How to Keep a Six-Year Old Busy
Although your 6-year-old doesn't need the same type of constant assistance that she did as a toddler, she will still need your help when it comes to keeping busy. According to the child development experts at PBS Parents, the typical 6-year-old enjoys structured activities and finds excitement in more complex types of learning tasks such as reading or engaging in dramatic play. Unless you plan on letting your Kindergartner or first grader sit in front of the TV for hours, blankly staring at the screen, you'll need to schedule extra-curricular activities and engage her with at-home activities.
Instructions
Provide your 6-year-old with choices. Ask him to pick between a few different activities -- such as playing soccer or basketball -- letting him express his independence. Give him enough variation in his options to ensure that there is at least one or two that he finds interest in. Expose your child to different after-school activities and sports, letting her develop new skills in varying areas. Create pretend play opportunities for your 6-year-old to show off his dramatic side and develop problem-solving skills. Provide your child with a dress-up box that you fill with costumes and clothes, or props to use in his own imaginative scenes. Read a book with your child to give him story ideas that he can act out, or brainstorm his own tales to use. Read with your child often. Give your child an array of books in different genres to explore. Ask your child to tell you about the stories that she is reading or write a sentence or two about the narrative. Get your child up and active. Engage your child in at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's guidelines. Run around the backyard chasing each other, play a game of catch together, stage a neighborhood relay race or let your little one pick his own favorite way to get active. Plan sit-down types of activities that help to develop your child's fine motor skills. Give your child art materials -- such as crayons, markers, tempera paints and paper -- to explore with, architectural blocks to build with or another activity that encourages eye-hand coordination and dexterity. Enlist your 6-year-old's help with your daily household tasks. Give your child age-appropriate chores to do, instead of letting her sit back and watch you do them. Ask her to set and clear the table with you after eating dinner, rake the leaves or clean up her toys and put them into storage-types of organizers. A 6-year-old can make his own bed -- and yours! Include social activities along with solitary ones. Invite friends over for play dates or set up a group outing to the local park with other children. Call the family of a friend from school and ask if the child can come over on a weekend afternoon, ask the neighborhood kids to come over for a game of backyard baseball, schedule a sleepover with a like-aged cousin or encourage your 6-year-old to tell you who she wants to have her play-date with.
