I babysit a lot (sorry people who answered this already) I have run out of fun things to do... help?

Question

Okay I babysit all the time but I've run out of fun things to do.?
I watch a nine year old girl. she's a lot of fun, she likes andy grifth shows and sometimes we watch one. but she can't sit through a whole movie. and she's not really into anything that takes time or runs out of drive. She likes to sing and dance but after wards when she wants to do something else I can't think of anything to let her do. she dosn't like to play outside and dosn't like board games. she likes to pretend were on a talk show and tell jokes but all the jokes I know are to old for her and she dosn't get them. Any simple jokes that a nine year old would get? and enjoy I want her to have fun. because if she has fun I keep my very well paying job.
Anything that would help would be great.
(Sorry people who have answered this already I need as many sugestions as I can get.)
The family that I babysit for have a model clean house. So any ideas on neat and clean crafts would really be of wonderful help!

Answer 1

Babysitting Activity Ideas suggested.

*** Pinecone Bird Feeders ***
Large pinecones
Peanut butter (Birds prefer chunky over smooth!)
Shortening
Cornmeal
Birdseed (optional)
Fishing line, string or yarn
Wrap and tie string to top of pinecone. Mix peanut butter, shortening, (such as bacon fat or melted suet), and cornmeal. Then, spread the mixture onto a large pinecone. Hang your bird feeder in a spot where you can watch the birds eat. Note: If you use smooth instead of chunky peanut butter, you may want to mix in a little bird seed for added interest and enjoyment.

Did you know? Birds have trouble digesting peanut butter! It can also get stuck in their beaks. This is why bird experts recommend the addition of shortening and cornmeal when preparing homemade birdfeeders of this type.


more babysitting ideas.......


*** Finger Paint ***
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups water
food coloring

Mix ingredients in saucepan. Boil until mixture thickens. Allow to cool, then pour into jars or other storage containers and color with food coloring. Best used on a glossy paper, such as butcher or shelf paper.
Activities and ideas for babysitting


***Bubbles***
1 cup water
1/3 cup dish soap (Joy, Sunlight, etc)
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup

Combine ingredients and enjoy. If you don't have bubble blowers around the house, be creative and try using different objects from your utensil drawer, (e.g., apple corer, potato masher, handle of a basting brush, etc. They work.)



*** Playdough ***
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup salt
1 1/2 - 2 cups boiling water
3 - 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
Food coloring

Add oil and food coloring to boiling water. Combine remaining ingredients, and mix well. As you knead it, the dough will get smoother. Store in airtight container. Very pliable and easy to roll or sculpt.



*** Edible Peanut Butter Playdough ***
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 cup powdered milk
Knead until smooth.


*** Bakeable "Salt Clay"***
Use cookie cutters or mold Salt Clay by hand, then bake in a 300 degree oven for use in creating refrigerator magnets, jewelry, ornaments, keychains, necklaces, and more.

Stir together:
2 cups plain flour
1 cup salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups cold water
2 tablespoons cooking oil

Knead well until it forms a soft ball. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil, make the shapes you want, and bake in the oven at 300 degrees or until hard (about one hour).

You can use food coloring to color dough before you bake it, or paint it afterwards. A finishing coat of shellac or clear acrylic will make your salt clay products last longer.




Crafts

Handprint Turkey

Materials Needed:

Drawing paper - 8 x 11 standard size works well

Crayons, washable paint, or washable markers

Paint brush if using washable paint

Wet washcloth to clean mess

Newspaper - to cover work surface



Procedure:

This project can be messy, make sure to cover your work
area with newspaper or work outside.

If using crayons or washable markers, trace the child's
hand (make sure the child's fingers are spread apart).
Using the crayons or markers, decorate the turkey.
Make sure to give the turkey a beak, wattle, eyes, and legs.

If using washable paint, use a paint brush to paint the
child's palm. Then paint each finger a different color.
With the child's finger spread apart make a handprint
on the paper. Use paint or markers to give the turkey
a beak, wattle, eyes, and legs.



Hidden Pictures

Materials Needed:

Drawing paper - 8 x 11 standard size works well

Crayons - lots of them and especially black

Pencil, lollipop stick, or popsicle stick

Newspaper - to cover work surface

Procedure:

This project can be messy, make sure to cover your work area with newspaper or work outside.

Use a fun array of brightly colored crayons to cover the entire paper. Encourage the child to make the colors vibrant and to press fairly hard to give rich colors.

Now take a black crayon and color the ENTIRE colored piece of paper with the black crayon. Make sure it is completely covered in black.

The magic begins - using the pencil, lollipop stick, or popsicle stick you can etch out a drawing from the now blackened paper. The etching will cause the buried colors to magically appear.



Crayon Rubbings

Materials Needed:

White paper

Peeled crayons

Various objects - leaves, pine needles, shapes, sandpaper, coin, etc.

Procedure:

Peel the paper wrapper off several crayons.

Give each child a sheet of white paper.

Have various objects for the child to choose as a print. (Leaves, shapes, sandpaper, feathers, etc.).

Let the child select some of these objects and put them under the paper.

The child then rubs with the side of the crayon onto the paper and the object shows through as a print.

