Fun

In kindergarten and preschool it's called playtime. In grade school it's called playtime or recess. But you never grow out of the need for this kind of stuff, if the stress levels of most Americans are any indication. So it's just as important to learn how to have fun as it is to learn everything else.

Books

The Boxcar Children's Guide to Adventure by Gertrude Chandler Warner - added 6/17/24 in the hopes that another generation of kids finds this series' ideas as fun as I did. Only this is in more convenient format than actually reading the series
Big Book of Fun by Carolyn Buhai Haas - added 6/10/24 - I remember doing a lot of these things in kindergarten, preschool etc. and they still hold up. In fact I'm thinking of doing some of these activities now, as an adult. Maybe not the finger painting, maybe the pipe cleaner ornaments?
Run Jump Hide Slide Splash by Joe Rhatigan & Rain Newcomb - for kids that sit around looking at one another going "do we play tag, or hide and seek, or toss a frisbee?" There's more to do outside than that.
Rocks, Dirt, Worms & Weeds by Jeff Hutton - gardening for kids, which is fun
Let's Play Traditional Games of Childhood by Dusan Petricic and Camilla Gryski - for little kids
Fun Through The Seasons! by Janet Smart - for kids and tweens, possibly also older folks. But contains some problematic language and old-fashioned (not the good kind) story about Native American people, in the July section, so be certain to think over how to introduce this to your kids. After all, it's tough to find good information about stuff from NDN country directly from NDN folks, so unfortunately tropes persist, especially among the older generations. Nonetheless the author really loves kids and it shows. It's worth the read.
The Stick Book by Fiona Danks and Jo Schofield - same problem, different form - most of the crafts are great but don't make a dreamcatcher. That is cultural appropriation, and like cannibalism, is frowned upon in most societies. Name that reference.
The Foxfire Series - for older teens and everyone else. Crafts galore. You won't be bored, that's for sure. However most of these require that you're able bodied and rather adventurous, and some of these crafts are dangerous. I mean, I wouldn't recommend keeping an old fashioned beehive in a tree trunk unless you enjoy getting stung dozens of times over. Unless you like that for some reason? LOL
Klutz books are really helpful for helping kids explore their interests, so check those out
The Book of Gardening for Kids by Whitney Cohen and John Fisher - actually helpful for all ages
Nature Smart by Gwen Diehn, Terry Krautwurst, Alan Anderson, Joe Rhatigan & Heather Smith - not your average kid's craft book, contains a large assortment of ideas for natural crafts that go above and beyond. Many require adaptation to actually be eco friendly, though. And some things, like acrylic paint, should not be gotten on skin ever as they're a little more toxic than they look.
15 Minutes Outside by Rebecca P. Cohen - for assorted things to families to do outdoors that really are worth the effort, 365 days of the year

