Activities

Activities

The following are suggestions of various activities that Bigs and Littles can do together. These activities cover a range of social, cultural, and environmental experiences. By participating in a wide range of activities with your Little, you can help broaden his/her perspective which may, in turn, open his/her eyes to many new situations and experiences.

Surprise your Little by celebrating his/her half birthday.
Make a thin layer of Jell-O and carve it into letters, number, figures, etc.
Together, write a family newspaper for friends and relatives.
Take a walk together collecting interesting rocks, leaves, etc.
Go to the bank and open a savings account.
Design a holiday card together.
Make a bug cage and catch bugs together.
Eat lunch with him/her at school.
Teach him/her to weave a ring out of grass.
Paint graffiti on the walls of a room for a few days before it is repainted.
Look up new words in a dictionary.
Use a globe to locate friends, travel destinations and current events together.
Go on a sound scavenger hunt with a tape recorder.
Go shopping at a second-hand store for dress-up clothes.
Work together to make a collage of his/her life with pictures cut from magazines.
Make giant soap bubbles.
Roast marshmallows.
Learn a simple magic trick to amaze him/her, then teach it to him/her.
Show him/her your picture from your high school yearbook.
Paint an original t-shirt for a special occasion.
Go for a walk in a hardware store and explain the function of various tools.
Compliment your Little's character and skills three times for every one compliment on his/her appearance.
On a one-foot square of grass, find all the living things that are visible in that space.
On his/her birthday, ask your Little to lie on a large sheet of paper and trace around him/her. Repeat process each year to show how much s/he has grown.
Learn to count to 10 in a foreign language.
Take your Little out on your anniversary.
Write a letter to your Little on your anniversary telling what you've noticed about him/her in the last year.
Have an art show of his/her masterpieces, invite your friends and relatives to come and buy original, signed artwork. Set low prices so everything will sell.
Make potpourri with dried flower petals.
Help your Little make a list of all the people who love him/her.
Wash the car together.
Explore the attic together.
Make a calendar of the big events of his/her year.
Make snow angels.
Write a poem about him/her and read it on a special occasion.
Feed the birds.
Look through a book of house plans and help him/her pick out a dream home.
Help him/her write a letter to the author of a book s/he really likes.
Buy him/her a rubber stamp or stickers with his/her name on them.
Start a coin or stamp collection.
Get a book of animal tracks and explore a pond or trail together to see what animals live in the area.
Put colored water in a two-liter bottle. Connect another to it like an hourglass and turn it over.
Go on a camera scavenger hunt together. Make a list of things you want pictures of before the hunt. Let him/her take the pictures.
Teach him/her a big word.
Record messages to send to grandparents or other loved ones who do not live nearby.
Go on a newspaper scavenger hunt. Give him/her 10-20 items to find in a newspaper.
Read biographies of people who did great things and let your Little know they were no different from him/her.

Make something with papermache, like a piñata.
Check out a tree identification book from the library and discover which ones are in your neighborhood.
Train together and participate in a 1-K fun run.
Role play meeting new people so s/he will have more confidence in what can be an unfamiliar situation.
Invite someone who has lived in a foreign country over for dinner to talk about life in that country.
Use a book of names to find the meaning of his/her names and those of family members.
Watch a potter throw on a wheel.
Use a magnifying glass to examine all sorts of small things.
Squeeze fresh orange juice.
Tour the state capital and watch the legislature in session.
Show him/her photos or movies of you as a child.
Roast pumpkin seeds in the oven.
Take him/her with you to vote and explain why you selected the candidates you did.
Volunteer together.
Ask him/her to share an opinion on things that are important to you.
Tell him/her stories about you when you were his/her age.
Volunteer to visit his/her class to talk about your profession.
Open the hood of a car and point out various parts.
Build and paint a birdhouse.
Skip rocks on the water.
Visit a farm and milk a cow.
Learn some tricks with a yo-yo.
Help him/her make a video movie.
Set up a roadside lemonade stand or have a tag sale together.
Write to the president and ask him for a photo. Your Little will receive a picture and packet of information.
Build a house of cards together.
Teach your pet a new trick.
Visit a college.
Learn to identify constellations.
Learn CPR together.
Rent a bicycle built for two.
Teach your Little a clean joke s/he can share with friends.
Do something together for an elderly friend, or visit a nursing home and talk with folks about what it was like when they were kids.
Whack golf balls at the driving range.
Bake and frost cut-out cookies.
Walk around a boat show, sport show, or Star Trek convention.
Make food from around the world and learn how people live in that country.
Rearrange the furniture in your living room.
Sniff the flowers in a local greenhouse.
Research an important event or issue at the library.
Learn how to dance.
Learn to sew, or teach your Little to sew.
Do aerobics together.
Make a homemade pizza or english muffin pizzas together.
Learn sign language together.
Go snowshoeing.
Go biking on a trail, and stop to make dandelion necklaces along the way.
Create beaded jewelry together.
Volunteer to build a house with Habitat for Humanity.
Learn to make homemade root beer or ice cream.
Feed the ducks at the park.
Watch a high school sporting event or play together.
Ask your Little to teach you how to do something s/he does well.

Parts of the list were created by Dan Boulin. Developed by BBBS of Dane County (Madison,WI).

Reading with Your Little

Select books or poems that you like and will enjoy reading to him/her.
Enthusiastic reading is most enjoyable. Use lots of expression (i.e. make up voices for different characters, use tones that suit the mood of the events in the story.)
Vary the pace of your reading to fit the story. If it is suspenseful or scary, try drawing out the words.
Avoid long, descriptive passages.
Give your Little whatever background information about the story, characters, author, etc. that may help them better understand the plot.
Have your Little draw pictures of characters or scenes they particularly like.
Try having your Little make predictions about what will happen next, who will win, etc. Stop occasionally during the story to engage them.
Many children have difficulty listening for long periods of time. If you find that the child's eyes are wandering or feel they are losing concentration, have the child help you retell the story or what has happened thus far.
If you are reading a picture book, stop to take time to examine the pictures and details. Are there any clues or hidden messages reflected in the illustrations?
After you have finished the book, it is always good to see if your Little enjoyed it- why or why not, what their favorite part was, do they have any questions about it, etc. Try to be creative and ask questions that may help them delve into the book further, while you learn more about them and how they think.

Helping with Schoolwork

Your Little may or may not want help with his school work. Remember, you are a mentor not a tutor. In the event that she could use some help and asks for it, here are some tips.

1) Listen and pay attention to the child. S/he may have the concepts but may be missing the application.
2) Do not do the work for him. Try to help by providing other useful ways of seeing or thinking about a problem.
3) Give clear directions that she can use. Clarify, if s/he does not understand, using a different approach.
4) Remember that he will have to use the skills you are helping him with again so encourage him to walk you through each step as if you are learning it for the first time, once he feels he understands.
5) Start with easy questions and work up to harder ones.
6) Be enthusiastic and positive, good attitudes are contagious. Don't let her get down on herself, keep using positive reinforcement as she works through it.
7) Make learning fun!

Other resources for Bigs:

Youth Services
32 Walnut Street
PO Box 6008
Brattleboro, VT 05302
Phone: (802) 257-0361
Fax: (802) 257-2171
Email: info@youthservicesinc.org