Chalk and Wet Paper
Materials Needed:
Paper
Wet sponge
Chalk

Procedure:
Each child should wet paper slightly with wrung out sponge.
Draw freely with colored chalk. Show the children how to use side and ends of chalk.
Allow paper to dry.

Colored Play Dough
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 T cooking oil
1 to 1 1/2 cups cold water
food coloring
Mix flour, salt, oil. Add food coloring to water. Gradually add water to flour mixture. Knead. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator
Oatmeal Play Dough

Ingredients:

1 part flour
1 part water
2 parts oatmeal
Mix all ingredients until smooth. Knead.
(not-edible)
No Cook Vinegar Dough

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 cup water (a bit more if necessary)
1 cup salt
1/4 cup oil
2 T vinegar

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. If dough seems dry add more water a teaspoonful at a time. Knead well.
Playing with Play Dough

Keeping children busy indoors on rainy days can be a challenge for babysitters. Playing with play dough is always a favorite activity and it's even educational! Children enjoy pushing, rolling, squeezing, molding, and pounding gooey play dough. Here are some play dough tips:

Allow the child to just play with it without necessarily making something.

Children enjoy making "play food" out of play dough, but be sure they really don't eat it!

Hard plastic toys, such as action figures and dinosaurs, are fun to hide in the play dough or to press to make an imprint. Be sure the toys are at least as big as the child's fist.

Be creative, have fun, and those showers will be over before you know it.



Personalized Wrapping Paper

Supplies -

roll of brown wrapping material (find at the post office, moving company, or craft supply store)

sponges, paint, stencils

Project how to -

Some ideas:
sponge paint ABC's for a child's gift and tie ribbon!
attach autumn leaves and moss to the top of package for the nature lover and wrap with raffia!
stencil Christmas trees, ornaments, and stars for the holiday season!
Very simple: Simply wrap the gift as you normally would and decorate.

You are only limited by your imagination! Have fun!!

Yarn Octopus

Supplies - Two different colors of yarn, a small ball of cotton, glue, googly eyes, felt (optional), ruler, scissors, and glue.

Project how to -
1. Cut twenty-four 12 inch long pieces of yarn (yarn color number 1).
2. Lie the yarn on a flat surface so that it looks like the spokes of a wheel, and so that the yarn pieces intersect with each other in the center of the wheel.
3. Put a small ball of cotton, a little bigger than the size of a ping-pong ball in the center of the wheel.
4. Gather up the pieces of yarn around the cotton and tie them with a piece of an other color of yarn (yarn color number 2).
5. Separate the yarn into groups of three, and braid them. Tie each braid at the end with a piece of yarn color number 2. You should then end up with 8 braids.
6. Glue two googly eyes onto the yarn surrounding the ball of cotton.
7. Use either yarn or felt to make a mouth for your octopus and glue it on.
8. Now enjoy your yarn octopus!

Bookmarks

Supplies -

Clear Contact Paper

Old artwork or magazine pictures

Scissors

Ruler

Pencil

Project how to

Measure and make back of artwork into rectangle(s) of bookmark size. (1 1/2 inch by 5 inches is a good size.)

Cut out bookmark carefully.

Cut out 2 rectangles of Contact Paper for each bookmark that are 1/2 inch wider and longer. (2 inches by 5 1/2 inches)

Remove backing from one piece of Contact Paper and carefully center artwork rectangle on sticky side. Press down.

Remove backing from the other piece of Contact Paper and carefully place on other side of artwork, making a sandwich.

Air bubbles can be smoothed out using the edge of the ruler.

If the edges of the Contact Paper are not even, they can be trimmed slightly after first drawing a new straight line as a guide.

Do it yourself animation
Ages: 6-8, 9-12
Location: Indoors, Car
Skills: Art, Science


What you'll need:
A palm-sized pad of paper, ideally at least one inch thick
A pen or marker


What to do:
1. Decide what you would like to animate (i.e. a ball bouncing, a flagwaving, a star moving across the sky). It's a good idea to start out simple until you and your kids get the hang of things.


2. Draw the rough outlines of the various frames on consecutive sheets of paper in the pad. For example: The first frame might show a ball lying on the ground. The next frame might show it inching up slightly higher. The third might show it higher still--and so on.


3. Color in the objects you have drawn.


4. Put your thumb on the edge of the pad of paper and flip through the pages quickly. The objects you have drawn will appear to move across the page.

Answer 2

I tried this once and while I'm not sure it has long-lasting chances, the kids had a blast...and they were right around the same age!! It's great if she likes to color... Get your hands on some really cheap different colors of crayons. Cut them up into 1/2" sections. You can either mix them all up or keep them separated by colors. Cut up 1 or 2 gold and silver ones as a "special treat" (and make a big deal about them since they sparkle so much!). Keep those separated. Then, use a muffin pan and put in the paper cups so that you don't ruin the pan... Put them in the oven at maybe 250-275 (I don't quite remember the temperature, but I'm taking a stab in the dark to keep it fairly low), and keep a close eye on it for when the wax is all melted. Pull it out and after it's cooled off, she has a great multi-colored crayon for coloring!!!!! Good Luck!!

Answer 3

1. Make jewlery.
2. Paint by numbers.
3. Have her write short stories and then make a "Play" from these and use the dolls as the actors ... so fun.

Goto the "Jokes" category on YA and there are lots of cute jokes there.