Break Time / General Ideas

6/2/24 The Encyclopedia of Immaturity by the editors of Klutz - I don't know whether to say "you're welcome" or apologize. In any case, enjoy.
Decor Home Ideas 4/17/24 Unassuming at first glance but extraordinary. Somehow the author manages to find the best and most accessible and cheap ideas for crafts, DIY, home improvement and stuff along those lines. The best part is how much inspiration you can find from it to take the ideas and run with them to build on what you find and/or make something completely new and original.
Welcome To Nana's 2/11/24 A whole bunch of excellent craft ideas. Here is how to grow a tree from a pine cone.
Pinterest 2/11/24 Boy was I not happy about this one. It's certain to violate your privacy, and sell your data to the highest bidder. It is also absolutely chock full of moneygrubbing thieves who copypaste the hard work of other sites into listicles for their own profit, usually via affiliate marketing with worthless Amazon crap. And, with monster mommies who wouldn't have passed any sane parenting license exam and provide great examples as to why yearly parenting licenses and examinations need to exist. And, with people really making their Christianity obvious, often by actually selling their super-Christian stuff for profit (and every legit Christan reading likely slaps their forehead and goes "d'oh!") However, after an extreme amount of fiddling with the privacy settings and other settings, and using specific search terms for what I was looking for, I found information on Pinterest within two days that I could not find at my library or online for 2 years. So it's helpful. Despite having many issues.
Ordinary And Happy 1/25/24 Bunch of ideas for cool stuff to do on ordinary days. Not actually an ordinary site, packed with really cool and original ideas for having fun and living life well. More like extraordinary, but details.
Pluviophile 1/25/24 Rainy day fun from a website celebrating everything about rain. See it to believe it.
Fox Chapel Publishing 1/24/24 Fun to browse to see what crafts are even out there, especially stuff that's far less well known. If you're really interested in something, the books to buy are right there.
Summer Camp Pro 1/24/24 Got kids? Want them to have fun without relying on books or screens? This is the place. Want a new hobby at any age that doesn't have to do with screens? This is also the place. Just because it focuses on summer camps doesn't mean you can't adapt these ideas for your own use.
DIY Craftsy 10/2/23 A site that aggregates a lot of DIY tutorials from other sites, most of them stuff that's hard to find otherwise. Kind of a hodgepodge, try it at your own risk
Inclusive Teaching 9/22/23 Links to sensory activity ideas and DIYs
Preschool Inspirations 9/22/23 Links to how to make sensory bottles but the whole site has had a lot of work involved and it shows
Games Kids Play 9/13/23 More traditional children's games
Great Camp Games 9/12/23 Best for groups and for physical activity. Has a lot of my favorites from when I was a kid, recommended.
Crafty Little Gnome 6/23/23 Including because of tutorials like How to drill a hole in a seashell
Oh Oh Deco 6/21/23 Including because I'm scared to ever lose the link. It is a very good DIY and crafts site.
A Beautiful Mess 6/21/23 Same basic idea
The Spruce Crafts 6/21/23 This website (The Spruce) has so many useful subwebsites within it but they're all hard to find
Bucket List Journey 5/27/23 This isn't your average hobby site or bucket list site. It's the best! If you catch yourself looking at one of the posts and going "hey this doesn't sound too fun" - maybe that means you have a better idea that's more suitable for you and/or your family?
Handmade Charlotte 5/28/23 Cool art projects. A lot of them are delightful.
Inner Child Fun 5/15/23 What I really like about this one is how inexpensive and simple a lot of the ideas are, but that doesn't make them any less glorious
Happy Hooligans List of Fun Stuff To Do In Summer 5/11/23 Good list, good ideas and good site.
Growing A Jeweled Rose 5/11/23 Has a lot of arts and crafts activities for kids of all ages
Kids Activities Blog 4/29/23 Really excels at arts and crafts. I'm not so certain about the science and other stuff, but that ain't what I'm browsing it for: I am browsing it for the arts and crafts. These aren't just fun for kids!
Amtgard A LARP guild
Belegarth Another LARP guild
Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons Not just kitchen stuff, here is another section
Come to think of it there are still the equivalent of medieval guilds and clubs IRL. You used to be able to find these using the classified ads in the newspaper, craigslist is a pretty poor substitute, but some coffee shops and handyman stores still have corkboards up with messages. You can also ask around at any hangouts you frequent outside the home if there are groups that pertain to something you might be interested in, such as gardening. Local subreddits may also assist. My favorite place to ask about these things however is perpetually: coffee shops.
DIYnCrafts This website has so much stuff. It's mindboggling
r/Hobbies Hobby Master List & Their Subreddits Added 3/15/23; oddly enough contains "Magick" and "Occult" and refers to them as "hobbies." The subreddit "Magic" is for magic tricks, which is a fun hobby. The other two can uh, metaphorically (or literally depending on how badly you screw up) burn your face off. Don't dabble in that shit.
Hobby Help This website contains a whole lot of ideas for hobbies. Surf it, see what catches your eye, and then for more information and guidance on getting started there be Youtube and library books
r/scouting and Azimuth A couple of resources for international scouting. Speaking as a former scout, it really is a force for good. Also speaking as a former scout, feel free to sidestep the barriers to entry involving cash, allegiance to one scouting organization or another, or religion - if you have a trustworthy chaperone that actually knows all the scouting type stuff, make your own troupe. "Official" means nothing. However, you do have to have a lot of experience camping and in wilderness survival, social skills, and first aid skills to be qualified to be a chaperone!
After the pandemic, if you're homeschooling be sure to bring other kids over as often as you can because nothing really compares to saying hello to your friends in person. Before the pandemic's over, it's helpful for the homeschooled or distance learning kiddo to have instant messaging and video chat with others in their age group. Discord isn't bad, and neither is texting. Multiplayer online video or computer games are great too.
Build a treehouse together, using sound principles for construction so it's not a death trap
Set up a tree swing with a tire that has holes drilled into the bottom
Teach the kid how to meditate. It's a life skill
Tea party
Figure out a way to build a pond or a pool or a birdbath by hook or by crook
Go camping or on a wilderness expedition of some kind
Have a bunch of interesting books handy, or reserve some library books for pick-up, and perhaps let what's in the book leak over into your actual life, such as by having a mad hatter tea party for Alice in Wonderland, or following the directions in a nonfiction book and seeing what happens
Play some sports
Learn a dance on Youtube

