Once I agreed to taking care of her children, reality set in. My sister has six children, and while the youngest wouldn't be staying with me, all the others would be. Add those five children to my three, you have eight, and add that to my small apartment and you have enough to drive any mom up a wall! How would I keep eight children occupied in my small home, without spending a lot of money?

One of the first activities we played was Twister. Twister was a gift for Christmas, so it was a game the children were still learning. As I watched them play, my I started thinking about the games my siblings and I played as children -- those easy games that usually required no extra supplies. There were six of us, and I can remember keeping ourselves occupied with old favorites such as "Mother May I?" and "Old Maid". After reminiscing, I decided that I would take this opportunity to teach them these favorite games.

I encourage you to think back to some of your favorite childhood games. Did you love to play "Simon Says"? When was the last time you built a hopscotch? Do your children even know that there is actually a way to play marbles? Think of your favorites, and start teaching them to your children. Not only do most of these games require very little supplies, if any, but they show your children that there are fun activities that don't have to be plugged in.

If you need some inspiration, the following websites offer instructions on many popular childhood games:

"Games Kids Play" http://www.gameskidsplay.net/index.html

"Parent Soup: Games" http://www.parentsoup.com/archive/0,9372,263145,00.html

"PBS: Zoom" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/zoom/games/index.html

©2002 Brandie Valenzuela

About The Author

Brandie is a freelance writing mother of three children. She is also the editor of the Family First Newsletter, the HomeMade Living ezine, and other services for parents. To find out more about Brandie's creations, visit: http://www.bmvcreations.com