Record yourself saying 'plain fun' in full sentences, then watch yourself and listen. You'll be able to mark your mistakes quite easily. Create an animal run in the house! Lay out stuffed animals (or other toys) in a line throughout the house to run across! See it in action at The Spruce. but in the United States, it's completely normal and part of everyday conversation (eg: what are you going to do this weekend → Kami Koontz tells NPR she taught herself how to play the ukelele using videos and books. "This was a musical outlet I didn't know I needed until I did it," she said.

Thank you so much for these activities. They have proven to me that I CAN be that mom that does cool and creative things with her kids! And those cool and creative things can actually be quite simple! What a revelation. Thank you!! - 7 Day Challenge, Katie M. And science journalist Catherine Price, author of The Power of Fun, published in 2021, has a similar view. (She took a break from her latest interest, online blues piano lessons, to take my call.) This takes down the need to scour the internet for ideas. It's like looking for a recipe on the internet, so many options that often times it is less overwhelming to look in a book on the shelf than stress about too many options. - Early Years Activity Plans User, Robyn G I absolutely love that this takes all the prep work out of engaging my children. It is so easy to just put up the calendar, and glance at it for inspiration when we are in a funk." - The Activity Room Member, Rachel Just go roll down the hills. They’ll be giggling for sure. Maybe there’s new ways to roll down… somersaults?Mimic each other. If you have a baby, or young toddler, copy whatever they do. Try doing it with a pet too!

This Caribbean dance workout is freeing and fun! This is for anyone who craves good music, uplifting movement, along with a sneaky sweat. Be ready for the ultimate cardio party filled with simple choreography. The best part is you can add your own personality, flavor, and flair to make it your own.” — Amanda Robinson, professional dancer, fitness trainer, and health coach in Hoboken, New Jersey This video is one of the first dance fitness dances I ever did, before I started my own company. It is best for people who love dancing to hip-hop but are beginners. It’s an old video, but this choreography is so simple and fun. You can’t help but smile and laugh while doing this one!” —Afkami Blow up some balloons and let the kids try to pop themhowever they can (just supervise to make sure none of those pieces go in their mouths).But it's well worth it. People who take a vacation return to their work less stressed and possibly more creative, and the benefits could extend to smaller adventures. NPR reader Nancy Lomini-Perretta decided to try a beginning mahjongg class for seniors at her local college in 2019. Now she plays every Monday with a group of women she met in that class. They call themselves "The Fabulous Five" or "The Mahvelous Mahjongg Madams." I feel like a new mama having so many fun ideas. I used to dread the afternoon, after naps, as it was so boring doing the same thing day after day but now I look forward to our "play" time! - Haley S.

Reuse bubble wrap to make a road. The kids will drive over it (or run!) over and over to pop all the bubbles! These activities are the ones that the kids giggle during the most, the ones that they want to do over and over again. Sometimes people you could have fun with are waiting for an invitation. "It's like romance," she says of scheduling fun. "You need to light some candles, set the scene." A game night — especially something as absorbing and mentally challenging as mahjong — can be a bright spot in the week. NPR audience member Nancy Lomini-Perretta has developed tight friendships with her mahjong group: "We meet every Monday for an afternoon of play and lots of laughs!"You’ll learn choreography from not just one, but three different instructors. This workout is more for the advanced beginner. However, each choreographed section repeats itself many times before blending together into a seamless dance routine. Actress Nina Dobrev is dancing with you the entire time, adding to the novelty of having a celebrity work out with you!” —Agénor One Fun Squad friend said that a Taco Tuesday night she held with her friends was the highlight of her week, Price says. For herself, she regularly jams with a group of musicians. Scheduling fun doesn't have to be arduous or expensive. When Price was working on her book during the height of the pandemic, she recruited a virtual group of people — a Fun Squad — to bounce ideas around with. People who highly value happiness may end up feeling "disappointed about how they feel, paradoxically decreasing their happiness the more they want it," wrote the authors of a 2011 study in the journal Emotion. NPR audience member Lynn Braz found that when she started taking flying trapeze classes at age 42: "Now, at age 61, I am flying every weekend throughout the warmer months. Flying trapeze is the hardest, scariest, most exciting and most fun thing I've ever done."

Boot camp for kids! No Time for Flash Cards has a fun way to get the kids exercising and moving with some parachute toys! Work on your intonation: stress, rhythm and intonation patterns are not easy to master in English but they are crucial to make others understand But the antidote may be hiding in plain sight. Two recent books argue that making room for more fun in your life could counteract both the stress and the tendency to escape it by zoning out online.I have since started a local uke group, a local uke band, and have raised money to donate Ukes to schools and libraries," she writes. "Doing all of these things has brought a variety of charming people into my life, a little music family of sorts." Set up a spider webin a doorway or hallway and throw newspapers (cotton balls work too) at it. See what can be ‘caught’. Work on word/sentence reduction: in some countries, reducing words and sentences can be seen as informal Have fun jumpingin the house! Or set it up outside! All it takes is some tape (or sidewalk chalk outside). Create an outdoor obstacle course for the kids to run through all afternoon! This one from Learn Play Imagine uses items you probably have!