylensmom]

As a mom to an 8 year old boy who still rarely sits down until it's time for bed...I would say anything that will burn off energy...trips to the park...riding bikes/scooters...sports (if possible)...or maybe karate.

[kristijoy]

Another thing my son has enjoyed (he loves science and inventing things): I got a bin of just stuff that he could make intersting contraptions around the house. I filled it full of stuff from the hard ware store: small pulleys, ropes, springs, plastic chinese food containers), old electronic parts like switches, buttons, etc.. We've made elevators and gondolas for cars stringing them around the room on chairs and tables. SOme of it is also just make believe like robots with buttons etc...

Here are a couple of my pinterest boards you might enjoy. NOTE: I collected alot of these last year when my son was 5.

Last year in the depths of winter I did a bunch of space type things. Some are with a black light and glow in the dark goo-gahs. (I covered a table with a big bedspread and attached the light to the wall). THere is also some glow-in-dark flubber in here too. Space: http://pinterest.com/kristijoyful/theme-space/

Robots: http://pinterest.com/kristijoyful/themeobot/

I have lots of other boards like dinosaurs, the sun, geology, etc... Here's a general link to my boards: http://pinterest.com/kristijoyful/

[jessica31876]

my son is much older and since I live in Florida this is not obviously something that would work for everyone but the kids and I would do scavenger hunts, catch lizards & grasshoppers and the like, play with whatever pets we had at the time (we have had lots of pets over 22 years), go to the park in the afternoon, of course do homework, play on their swingset, ride bikes. Essentially just go outside. In the summer it was kinda the opposite because I really hate being outside in the dead heat of summer so we did a lot of indoor activities and went to the movies/mall/library. Sometimes they would play in the sprinkler or with water guns/water balloons...cool off activities I guess LOL

[YepBrook]

For me, my 6 year old son need playground time DAILY. If not, it gets really ugly up in here.

[anneofalamo]

Five boys here, 4, 6, 7, 14 and 16 and the trampoline was MY mother's day gift to ME!!
They are on it even now and it is dark!
Bike riding! Hikes! Anything that moves!
Then inside, they all love to unscrew and fix things! I have a box of broken electronic things, toasters and such I beg for at thrift stores. They put out a towel and have a cup for screws and a couple different screw drivers and they can spend hours upon hour with this!!
Boys fight and are not mad like girls do! Sometimes they just need to conquer! lol
but I have to say they are also the best cuddlers!

[QuiltyMom]

"Painting" the sidewalk with water. My kids used to LOVE that. All you need is a bucket, a large paintbrush (think the huge cheapo kinds at Home Depot) and water. Start at one part, paint away. Then when he's done, start all over again!

Something tactile, like play dough, or building with legos or anything that was previously mentioned is great. Even cooking! Give him small (safe) tasks to do. He'll most likely even eat better, too, after having help to prepare it.

But I agree with the physical activity. He needs LOTS of it. And NO screen time of any sort 1-1/2 hours before bedtime, otherwise he'll have a hard time getting to sleep. I live by those words, and my kids are 12 and 14.

And there's nothing like story time. I still love to read to my kids (when they're not too busy, which seems like all of the time now).

[YepBrook]

I love the suggestions of painting the sidewalk with water & tinkering with broken toasters. My son loves tinkering with the screwdriver... the past two days he's come to me asking for it so he can tighten the screws in the gate latch. I am TOTALLY getting him a box of junk. Thanks!!!

[kristijoy]

Originally Posted by YepBrook

I love the suggestions of painting the sidewalk with water & tinkering with broken toasters. My son loves tinkering with the screwdriver... the past two days he's come to me asking for it so he can tighten the screws in the gate latch. I am TOTALLY getting him a box of junk. Thanks!!!

My DH grew up taking things apart. He and his buddy would go to thrift stores and buy things to take apart. And now that he's grown up he's really good at fixing things around the house!

[color of my heart]

thank you everyone! i will pass along the suggestions. he sort of got blindsided with everything. but he's been in his nephew's life forever. so he's already super!uncle. he just needs some ideas.

i already told him: "GO OUTSIDE". they live in texas, so i think it's still pretty warm there. i dunno. my friend is ridiculously lazy (typical), so getting him outside is always hard. but i know that's what the kid needs. i'll bring up the Y too.

again, thank you so so much!

[Heather Prins]

I agree keep him physically active, feed him healthy (no sugar) and get lego sets!!!

[QuiltyMom]

I kept thinking about this today, and the only other thing I'd add is to play catch. Get him his own baseball glove if he already doesn't have one and have fun. I loved doing that when I was a kid when my cousin would come to visit us. I was in elementary school when he was stationed at Port Hueneme during the Vietnam war. He'd come visit us every weekend and I couldn't wait to play catch!