Page 83 - DINQ MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2020 EDITION

Kids/Parents Corner

By: MIKE LANDRY you’re more innovative, you can try what one dad did—he
M cut his cardboard into 50 triangles, making the coolest look-

ing cardboard house I’ve ever seen.
y house usually has a flurry of activi-

ty. This includes coming from and
4. Marshmallow Catapults
going to school, the library, the pool,
and the various sports my kids love to
get, it might be time to build some marshmallow catapults.
play. COVID-19 brought much of If you want to create a memory your kids aren’t soon to for-
this to a standstill and my kids have spent more time at Find simple designs involving skewers and elastics all the
home than ever before, changing our battle against busy- way up to more intricate designs that’ll give you a reason to
ness to a war on boredom. use power tools together. Just make sure you build (at least)
two catapults, as the next thing you’ll want to do is put them
With kids aged 4 to 14 at my house, we’ve had to get crea- to good use in an epic showdown: Dad versus the kids.
tive to help pass the time. Some of the best creations we’ve
come up with have been a team effort: making something 5. Glow in the Dark Bowling
out of the ordinary alongside our kids. If you’re seeing that Under normal circumstances, I’d take my kids out bowling
same sense of boredom at your house, combat it with this at least a couple of times a year. But here’s a simple way to
list of 7 easy things to build for kids. bring the fun of the bowling alley
home to your garage, driveway,
1. Driveway Board Game or basement. All you need is wa-
A little sidewalk chalk and your imagi- ter bottles, glowsticks, and a ball
nation can go a long way. An easy heavy enough to knock over the
thing to build with your kids is an extra water bottles. Pour out a bit of
-large version of their favorite board water, crack the glowsticks, and
game. Use something simple like drop them in. Once you’ve got
Snakes & Ladders or Candyland (or your pins set up in an appropriate
something as complicated as Monopo- “lane,” flip off the lights and get
ly) and draw it out on your driveway. set to knock them down!
Bonus points if you leave instructions
out so your neighbors can play, too. 6. Water Rocket
Another easy thing to build with your kids that’s sure to
2. Obstacle Course make a memory is a water rocket. Recent Space-X launches
Another easy thing to build with kids? An indoor obstacle have many of our kids looking to the skies again, so the abil-
course. Wander through the house with your kids and look ity to send their own rocket soaring into the sky is sure to
for items you could use to test their mettle. Tables, chairs, capture their imaginations. Part of the beauty of this project
hockey sticks, pool noodles, string, and cushions all can be will be the excitement that goes into every launch, and the
set up to go over, under, or through in a creative way. Time trial and error that comes with it.
trials and minor changes to the obstacle course will help
make it more exciting, more challenging, and a great way to 7. Blanket Forts
pass the time with your kids. Blanket forts are classic for temporarily transforming your
home into a wonderland. You can use string, clothespins,
3. Cardboard Houses cushions, furniture—anything you can suspend, hook, or tie
While many businesses have suffered tremendously during a blanket with to transform any room in your house into an-
the pandemic, online shopping experienced a major surge in other place. A blanket fort can be a new playspace or a way
sales. The surge in deliveries brings with it an increase in to bring new life to family movie night. You also can make a
cardboard boxes coming through our homes, which brings to pair of forts to serve as bases for an epic Nerf war.
light one of the easiest things to build with your kids: a card- Sound off: What have you built or done with your kids to
board house. Cut a door into a big box and let your kids’ make days at home more exciting?
imaginations (and crayons) take care of the rest. But if

DINQ MEGAZINE September 2020 STAY SAFE 83