Playdate ideas for Ernie and Bert
November 23, 2024 7:06 AM Subscribe
Looking for collaborative playdate ideas for a pair of first grade boys who have opposite personalities.
Looking for collaborative playdate ideas for two 6 year old boys who have very strong personalities and tend to annoy each other at school. One kid is more verbal, likes tabletop activities, and gets bossy; the other kid is more physical, likes running around, and gets rough.
They’ll probably never become besties, and that’s fine, but they’d both benefit from some bonding time. Hoping for activities that are entertaining enough to get them on the same page for half an hour or so.
There will also be a 3 year old sibling along for the ride, but the little one is fine to wander off and play independently too.
Location can be at home, or in a nearby park that has small trees and a sandbox.
Collaboration would be ideal (rather than parallel play).
Not ideal: sporty stuff like soccer, or artsy stuff like painting - each of those would only be fun for ONE of these kids - I want them both to have fun.
Engineering / STEM / mess would be great.
Happy to spend around $100 for supplies.
My list so far:
- making cookies, muffins, or pizza
- making slime
- tying ropes between the park trees and hanging sheets to make a fort
- tie dyeing in the park
Thanks for any more ideas!
Looking for collaborative playdate ideas for two 6 year old boys who have very strong personalities and tend to annoy each other at school. One kid is more verbal, likes tabletop activities, and gets bossy; the other kid is more physical, likes running around, and gets rough.
They’ll probably never become besties, and that’s fine, but they’d both benefit from some bonding time. Hoping for activities that are entertaining enough to get them on the same page for half an hour or so.
There will also be a 3 year old sibling along for the ride, but the little one is fine to wander off and play independently too.
Location can be at home, or in a nearby park that has small trees and a sandbox.
Collaboration would be ideal (rather than parallel play).
Not ideal: sporty stuff like soccer, or artsy stuff like painting - each of those would only be fun for ONE of these kids - I want them both to have fun.
Engineering / STEM / mess would be great.
Happy to spend around $100 for supplies.
My list so far:
- making cookies, muffins, or pizza
- making slime
- tying ropes between the park trees and hanging sheets to make a fort
- tie dyeing in the park
Thanks for any more ideas!
My brother and I were similarly inclined, and we spent hours of play as kids with me designing and building things for him to play in.
Obstacle courses for him to run through
Tracks/construction sites/parking garages for his toy vehicles
Lego vehicles for him to play with and crash
Etc
posted by phunniemee at 7:27 AM on November 23 [1 favorite]
Obstacle courses for him to run through
Tracks/construction sites/parking garages for his toy vehicles
Lego vehicles for him to play with and crash
Etc
posted by phunniemee at 7:27 AM on November 23 [1 favorite]
Hard to say that anything will occupy all the time. I remember planning things I thought would let me at least load the laundry but the kids moved on quickly! If I was there to coach it would be ok.
Maybe a scavenger hunt thing? Escape room plans and stuff can be sourced. Does the tabletop kid like to bike? Is there a skate park around? That can work for kids who like to push it and kids who like making the longest route possible, etc. My kids at push/balance bike stage had an awesome time.
posted by drowsy at 7:38 AM on November 23
Maybe a scavenger hunt thing? Escape room plans and stuff can be sourced. Does the tabletop kid like to bike? Is there a skate park around? That can work for kids who like to push it and kids who like making the longest route possible, etc. My kids at push/balance bike stage had an awesome time.
posted by drowsy at 7:38 AM on November 23
Do the kids want to have a play date? Have you asked them? Having been in first grade and being a parent of a kid a little older, I think attempting to force kids who "annoy each other at school" to play outside of school is not likely to go well unless they are both demonstrate clear informed consent. Also the kids I know that age don't want to be told how to play, ymmv.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:50 AM on November 23 [8 favorites]
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:50 AM on November 23 [8 favorites]
the fort idea sounds fun. though why a fort? are there dragons about? et cetera
posted by HearHere at 8:15 AM on November 23
posted by HearHere at 8:15 AM on November 23
Just a laundry basket of water? Guess and try out what floats. Cork, small jars to be filled with things, different pieces of wood, walnut shells, (lava) rocks...and they'll find other stuff to try.
Maybe add shaving foam or food colouring. Have whisks, little watering cans, dish brushes (for foam) and spray bottles for extra fun. In my experience, this mix of creative play and understanding physics is mesmerizing to lots of little kids.
posted by toucan at 8:30 AM on November 23
Maybe add shaving foam or food colouring. Have whisks, little watering cans, dish brushes (for foam) and spray bottles for extra fun. In my experience, this mix of creative play and understanding physics is mesmerizing to lots of little kids.
posted by toucan at 8:30 AM on November 23
I think we have to just accept there's a solid reason for this, even if it's an adulty one like "one parent/guardian needs a babysitter and the other parent/guardian is available as long as their own kid(s) can be there."
