8.5 year old is so bored, ideas needed.

oliveoil

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 6:31 pm

She is probably lonely.

8 is too young to be that alone for so many hours on a regular basis.

Are there neighbors/friends/cousins nearby? Or can you set up some regular weekly playdates? Eg. every Tuesday x comes over, every Thursday y comes over. Twice a week should be sufficient.

Can you sign her up for some after school classes?

And please, let her read more! Two books twice a week is very little, even for a kid without all this alone time. I'd say there's never good cause to limit reading, but especially in this situation!

Signed,

a kid who spent a LOT of time alone and would've been completely miserable without endless books

Rachel Shira

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 6:33 pm

oliveoil wrote:

You said it better than me. I agree with everything you wrote.

erm

Fri, Mar 23 2018, 12:41 am

I have 8 year old twins. Reading is a huge activity in our house. We take out about 15 books at a time and they are finished in no time. They also love to bike ride and roller blade. They help with chores ( cleaning, laundry and helping with younger siblings.) too. But the most important thing for kids that age is making sure they have friends to play with. I am lucky that they have each other, otherwise I would be arranging play dates all the time. Kids need kids.

amother

Babyblue

Fri, Mar 23 2018, 1:01 am

oliveoil wrote:

Everything she said.

sirel

Sun, Mar 25 2018, 2:53 am

Hey, everyone.
I just caught up on this thread now, Pesach and Shabbos got in the way Smile

There are some really great ideas for crafts, I have to get to a store and see what I can find. She is very good with her hands. I don't know why she didn't enjoy the needlepoint I got her.

I see that if a project is ongoing she loses interest or gets overwhelmed. I need to get her crafts that are good for 1-2 afternoons. that is the issue with the 500 piece puzzle I got her- I thought she would work on it every day for a week or two, but she stopped working on it after about 100 pieces. If I would do it with her she would be very happy to continue, so I just have to find the time. (Maybe chol hamoed)

She goes to a friend once a week after school. I don't want to invite someone to our home when I'm not around.

She's not an only child, we have a crowd bli ayin hara. But her schedule works out this way. the older ones have a longer day, and the younger ones are in a full daycare program until I get out of work.

She likes to ride her bike, but she can't do that on her own.

I hear all your points about the books- I'll think about it!

Thank you so much!

sirel

Sun, Mar 25 2018, 2:57 am

mha3484 wrote:

How about something physical like yoga, dance, running or gymnastics? After sitting all day at school why not encourage getting some exercise?

She was signed up for gymnastics last year, and she wanted to stop after a few weeks.

I am aware that she loses interest quickly (in many areas) , but I'm not sure how to work on that or what to do

sirel

Sun, Mar 25 2018, 3:00 am

Teomima wrote:

Reminds me of my daughter!

What about reading children's magazines? Since they're a collection of short articles, she might get less sucked into them than books.

Games are also a great choice. Things she can play with you, like Ticket to Ride, Trivial Pursuit, Cranium, etc, or things she can play solo, like Rush Hour, Set, or if you have a tablet, there are games like digital versions of Ticket to Ride that you can play against the computer.

magazines are a good idea, I have to look into the options in our area and see if I like them.

What solo games are good? we have rush hour.

I don't think I want her to be using the compuer every day.

amother

Ivory

Sun, Mar 25 2018, 3:21 am

Someone once told me her gifted daughter would wrote a book eachbweek...illustrated and all... for the family to read at the weekend. Could be a parsha book each week or on another topic yoh can reward her by having it spiral bound for a cple dollars at a loxal printing store if she does a good job.