Cool Toys For Break Time

Sports stuff, of course
Jump rope
Sidewalk chalk
A whole lot of cardboard boxes, scissors, nontoxic paint, and duct tape. Ask the kids to help you brainstorm cool stuff to add to any built forts or structures, such as sheets, Christmas lights, or whatever else.
Pool noodles, pillows, foam weapons, and cardboard shields for mock battles
Ever considered building your own playground in the backyard? If you have an interest in engineering and construction, you might be able to learn sound construction techniques with your kids, and build something that's not a death trap with them
Multiplayer video games, because it's so much more fun to play vidya with co-op or versus
Chocolate molds, for making filled chocolates, or ice cube trays in unique shapes; food coloring, flower petals, and berries can be frozen in ice cube trays, you can make peanut butter cups in ice cube trays, and you can get really creative with this kind of stuff
Crayons and coloring pages, such as from SuperColoring
Another coloring book site, 12/5/23 Best Coloring Images For Kids has a bunch more. Trigger warning for those triggered by religious stuff; thankfully it's not super in your face about it
A jigsaw puzzle website Jigsaw Explorer, same deal with religious stuff
All arts and crafts supplies are good to have around. Stuff you'd normally recycle makes excellent art supplies, and an upcycling area for educational purposes also doubles as the beginnings of a home Makerspace. The tricks are to group like with like, organize the place as best as you can, keep all the relevant tools and machines close, and don't try to set up this creative setup all at once but gradually add to the hoard over time. Another trick is to set up a communal Makerspace that everyone in your friend group uses so that you can share the bigger stuff like 3D printers and sewing machines. If, however, this gets too big, it winds up as a garage or shed type thing with all kinds of dangerous stuff in there, so just know that's what it could grow into.

Ways Studying Fun And Having Fun Can Help You, section added 10/14/24

A lot of folks are only familiar with the play from their childhoods, but there's a whole lot more out there. The only way to figure out what's fun to you is to give it a try and there's no way to do that unless you learn what it is first. Also, who knows? The play from your childhood might still be fun to you now if you try it again.
Stress relief of course
If you have kids, playing with the kids is a far better way of getting to know and understand your kids, and vice versa, than just about anything I can think of
Same deal with friends and family come to think of it
Enjoy your life more
Give you something to do on your time off from work that is worth looking forward to
I don't know how to prove this but I have heard that this can stave off dementia and keep your mind sharp over time
Often the biggest breakthroughs in figuring out what you want to do with yourself, who you are, what you stand for and other serious issues and big queestions in life come to you not when you are slogging away at the daily grind but when you are playing around on your time off. This is the experience of my family and myself, and it could be true for you as well
Gives you freedom to rest your mind a little and let it recover from all the usual nonsense
Gives you freedom to figure things out at your own pace and in your own way
Well, it's fun.

Big Brain Time

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