Foster Parents Looking for Activities for 10 Yr Old Girl

M. J.,

One of my older friends used to be a Big Brothers/Big Sisters mentor and she mentioned to me that she ran out of ideas to do with her "little". She told me that they began to go to the county humane society near her house and they would volunteer once a week to help out there. There are usually so many needs at the humane society that you could call and ask what volunteer needs do they have and how old does a child have to be to volunteer there.

If the child doesn't have severe allergies to shedding animals, it could be a great learning experience and perhaps therapeutic for her.

Even if she has severe allergies, she could always help with the laundry or something else there.

The only down side is meeting a dog/cat that you really love and want to adopt. If you can conquer this it would be great for both of you. I cuddle on my little Yorkie even more when I've had a horrible day at work or am extremely tired. It helps the day melt away and I think volunteering might help her lose some of her anxieties about not being able to live with her parents right now.

L. C.

All 10 year olds are in a different place. I have one and he is enjoying different things than his friends. That being said ~ can you ask her? :)

My 10 year old and his friends all enjoy video games, goofy movies (Bolt, Marley & Me, etc.), snowball fights and hot cocoa!

This is such an exciting time of year to get to know each other! Enjoy!

S.

My 11 year old girl likes Webkinz. Those are a popular assortment of stuffed animals that come with a code so they can go online and create a home for their animal, play games to earn web-cash, and buy items for thier animal. All the kids have 'em.

My daughter is also very crafty & into art, so crafts and art items from like Michaels would be something I would do for her. But I guess that wouldn't necessarily be for "everyone" her age.

Oh, and all the kids like the Disney channel - Hannah Montana, ICarly, Wizards of Waverly Place, Drake & Josh, etc.

Girls absolutely LOVE to talk!!! Just ask questions and listen. You'll get to know her and the more you just listen (asking questions to get her to talk more) the more she'll open up to you.

You could also try some extra-curricular activities. Check into your local Parks & Rec for some inexpensive 4-8 week classes in different things until she finds something she likes. My ten year old tried ballet, tap, gymnastics, and softball, until we finally found karate, which she loves!

How wonderful for you! I would so love to foster but my dh doesn't want to. I agree with the others who mentioned Girl Scouts. My dd(11) is a total tomboy but still enjoyed this while we did it. It is a good way for her to make friends. I would also ask her what her interests are. All kids are different. I was a bookworm as a child and disliked sports. My dd LOVES sports and dislikes reading! We homeschool and are involved in many activities but they are during they day so will not help you much. The parks and rec suggestion is great as well. Good luck and it is such a wonderful thing you are doing!! I would li9ke to add that getting board games would be a wonderful way for you to interact with one another. Set aside a special time/day for you guys to play games with each other.

Congrats on being a foster parent! It's a great thing to do. My daughter is 11 and here is a list of things she likes and activities she is involved in: Girl Scouts (long list of things she does with that), cheerleading, skating, High School Musical, archery, fairies, music, books, Jonas Brothers, diaries, making her own jewlry.

Hope that helps!

What a great thing you are doing. I would also suggest if checking out your local library. For example my local library has the American Girl books series and they do mother daughter activities around that. There usually separate activities into age appropriate groups. Good luck and God Bless.

Hello M.,

I have a nine year old and they are into so many things and they change their minds so fast. I would suggest taking her to target and letting her register for the things that she would like. It's just like registering for a wedding or new baby, but it's called a wish list. They get to walk around the store and pick out things that they want. I do it every year for my kids birthdays and Christmas so our family knows what they want. They love going and doing to do it and helps me know what to get them as well. It's really easy and doens't really take that long, you just walk around the store looking at everything from toys to games, to movies, clothes, anything and everything. I always remind my kids they are not going to get everything that they put on the list, but at least people know what they want this way.

Depends on what she's interested in specifically...
I agree with the other poster, Scouting would be a great thing to do.
You could involve her in sports, scrap booking, some sort of volunteer group.... YMCA...Dance..gymnastics...golf.. etc

Good for you for fostering! Good luck!

J.

Helping you cook(teaching her to cook)

Crafts! I haven't met a 10 year old that doesn't love crafts. Michael's has all sorts of kits.

I still played with dolls until I was 12. No shame in that if she enjoys it! My nieces are about that age and they are way into American Girl doll stuff. Maybe you can give her ways to save up for something like that. It is a great age to start learning responsibility.

take her for a manicure! ( my daughter's favorite treat)

Watch anything like Hannah Montana, Drake and Josh, I carly, True Jackson, etc....

let her use lipgloss...

teach her how to cook...let her help make dinner.

sledding, ice skating, roller skating, bowling, the movies.

sleep over with friends...

No one has mentioned music lessons, but that would be a great confidence booster for her. I'd recommend the Simply Music piano method. I'm not sure if there is a teacher in your area, but you could check on the main site www.simplymusic.com The method is taught mainly in shared lessons as well so she'd get to meet other kids as well.

Hi M. -
I see there are already some great ideas submitted. One other option for "tuning in" is to ask her teacher(s) what the kids are into as things vary sometimes from one community to another. The teachers seem to always know those things. Good luck and God Bless you!

Anything Hannah Montana or High School Musical would probably interest her. Good luck!! :)

I don't know if you are looking for something to do with her, or just for her to do. However Girl Scouts can be a lot of fun and it is something that you can get involved with. Even if you can't find a troop you can still do it on your own with her registered as a Juliet, individual on their own. The Girl Scouts of America also have s special program for foster girls.

My daughter is also learning archery and really enjoys it.

M.,

Congratulations on being a foster parent! I think that's one of the best things in the world to do. May God bless you abundantly for it! Any how, I'm not sure what area you're in but perhaps a dance class would be something she's interested in. My daughter is a bit of a tomboy so she's in swimming and gymnastics. But she mentioned dance to me and cheerleading. I hope that helps you a bit.

Take care and best of luck,

A.