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It's important for a family to spend quality time together.  It creates the bond that in turn creates the fond memories that families share.  Whether you are a parent of younger children, teens, or any age in-beTWEEN, there are some fun activities that you can share as a family.  Take a look at of some the suggested ideas below:   Family Time with Younger Children   <UL> <LI>Make homemade play-dough and use cookie cutters to create with.  For a quick and easy, simply mix together 1/4 cup salt, 1 cup flour, and 1/4 cup of water in a mixing bowl.  Knead it together and add food color to make colored play-dough.  The dough should be a little wet, but not sticky.</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Take a walk around your neighborhood or at a local park.  Let your child collect things that seem to interesting to them.  Have fun explaining things about nature, like how trees grow, why leaves fall in autumn, and how bees get honey from flowers.  Little kids are full of questions and wonder.</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Let your child make plans for the evening for the whole family.  It boosts their self-esteem and usually the family has a great time no matter what.</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Play hide-n-seek, duck-duck-goose, and other preschool games.  There is a reason these games have been around for a long time...they are FUN to play!</LI></UL>   Family Time with Tweens (children between the ages of  9 and 12)   <UL> <LI>See a movie and eat popcorn with extra butter.</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Create a family scrapbook where everyone has to contribute their favorite pictures to it, and tell why they remember that event so much.  You can buy inexpensive scrapbook supplies at a discount store.</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Have a scavenger hunt.  Make a map with clues.  Even dad will enjoy hunting for a specia treat!</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Having a baking contest.  You can work in teams and by categories (such as a cookie contest, creative pudding contest, or most interesting snack contest).  Everyone wins because you get to eat all the food!</LI></UL>   Family Time with Teens   <UL> <LI>Go for a drive in the country.  Get out to see some sites that you have never seen before.</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Agree on a band and go to a concert as a family.  Surely you will have some music in common.</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Pitch a tent in your backyard and camp-out.  Make smores and tell scary stories.</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Let your teen plan a day for the family.</LI></UL>   **The key to planning family time with your teenager is that you need to make sure their schedule is clear days in advance of the planned activities.  It's not as easy to just pick up and go with a teen.**   Family Time at Any Age   <UL> <LI>Family game night.  Great for families with multi-aged children.  Be sure to pick out a game that your youngest child can play, or become creative about ways you can adapt the game to their level, too.</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Building projects with either Legos, blocks, or toothpicks and mini marshmallows.</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Take a hike!  Plan a hiking trail that is located at your local park.  These are usually fairly easy for younger children to navigate.  If you have older children only, take a trip to the mountains for some real hiking trails.</LI></UL>   <UL> <LI>Plan a service project as a family.  Contact your local hospitals, social services, church, and food warehouses for ways that you can volunteer as a family.</LI></UL>   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Having a family is a gift that should be cherished.  If you think that your children don't want to <A class="" href="http://christian-parenting.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_abcs_of_family_activities" target=_blank mce_href="http://christian-parenting.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_abcs_of_family_activities">spend time with you</A>, you are wrong.  They want and need your attention at every stage of their lives.  Family times are the best times. 9056

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