New stuff for my 9yo to do?

[jmoore]

My 9yo son has decided to give up soccer and play fall baseball instead. He will only have bb practice 1x week this fall. That frees up some time for him to try a few new things. When I ask him he has no idea what to do aside from play more Minecraft.

I think a weekly bike ride in the evenings with dad is mandatory. I have suggested archery and that he and I go hunting more on the weekends this fall. He likes these ideas, so we will do that. But I need something that does not involve a screen to suggest. I offered up musical instrument lessons, but he said no. Foreign language? No interest.

So give me some ideas for what I can suggest. He is very smart and analytical. Decent at building stuff. Good kid. Makes great grades, just doesn't branch out into new stuff easily. Gets really deep into what he likes.

[josephr]

Scouting?

[MattTuck]

is he in the boy scout program? seems like that gives exposure to a lot of different stuff.

also, something he may enjoy is model rocketry.
martial arts?
if he likes the computer, perhaps programming.


also, I'd push him more into both foreign language and an instrument. both of those are things I did not have, and wish that I did. Maybe have him try it for a month and see if he likes it.

[FlashUNC]

Model rocketry? Robotics?

Smart, analytical and wants to spend time in Minecraft (where you're basically just building stuff anyways), sounds like the right combination for something STEM related.

[MattTuck]

yeah, you may want to explore 'maker spaces' in your area. they may have programs for kids.

[tiretrax]

All of those suggestions are great - and are covered in scouting. Parent participation is mandatory, so good for father/son experiences.

[firerescuefin]

Rock climbing gym.

My nephew (6 years old) isn't your typical sporty kid, but loves it....and my son wants to get into it.

[MadRocketSci]

Lego mindstorms

[buldogge]

+whatever...Definitely robotics...LEGO flavor or otherwise.

-Mark in St. Louis

[johnny_flapjack]

My 7 yo really enjoys martial arts. It's fun to watch the progression, nerves at the first tournament, etc.

Scouts is good too. Usually one night a week.

[texbike]

Pokemon? :)

Just kidding - it's become a scourge at our house...

Since you're not interested in things with screens, how about buying a couple of the more famous project books for kids and committing to building one new project a week. This should appeal to his analytical mind and interest in building stuff. Plus it would give you a chance to have the bonding experience of doing projects together. My son and I recently built wooden swords and have been having battles. Surprisingly they hurt more than you think they would!

Have fun,

Texbike

[Nooch]

sewing and leatherwork, obviously :)

[Dead Man]

Junior Wrestling programs in your area? Great foundation for future arts martial. Every fight ends up on the ground - why not cut to the chase and end it when it starts?

Scouts is huge for my 3 oldest. Last Saturday end-of-summer Raingutter Regatta:

https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10562931_10204529757187031_7344952356210823397_n.j pg?oh=c428366a867417afea3740b5869f9cd1&oe=545F6E32

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10425154_10204529757987051_4855450140358719020_n.j pg?oh=7b0b9f0c26a2899a14ae14003b03a6fd&oe=54710511&__gda__=1416492148_297d73696423fd7403f859e4a051926 9

https://scontent-a-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/t1.0-9/10599268_10204529762267158_8560888332762096082_n.j pg

Ethan, my oldest (troop 250) won!

[jmoore]

Project book names pls. He'd be into something like that.

MLW likes the weekly bike ride idea as well. So I'll start that this week. I'll get him into the trails a bit off of Walnut Hill and Greenville. That's a good starting point for his dirt adventures.



Pokemon? :)

Just kidding - it's become a scourge at our house...

Since you're not interested in things with screens, how about buying a couple of the more famous project books for kids and committing to building one new project a week. This should appeal to his analytical mind and interest in building stuff. Plus it would give you a chance to have the bonding experience of doing projects together. My son and I recently built wooden swords and have been having battles. Surprisingly they hurt more than you think they would!

Have fun,

Texbike

[Mayday328]

Kids love to jump stuff and get dirty. Maybe a beginner mountain bike is a good way to go?

[SlackMan]

We have an 11-year old son, so I am with you on wanting to keep him entertained and avoid screens. He and I: ride bikes, swim, and do bodyweight workouts; do Boy Scouts--meetings, camping, merit badges; and he's about to test for Black belt Tae Kwon Do (I watch and informally practice sparring with him).

He's also smart, but I struggle getting him interested in academic pursuits. On the horizon, I would like to do something like at the links below. One thing I like is that they incorporate woodworking, electronics, robotics, and computer programming into one project. My hope is that it's juvenile enough to appeal to a boy while still conveying some academic content. I have also thought about building a tube headphone amp or Altoids CMOY amp with him because he's starting to get into listening to music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PqcCjFaf3I

http://gizmodo.com/5970912/the-most-useless-machine-gets-even-more-useless

[texbike]

Project book names pls. He'd be into something like that.



