Do you have a wide age range of kids? What do you do for fun?

Question

I am a single mom who has recently started dating a single dad. Combined we have 6 kids! I have a 2 year old boy and a 3 year old boy. He has twin 10 year old girls, a 12 year old boy and a 20 year old boy.

We are trying to figure out some acitivies that we can all do together (mainly the 5 young kids, not the 20 old who lives away fromhome) or even just some advice from families with a span like this on how they handle things.

We know we don't have to do everythign together but would like to find something we can all enjoy. One thing we found was the beach. All the kids love that, playing in the sand etc. Great except we have a long winter where we live! Although in the winter we all love to go tobogganing so that's a good one as well.

thanks

Answer 1

we are a close family and we have a 12 yr old a 9 yrs old a 5 yr old a 3 yr old and a 20 month old and we all do a lot of thing as one big family, we like to go for picnics in the park and have our own Little fun days as home where the older ones build obstacle course for us all to go through, we all so do scrap booking day they re quite fun and every ones gets to make a few pages no matter how much glue we spill lol and they pages get to sit in the hall way for a week and they love to show any visitors lol, we some time hire movies together make pop corn and all sit and watch it, and we often a l just go for a walk
hope this help good luck

Answer 2

Well you already have some great ideas there. I am a mom of seven, two step daughters 18&17 a 14yr old son, 12yr old daughter, and three young boys 5,3and 17months. I am currently pregnant with triplets so I know all about juggling different ages.
One of our favourite things to do as a family is to go surfing....it may sound overly active if you have never surfed before but it is definitely worth a try and it is an activity for the old and the young.
My 2 step daughters love it and even come home for the weekend as we live beside the beach.My 14&12yr old can't get enough of it and I just taught my 5yr old how to surf last summer which was a really neat experience.
With regard to the 2&3yr old, only one parent is needed to supervise them swimming or pulling them around on a boogie board,they will love it.
Winter is obviously more tricky, but we all go snowboarding as a family.Okay we do have a cabin in the mountains but taking a one off trip is a good way to spend time too. Even the 2&3 yr old can snowboard or ski,but if you are not keen on this idea you can always bring them bob slaying while the older ones hit the slopes,then maybe you can all go skating in the evening(a lot of the resorts do kiddy rinks too!)
If you are going to be hanging out as a family on a regular basis it is a good idea to invest in a cabin,especially if you have a long winter,maybe you are a drive away from the slopes I don't know the circumstances though. I guarantee you even the 20yr old will come home for the holidays and this will really make your partner happy.
Other than the above there are the old reliables, bowling and dinner, a movie and dinner.....theme parks.
Don't be afraid to try new things, perhaps that you are all learning together-you will be surprised by the rewards.
also don't stress too much about the age different,kids like to act as if they don't want to do baby things but I often find my 12yr old watching a cartoon with my 5yr old enjoying it just as much. My point is that if the activity is fun,the chances are they will all muck in together and it will be fun for all the ages.
Good Luck and Best wishes for your new family.

Answer 3

Winter is a hard time. Sledding is a good idea, but with anything outdoors like this I would let my oldest two bring a friend so they could occupy themselves while you and your husband watched to younger two.
I would see if your oldest child if he lives by himself would allow you all to "camp out" there. My son loves that. He goes to his grandparent's place and they pop up a dome tent in the living room roast marshmallows in their fireplace (not that he may have one but you get the point) and they camp out.
Also a quiet night with popcorn and a family movie will keep them entertained. We do not have a problem getting our kids 15, 10, and well lets forget the 6 mos old she doesn't get a vote, to agree on a movie like Cheaper by the Dozen, Parenthood, Dr Doolittle, etc.
Do you have a science center near you? They would have many activities for kids of all ages. We bought a membership to ours when we were taking care of my husband's kids (9 and 7), and all of us would go.
I know it is tough but be creative and take input from the kids. They may have great ideas that you wouldn't think of.

Answer 4

my best friend comes from a family of 8! and she said that her mother used to do things with them individually, her twin brothers would go to the car races, she would take the girls shopping then to a day spa and then they would all regularly go to different theme parks. Its expensive but you should go to somewhere like Disney land.

Answer 5

i come from a family of 5 myself and up unitl i was 15 yrs my family use to take me and my siblings to the park and have pince lunches we loved it, we could play and eat with the family still. our ages was 15 down to 2yrs.

Answer 6

welli have a 3ye,2yr ,n a 10mon n i think the best place to take them is the zoo animals alway atract any kid

Answer 7

Miniature golfing is fun for all ages.