We've been experimenting with mixed playdates of this nature lately and I'd suspect that recipes, even of fun stuff, will also favor the artsy one too much as he seeks to be in charge of it and have it done correctly, and the other kid only kind of holds still enough to participate because of the appeal of the end product but eventually bounces (possibly literally) when he realizes there'll still be cookies/pizza either way. Perhaps decorating something edible would appeal though? It's a bit more "parallel play" than fully "collaborative" but you could do a warm-up with some individual cookies/whatever and then work together on a bigger piece like a gingerbread house. Overall I think that pattern has been going best for us, where there's first time for everyone to do their own thing and see that multiple different strategies can be valid, and then they come together for something somewhat higher-stakes with increased trust that the others might have a point.
posted by teremala at 8:45 AM on November 23 [4 favorites]
We've been experimenting with mixed playdates of this nature lately and I'd suspect that recipes, even of fun stuff, will also favor the artsy one too much as he seeks to be in charge of it and have it done correctly, and the other kid only kind of holds still enough to participate because of the appeal of the end product but eventually bounces (possibly literally) when he realizes there'll still be cookies/pizza either way. Perhaps decorating something edible would appeal though? It's a bit more "parallel play" than fully "collaborative" but you could do a warm-up with some individual cookies/whatever and then work together on a bigger piece like a gingerbread house. Overall I think that pattern has been going best for us, where there's first time for everyone to do their own thing and see that multiple different strategies can be valid, and then they come together for something somewhat higher-stakes with increased trust that the others might have a point.
posted by teremala at 8:45 AM on November 23 [4 favorites]
Ernie and Bert need to both be doing something within their favoured skill set. Let them decide who does what in the Pirate Hostage Escape scenario. One must draw a map, one must climb the rigging to steal a rope, one must hide the escape rope under the couch, the other must draw a plan for the trap for the giant rats, one of them must build the trap out of a cardboard box and a string, the other must argue their way past the pirate captain (you) with the giant rat (stuffed toy rabbit) hidden under their sweater. Unfortunately they must both escape out the window (you have a ground floor window?) before one of them must answer the sphinx's riddle - they can both try until they hit on a suitable answer... Once the rat is stashed safely back in the house it's time to raid the galley for provisions to take on the escape, and so on...
The downside of this is that you're basically playing with them the whole time, stage managing the game, so it's full hands on supervision. The three year old can be the wounded member of the party, who has to be carried piggy back by the active one.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:32 AM on November 23 [1 favorite]
The downside of this is that you're basically playing with them the whole time, stage managing the game, so it's full hands on supervision. The three year old can be the wounded member of the party, who has to be carried piggy back by the active one.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:32 AM on November 23 [1 favorite]
Giant bubbles (look for a recipe online)
Legos or magnatiles
Flying a kite.
I think making slime is a winner.
posted by mai at 10:37 AM on November 23
Legos or magnatiles
Flying a kite.
I think making slime is a winner.
posted by mai at 10:37 AM on November 23
Minecraft.
Also, I mean: don't? Six is old enough to have legitimate preferences about who you want to hang out with and like to do in your precious free time. That's well out of the toddler stage, and of course any child is being actively screwed over in terms of agency practically every single moment of their lives.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 12:25 PM on November 23 [2 favorites]
Also, I mean: don't? Six is old enough to have legitimate preferences about who you want to hang out with and like to do in your precious free time. That's well out of the toddler stage, and of course any child is being actively screwed over in terms of agency practically every single moment of their lives.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 12:25 PM on November 23 [2 favorites]
Lots of problem solving nerds enjoy climbing. Sounds like a stop to a bouldering wall or climbing gym could be in order.
posted by Iteki at 1:34 PM on November 23
posted by Iteki at 1:34 PM on November 23
Maybe nerf gun target shooting, depending on stance on toy weapons? We bought a fun zombie target.
Geodes to break open.
Some kind of marble run set.
Outdoor game like Finska or Kubb.
Roasting marshmallows/making s’mores over a fire.
Paper planes? Add a Power Up airplane kit for powered paper planes.
posted by AnnaRat at 2:24 PM on November 23 [1 favorite]
Geodes to break open.
Some kind of marble run set.
Outdoor game like Finska or Kubb.
Roasting marshmallows/making s’mores over a fire.
Paper planes? Add a Power Up airplane kit for powered paper planes.
posted by AnnaRat at 2:24 PM on November 23 [1 favorite]
My 6 year old son has a best friend and they are similarly Bert and Ernie. I second making an obstacle course together. I think some outdoor building items would work great - even milk crates and boxes and rope to put together - crafty but still outdoor play with an imaginative element. Giant cardboard boxes with markers that they can make into whatever they want. Walkie talkes would also be exciting in imaginative play, it allows the active one to run away and still be in contact with the other kid at headquarters. Once you got the imaginative play going and they have a world they agree on, you can leave that for some time.
posted by ichimunki at 4:15 PM on November 24
posted by ichimunki at 4:15 PM on November 24
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posted by brook horse at 7:19 AM on November 23