Activities for kids when going to the laundromat
We know... you love your kids but they can be a handful sometimes at the laundromat! This is because kids get bored, and then irritable, and this can make getting your family laundry done more difficult. This is why we've put together several ideas for perfect laundromat activities your kids will love.
1. Make Sock Puppets We all lose socks when doing laundry. Who knows where they go! It's one of life's little mysteries isn't it! LOL :-) When one sock in a pair gets lost, it leaves behind a lonely partner. Why not repurpose these lonely socks and have the kids make sock puppets! Sock puppets are so much fun for kids, they'll easily pass the time at the laundromat and be home before they realize it. You can bring along permanent markers so the kids can draw on silly eyes, teeth, mustaches, freckles, hair, and ears... and maybe a wart or two! You can show them how to make the sock puppets talk with interesting voices and encourage them to put on little skits. Let their imaginations shine through! You can even had the kids looking forward to going to the laundromat by making this an activity they only do there!
2. Make Custom Accordion Style Hand Fans Laundromats can get a little warm when a bunch of dryers are going, especially during the Florida summer! To combat this, you can give the kids an important job to do by having them make custom fans for everyone. Here's a tutorial on how to make a simple accordion style hand fan out of paper: gingersnapcreations blog . The key to making a "cool" (pun intended) paper fan is to either let the kids draw their own images on white paper before they fold it accordion style or use interesting pre-printed paper to start with. For example, you could save the colorful Sunday newspaper comics page or bring in some old magazines where they could tear out pages with great images and photographs. You can also bring some clothes pins or fancy ribbon to tie off the bottom. Be sure to bring along some extra paper and ribbons so your kids can share with other kids at the laundromat. This is a great way for them to make some new friends and develop their social skills!
3. Plan a Road Trip Or Vacation Half the fun of a road trip or vacation is planning it and anticipating it! A great way to pass the time with the kids at the laundromat is to ask them to help plan a fun upcoming trip. Get them excited about it by bringing along some brochures with pictures or materials you find on the internet. Print out some maps so you can show them where they are going and the route you will take if it is a road trip. Describe the various sights and activities they will be doing and ask them to help narrow down the choices. Mentally, they won't be in a laundromat! They'll be off having an exciting adventure in their mind -- and the time will pass really fast for them!
4. The Animal Game Kids love animals! Have the kids take turns pretending to be a different animal and let the other kids (and maybe you) guess what animal they are pretending to be! You can combine this activity with having them look through magazines and books with animals! Your local library is probably full of animal books! The best part is that this activity will be so much fun for the kids, they won't even realize it's also educational!
5. Have a Joke-a-thon Keep the kids laughing instead of whining by having a joke-a-thon at the laundromat. Let the kids know about the joke-a-thon at least a week ahead of time so they can start "collecting" jokes to share. Encourage them to ask their playmates/schoolmates for their best jokes. You can also help them get some kid friendly joke books to select from or find kid friendly joke pages on the internet. This may also be the perfect opportunity to get other family members involved too. Let the kids call/email their Grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc for ideas.
6. Twenty Questions This is a classic car game but it works just as well at the laundromat. Plus, it plays into a kid's natural curiosity and love for asking questions! Have one kid think of a person, place, or thing and state which option it is. Then let the other kids (and perhaps you) try to guess what it is by asking up to twenty questions that can be answered with a "yes" or a "no." The first person to guess right wins. If no one guesses right after twenty questions, the kid who thought of the person, place, or thing wins!
