One-armed activities

Well, I’ll say one thing for breaking your arm on a school field trip…it brings out the creative side of your mama. Coming up with things for a seven year old with a broken arm sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? I mean, just because you temporarily can’t bike, skateboard, climb, write, draw, sew, do origami or carpentry, I’m sure there are enough activities in the world to keep you busy for all of June.

So without further ado, here is a list of things that a seven year old child can do, even with a broken arm. Dominant side, naturally. Because when first graders do something, they do it all the way. As close to the end of school as they can manage.

Bean bag toss. Honey, I said toss. Toss means lightly. Gently. Toss, sweetie. Okay, moving on…
Marbles. So if you flick the marble at the other…um, flick. Like this. Not tossing. That was the last game, peanut. Honey, don’t throw the marbles. Okay, let’s try something else.
Puzzles. I know. I’m bored, too. Wanna try tossing the pieces into a bucket?
Board games. Now you’re talking. Let’s play all our games dozens of times. Yay! Okay. One day down…
Blanket fort for reading. Pretty dark in here, eh? Try reading with a flashlight. Oh, right. One hand. Next plan…
Word find and word jumbles. You’re right, honey. Butter does start with butt, and yes, you can circle both words.
Stomp rocket. That was fun. Now let’s go on the roof and get them. Oh, no; not you. You might break your arm.
Soccer. I know you didn’t mean to, but you still get a red card for concussing the defender with plaster.
Bug habitat. Sure, I’ll carry this terrarium around while you look for bugs. No, I’m not napping. I’m looking really closely at this ant hill.
Sidewalk chalk. Wow, your spelling is getting better from those word jumbles. That *is* exactly how you spell butt.
Dictate stories Wow. That was a lot of inventions the character put on his vehicle. Where did he get the volcanic dynamite laser protoplasm? Oh. Right. Of course he grows it himself.
Photography. Take all the photos you want and we’ll make a book from them. Sure, we can take the camera outside.
Hike.
Beach.
Zoo.
Aquarium.
Berry picking.
Berry eating.

Good luck with your summer plans. Ours just got a lot more outdoorsy.

10 thoughts on “One-armed activities

  1. !!!!

    Okay, lantern instead of flashlight in the tent. Other than that… um… has he ever tried painting with his toes? Or, uh, peeling a banana with his toes? Or anything involving toes. Toes are fun!

    Yeah, that’s all I got so far.

  2. I love Melissa’s idea about incorporating toes in the mix! Brilliant!

    But a one-handed berry picker is better than no berry picker! I see lots of shortcake and pies in your future!

    • Oh, Jane, a one-handed berry picker can do wonders eating berries. And that’s all the lad need do, for I will gladly bring home and share what I collect.

      And he’s going to be Scrabble champion when I’m finished with him. ;-)

  3. This made me smile. A sad, slightly wistful, slightly Mona Lisa smile, but a smile all the same.

    How about subject of another’s portrait, while swapping stories? One-armed firefly catcher? Owl whisperer?

    xo

  4. How about a head-lamp torch, the sort you get at the outdoor store for camping or caving or night hikes? That might really make reading in a fort fun…

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