Animal Stretches
Be a cat, a cobra, a tree. Ten minutes of stretching that does not feel like stretching.
The best activity is the one you can start immediately. These need nothing at all — no craft box, no shopping trip, no printing. Just you, your 7 year old, and whatever room you are already standing in. At seven, children want work that feels real rather than childish — give them a genuine job.
They work well in waiting rooms, on holiday, at a grandparent's house, or on the days when the craft cupboard is empty.
21 activities matched
Be a cat, a cobra, a tree. Ten minutes of stretching that does not feel like stretching.
One bag, one walk, ten things to find.
Ten minutes on the timer and everything off the floor.
Find A, then B, then C, on every sign you pass.
Lie on your back and argue about what the clouds look like.
You give three random words. They build a story around them.
How long can you stand on one leg? Now with your eyes shut.
Ten objects on a tray, thirty seconds to look, then one disappears.
Everyone silent for five minutes, then say what you heard.
Cat, hat, mat, flat. Keep going until you run out.
Everyone performs one thing. Badly is fine. Compulsory for adults.
Face each other and copy every movement exactly, in silence.
A real job, done properly, by someone who is four.
One of you thinks of something. The other has twenty yes-or-no questions.
Find the best stick in the park. Just one. It takes ages.
One story, told in turns, that lasts the whole journey.
Reach in, feel one object, and describe it without naming it.
Do one good thing for someone in the house without being caught.
A cupboard of containers and lids that do not match. Sort it out.
Name a colour. They run. You sit down.
Close your eyes. What made that noise?