Things To Do With Your Little

Indoor Activities

  • Play chess, Chinese checkers, or card games. If you do not know how, learn together.
  • Put together a jigsaw puzzle. You might even want to frame it together.
  • Answer would you rather questions: https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/would-you-rather-questions-for-kids/
  • Do a science project together using household products (ex. find out what happens to an egg soaked in vinegar.)
  • Do a crossword puzzle or a word search.
  • Build with Lego blocks. Fond du Lac Public Library also has a drop-in Lego night once a month, no registration needed!  https://fdlpl.org/
  • Help your Little make a card or present for Mother’s Day/Father’s Day/parent’s or sibling’s birthday.
  • Start a scrap book or journal of your time together.
  • Draw, paint or sculpt clay
  • Write a story or a poem together.
  • Call the library about story hours or have your own.
  • Build a model car or plane
  • Carve soap sculptures.
  • Make your own bath bombs
  • Learn how to make your own clothes.
  • Check out the programs offered at THELMA, especially Studio 51 – https://www.thelmaarts.org/
  • Read the paper. Learn about current events, the economy, candidates, etc.
  • Work on a resume.
  • Make a calendar to schedule outings and then plan ahead!
  • Start a collection of something you’re both interested in – stamps, rocks, coins, comics, bugs, dolls, figures, sports cards, etc.
  • Pop popcorn (the “old fashioned” way, not in the microwave)
  • Form your own book club (with other matches) and/or read together
  • Do a pretend job interview.
  • Have a TV show you both watch every week, then call and talk about it.
  • Talk about where to find a job, or how to plan a career.
  • Make wrapping paper from old magazines and newspapers
  • Visit a local courthouse and observe a court hearing.
  • Browse at Chapter 52 used bookstore: https://www.fdlpl.org/chapter-52
  • Tackle some homework together.
  • Talk about college or tech school.
  • Talk about the future and set goals.
  • Share family/vacation pictures with each other
  • Talk about relationships.
  • Make puppets and put on a show for friends or family
  • Discuss your favorite music & artists and listen to songs together.
  • Make friendship bracelets, or do other crafts together.
  • Sing or dance to music.
  • Bake bread or make your own pizza.
  • Prepare a meal together from start to finish. Try finding good recipes online or in your favorite cookbook.
  • Pop popcorn, make ice cream floats and watch a Movie at home.
  • Make your own ice cream. Or make butter in a mason jar!
  • Learn to cook ethnic food.
  • Arrange for your Little to meet professionals you know in fields of interest to talk about what they do and how they got there.
  • Come to any Big Brothers Big Sisters-sponsored event. Make sure you join our Bigs Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/fdlcoBIGs/ or check your email regularly, to learn about these opportunities.
  • Bake a pie, cookies, cake, etc.
  • Design an exercise program and work out together.
  • Go to your local library and research a topic you are both interested in.
  • Choose an organization and volunteer together. Some ideas: help build a house for Habitat for Humanity, volunteer at a Big Brothers Big Sisters event, help out at a homeless shelter or food pantry.
  • Write an essay or a poem and send it to your Match Suppor Specialist at BBBS.
  • Make a collage on “friendship” or things your Little and you are into, using pictures and headline from old magazines, newspapers, or photos you find on Google Images.
  • Look up new words in the dictionary
  • Have your Little teach YOU something!
  • Invite your Little to visit your office/place of employment.
  • Take tours of friends’ jobs.
  • Show your Little your high school yearbooks, baby pictures, old report cards, etc.
  • Visit your local YMCA or Community Center.
  • Visit the site of your first job, or a similar place. Discuss your past & experiences.
  • Go to the movies, or rent one. (be sure to check the movie rating or get parent’s permission)
  • Go to a museum. Check out the Oshkosh Public Museum, Milwaukee Public Museum or Neville Public Museum in Green Bay.
  • Visit antique, costume or second-hand stores and brainstorm ideas for Halloween costumes.
  • Go rock climbing at a local climbing gym.
  • Teach courtesy, respect for others, values. Talk about ways to handle different issues. Use “What if” Scenarios.
  • Teach personal hygiene-personal cleanliness, eye, teeth, hair and body care.
  • Make up new lyrics to a song—maybe even about your match. Bonus: create dance moves to go with it.
  • Learn life skills like how to wash and iron clothes.
  • Learn to meal plan and shop for groceries together.
  • Make your own t-shirts with fabric markers and colored glue or tie-dye!
  • Talk about dream vacations. Create a Pinterest board together!
  • Build a bird house or feeder.
  • Learn a foreign language together or study another culture.
  • Teach your Little good phone etiquette, how to leave messages, and how to use emergency phone numbers
  • Attend a City Council meeting or a school board meeting.
  • Research your family trees together – the library and internet are great resources!
  • Learn about where community resources are and how to obtain them.
  • Take a life-saving course together.
  • Build a fort
  • Write and send letters in the mail to each other, or get pen pals. (Maybe another BBBS match?!)
  • Go bowling
  • Play a musical instrument or learn one together.
  • Carve a pumpkin together – don’t forget to roast the seeds!
  • Talk about life.
  • Fill out a job application.
  • Write a letter to your Little on your match anniversary telling what you’ve noticed about him/her in the last year. Ex: positive changes, growth or maturity.

