Sometimes kids (and parents) just need to get silly. Throw caution to the wind and try some of these off-the-wall ideas to get your family laughing and playing.
Have a Silly Day
- Schedule a whole day of silliness. Start with having dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner.
- Make your meals even sillier by making funny faces with gravy in your mashed potatoes or with syrup on your pancakes. Sprinkle something fun on your pizza, like frosted flakes or candy sprinkles.
- Wear silly clothes, like mismatched socks and t-shirts on backwards or inside out.
- Learn how to say each other’s names backwards.
- Let your kids know you’re going to be celebrating Silly Saturday or Silly Sunday next weekend, and have them create some silly activities that you can all enjoy.
Can You…
* Kiss your elbow?
* Touch your tongue to the tip of your nose?
* Peel a banana with your feet?
* Curl your tongue?
* Do the splits?
* Raise one eyebrow?
* Wink?
* Wiggle your ears?
* Wiggle your nose?
* Bend your thumb down to touch your wrist?
* Whistle a tune (legibly)
* Do something else interesting or wacky?
Do the TriPod
Place the top of your head and the palms of your hands on the floor in the shape of a triangle, with the your head being on the top of the triangle. Now, one at a time, try to put a knee on each elbow. Make sure you have plenty of room… chances are you may topple a few times before succeeding!
Learn to juggle
With younger kids, do a “family juggle.” Families stand in a small circle, with each person holding a small ball or beanbag. At the same time, Mom throws to dad, dad throws to sister, sister throws to mom, mom throws to dad. Do that over and over again. Start out slow and go as fast as you can.
Lip Sync to TV
Turn on the TV, and put it on mute. Have friends and family each choose a character on the screen and make up dialog when that person speaks. Be spontaneous or suggest participants pretend it’s a certain type of show (very dramatic, silly, sad).
Tongue Twisters
Go online to find tongue twisters – your kids will love it!
Learn a Line Dance – Classics include:
* Boot Scootin’ Boogie
* Cha Cha Slide
* Chicken Dance
* Cupid Shuffle
* Electric Slide
* Macarena
* Thriller
* YMCA
Don’t know the moves yourself? YouTube offers lots of demonstrations (parent supervision suggested).
Bottom Line: Let your kids know it’s OK to be silly – and Have Fun!
For more fun activities for you and your family, visit www.familyeguide.com and sign up for our weekly newsletter.