by Frank Shetland

Created on: February 27, 2007

There are so many things the Big Brothers and Sisters can do with their littles, but sometimes our creativity can run dry. Here are a few ideas I've brainstormed as a starting point:

1. Find a frisbee golf course and go play. If there's not one, just play frisbee.
2. Go to a museum.
3. Learn a new skill together (e.g. knitting)
4. Plant a garden. If you don't have a place to do so, plant a flower in a pot.

5. Involve them with a family tradition.
6. Bring them to work if your office has a bring your child to work day.
7. Draw on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk.
8. Make up a scavenger hunt.
9. Have a movie evening with a theme. You might do baseball the week before you go see a baseball game together, and rent Field of Dreams and Bad News Bears, or (for sisters) a power girls night where you rent movies about girls doing great things (e.g. Mulan).
10. Do a photo scavenger hunt, where you both have to be in each picture along with what you were searching for, and put the photos in an album and give them to her the next time.
11. Do your photos in one of those photo booths.
12. Create a newsletter for the little to give to his/her family about what he/she is doing, interested in, etc.
13. Volunteer to walk dogs for an elderly couple together.
14. Cook a meal together and take it to your little's house.
15. Make mothers day cards.
16. Make fruit smoothies.
17. Go rock hopping in a creek.
18. Skip rocks across a pond.
19. Rent a paddle boat or canoe.
20. Go on a hike.
21. Play on the playground.
22. Introduce him/her to someone important to you.
23. Make candles (with a kit).
24. Paint on pottery.
25. Invite someone from a foreign country to dinner with you, and have them tell you both about his/her country.
26. Go to cultural festivals.
27. Plan a dream trip around the world, and research the destinations you choose.
28. Talk to your little about your college experience. Visit the campus if possible.
29. Go ice skating.
30. Invent a secret language.
31. Go to your little's school to eat lunch with him/her.
32. Tell your little's teacher what a blessing he/she is to you. Ask if you can work on any skills with him her.
33. Bake something. If you have him/her choose the recipe, go with you to the store, do price comparisons, measure, and time it (with your assistance), he/she will use his/her math and reading skills.
34. Play scrabble. This will improve his/her vocabulary. (If he/she isn't interested, make it a rainy day activity and make it interesting by offering a reward at certain point levels.)
35. Play pool. Your little may or may not be old enough for geometry, but pool uses angles and makes them more fun.
36. Check out books together.
37. Go to BBBS social events to sharpen their social skills.
38. Write letters to one another between get-togethers.
39. Play hangman using only his/her spelling words.
40. Reward good grades with extra trips between times.

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