I just bought a book about robotics called "Robotics". It has a bunch of home projects in it. We also have "The Boy Mechanic - 200 Classic Things to Build". It's a reprint of a lot of old Popular Mechanics articles. I wouldn't say that it's a great resource for step-by-step instructions, but it's a great source of ideas to build off of (like swords and slingshots for us). I've picked up a couple of paper airplane books and also another science experiments book for kids (Kids Science Experiment Book?) which has a lot of cool stuff in it.

I'd love to see other suggestions as well.

Texbike

[Corso]

My son replaced soccer with lacrosse.

He totally loved(s) it.

[AngryScientist]

recovering saddles??

[msl819]

My 9yo son has decided to give up soccer and play fall baseball instead. He will only have bb practice 1x week this fall. That frees up some time for him to try a few new things. When I ask him he has no idea what to do aside from play more Minecraft.

I think a weekly bike ride in the evenings with dad is mandatory. I have suggested archery and that he and I go hunting more on the weekends this fall. He likes these ideas, so we will do that. But I need something that does not involve a screen to suggest. I offered up musical instrument lessons, but he said no. Foreign language? No interest.

So give me some ideas for what I can suggest. He is very smart and analytical. Decent at building stuff. Good kid. Makes great grades, just doesn't branch out into new stuff easily. Gets really deep into what he likes.

Growing up in Texas learning a second language would be a great idea. I realize he doesn't have interest but these are the types of things I had no interest in as a 9 yo either but wish my parents would have instilled. Not to make this overly philosophical but raising 3 myself 5 and under I often wonder as a dad where to defer and where to push knowing it is for their own best interest down the line. I haven't seen stats recently but the correlation to playing a musical instrument and math scores were pretty telling. And let's be honest... Any dude who can sit down at a piano and crank out a few numbers or pick up a guitar and serenade a room has a leg up with the ladies!

[Cicli]

Teach him to fix bikes. Them have him fix yours. Then teach him to cut the grass. That way you can ride your newly tuned up bike?

Seriously, my 8yo is in Karate. He loves it and its really good for them.

[Louis]

I spent lots of time playing around with these: (and now I'm an enginerd)

I don't really remember how old I was at the time, but I do remember moving from Erector Sets to model rockets, to model airplanes, and during all that time taking apart nearly everything in the house that had broken and was about to be thrown away.

http://www.girdersandgears.com/sets/10052-open.jpg

[schwa86]

At about 9 yo or so, my son got into cooking (which actually has a whole bunch of chemistry-like aspects to it). That's what got him into foreign cultures and languages. It has paid off big time in terms of some pretty awesome meals over the years (albeit with a few trashed kitchens along the way). [And this week he's off to college. YEESH.]

[cmbicycles]

4H has a program called junk drawer robotics that is pretty good, geared towards groups but could be s fun father son thing. It progresses from simple levers and catapults to making pneumatic operated "lucky cranes". Obviously not a ton of expensive supplies from the title. Might be worth checking out.

[jmoore]

Good stuff. All of this. We had a chat and he likes the weekly bike ride idea. I am also going to find a way to translate some of his Minecraft building into real world stuff. Learning about tools and architecture drawings that he can build in the game.

He likes to cook so i had him help with dinner tonight. Will cintinue that. And i ordered Dangerous Projects for Boys for him today too. So i think we have a good start.

Night trail riding cant be far off hopefully!

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

[Dead Man]

Dangerous Projects for Boys

My 10 year old has been glued to his Dangerous Book for Boys for the last week or so

[miguel]

Things I wish I had learned early (earlier)
How to start and run a business. Basic ···· like buy low/sell high, money management, and goal setting/future projection, work ethic.

Piano. I had lessons but I had tons of other stuff to do and it fell by the wayside. Seriously, playing piano is such an awesome talent. Then, songwriting.

Programming. I'm sure it's easier to get classes these days but there wasn't much when I was coming up. It's like minecraft, really.

[gdw]

The world has changed. At 9 we were able to organize our own entertainment without our parents assistance.

[Louis]

The world has changed. At 9 we were able to organize our own entertainment without our parents assistance.

Not really true. When I was a little kid my father used to buy 1 pound bags of cement so I could build stuff out in the yard.

[Dead Man]

Not really true. When I was a little kid my father used to buy 1 pound bags of cement so I could build stuff out in the yard.

Recently bought plaster of paris to use for foundation (cement is just too caustic for a kitchen table project) for a stick house the older boys and I will be building. Everything, ground up- framing to code, wiring, plumbing, siding, cedar shingles on the roof, properly flashed and dried in with a weather test. Window glazing, door hanging, tile setting, pebbles for river-rock chimney. Thing's gonna be nicer than our real house! And probably take about as long to build.

[Louis]

^^^ Neat - post some pics when you're done.

Be sure there's room for one of these:

http://m.rgbimg.com/cache1ovOGm/users/s/sa/saavem/600/mvnbqzY.jpg