 

Outdoor Activities

  • Try all kinds of sports: football, basketball, boxing, jogging, karate, etc.
  • Go for a hike. Hobbs Woods is a local favorite!
  • Go fishing.
  • Visit the local farmers market: http://downtownfdl.com/farmers-market.html
  • Blow bubbles.
  • Play Frisbee Golf at Adelaide Park: https://www.discgolfscene.com/courses/Adelaide_Park
  • Make an obstacle course in your yard or local park and time each other.
  • Watch a community parade
  • Take a bike ride together (make sure you both wear your helmets!)
  • Toss a Frisbee or fly a kite.
  • Jog or sprint around a local track, field or park. Learn to use a stopwatch.
  • Go roller-skating, roller -blading, or ice-skating. If you don’t know how, learn together.
  • Paint a fence or a room
  • Rent a canoe (Make sure everyone wears life preservers and is able to swim).
  • Take dancing, music, swimming or tennis lessons.
  • Go to an amusement park.
  • Rake leaves or do other yard work together. Jumping into the pile when you’re finished—optional!
  • Go horseback riding.
  • Go swimming or even play with the water hose or sprinkler in the backyard (make sure you and your Little both have privacy for changing).
  • Play tag.
  • Watch a fireworks show
  • Play Hide-And-Go-Seek.
  • Teach him/her how to build a campfire.
  • Go rock hunting. Glue your rocks together and paint them to make sculptures.
  • Make and fly paper airplanes.
  • Let your Little drive….at a go-cart track! like Fondy Sports Park: http://fondysportspark.com/
  • Pack a blanket & some snacks and just hang out in nature.
  • Play catch with football or baseball.
  • Plant a tree or a shrub.
  • Play cards or a board game outside.
  • Teach yourselves to juggle.
  • Take a walk and take photos of interesting objects/sights you see along the way
  • Climb a tree (be careful!).
  • Have a water-balloon fight.
  • Play golf or putt-putt, or just hit golf balls at a driving range.
  • Go to a garage sale or browse through a flea market.
  • Build a tree house.
  • Wash your car.
  • Mow the lawn.
  • Visit the Menomonee Park Zoo in Oshkosh, petting zoo at Lakeside Park, NEW Zoo near Green Bay, Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, or Milwaukee County Zoo.
  • Visit a State Park.
  • Check out Shalom Wildlife near West Bend: https://www.shalomwildlife.com/
  • Cut your own Christmas tree.
  • Visit the Humane Society/ SPCA and learn how to care for pets.
  • Read outside.
  • Build a snowman/woman.
  • Have a picnic.
  • Look at cloud shapes.
  • Clean up litter together.
  • Visit Barlow Planetarium in Menasha: https://uwosh.edu/barlow/
  • Look for 4-leafed clovers.
  • Pick some fruit at a local farm. Try different recipes with your produce.
  • People-watch.
  • Catch frogs or bugs
  • Try to skip rocks on a pond.
  • Build a snow fort. Have a friendly snowball fight!
  • Create your own awesome ‘grafitti’ with sidewalk chalk
  • Go sledding at Buttermilk Creek Park or hills near UW-Fond du Lac
  • Try snow-shoeing
  • Go snow tubing at Sunburst: https://skisunburst.com/
  • Come to the Big Brothers Big Sisters fishing and sailing outings, or other outdoor event. Make sure you join our Bigs Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/fdlcoBIGs/ or check your email regularly, to learn about these opportunities.
  • Make lemonade. Set up a lemonade stand, talk about running a business, donate the money to a charity
  • Fix-up a bicycle.
  • Feed some ducks.
  • Go Christmas caroling
  • Pick wildflowers.
  • Walk a dog you know.
  • Go on a camera scavenger hunt—Make a list of the places/things you want pics of before you go and let your Little take the pictures.
  • Visit a college campus and walk around. Talk about your own post-high school educational experience.
  • Go bargain hunting.
  • Go out for dinner together.
  • Go geo-caching. Don’t know what it is? Take a look at this website: https://www.geocaching.com/play
  • Go holiday shopping.
  • Go to a house of worship. (Check your Little’s comfort level and ask for parents’ OK before you do)
  • Visit your local cider mill for fresh cider and baked goods.
  • Check your local parks and recreation department to learn more about their activities: https://fdlrecdept.recdesk.com/Community/Page?pageId=3930
  • Check local college and high school sports schedules and choose an event to attend.
  • Check out lesser-known sports such as field hockey, rugby or curling. Some colleges may have youth days or special activities through their athletic departments for community members.
  • Visit your city’s web site for a list of free summer activities like concerts or plays in the park, festivals and fairs: https://www.fdl.com/
  • Pretend you are tourists in your own city. Visit historical sites and other points of interest.
  • Go to a baseball game, like the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders! https://northwoodsleague.com/fond-du-lac-dock-spiders/
  • Visit your state or county fair.
  • Volunteer together to mow an elderly or disabled person’s yard.
  • Visit a “You Pick it Farm”, to pick the latest vegetables and fruits.
  • Learn beginner’s auto mechanics. Fix a flat tire or change the oil in your car.
  • Learn to read a road map, use an atlas, a globe, GPS or a compass to find someplace you have never been.
  • Go to an auto show, boat show, tractor pull or stock car races.
  • Start a garden. Learn about soil and plants, vegetables and fruits.
  • Attend your Little’s school play or sporting event to cheer him/her on!
  • Field trips: historical places, police and fire departments
  • Cultural Events: attend a play, art show, ballet, symphony, or concert.
  • Explore Horicon Marsh! https://www.horiconmarsh.org/
  • Visit the Wade House Historic Site: https://wadehouse.wisconsinhistory.org/
  • Spend the day at the beach. Build a sand castle. Kettle Moraine Lake (Tiki Beach) and Mauthe Lake are local favorites!
  • Take a day-trip to the shores of Lake Michigan.
  • Go to the airport and watch planes take off.
  • Learn how to use jumper cables.
  • Use a telescope, camera, microscope together
  • Study the stars.
  • Go to a dog show, cat show, horse show, etc.
  • Roast marshmallows, make s’mores.
  • Call a local nursing home and see if you and your Little can come play Bingo with the residents.
  • Go bird watching
  • Get involved in special events together, like: walk-a-thons, community fairs, Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl For Kids’ Sake, Special Olympics, etc.
  • Enter a “fun-run”, fishing tournament, or bike race.
  • Collect fall leaves and identify the trees they fell from. Make leaf rubbings.
  • Talk to other Bigs and Littles about their favorite activities.
  • Make a Time Capsule and bury it in your yard so that the people who find it will know a little about you and the current events at this time.