Get the box of chalk out and start drawing on the sidewalk with the kids. You don’t have to be a great artist to do this one. The kids sure won’t care. You can always sweep it away if you don’t like how your work turned out.

If you’re in an area without sidewalks, you may have a driveway or walkway up to your home that can be used.

You could also just try drawing a game on the ground. Kids love hopscotch, and what’s more classic than a chalk hopscotch game?

Head out into the back yard or drive out away from city lights. Bring blankets and warm clothing as needed. Look up and enjoy the sight of the stars.

Your best bet is on a moonless night if you want the best view of the stars, but the moon itself can be a lot of fun too, especially with binoculars.

Knowing at least some of the constellations is nice, but you can get a book from the library if you aren’t too good at spotting them, or look them up online first to see what you should expect in your area. AstroViewer.com has a free online interactive sky map you can try.

Binoculars won’t do anything impressive for anything other than the moon, of course, except in rare situations. Sometimes a comet will come close enough that binoculars help with viewing.

Just talking as a family is a great activity. Sit down and chat about anything. What problems are people dealing with? What’s going well? Whatever.

Sometimes it works best to have each parent go one on one with each child. Kids will often open up best to just one person.

There doesn’t have to be a problem for it to be important to sit and just talk with your kids. It’s a reassurance for kids to know that you’re interested in whatever is on their minds.

Building a fort or a tent is fun for both the parents and kids. It can be out of couch cushions, under the table, on a bed, wherever it works for you.

Forts are great because they can be anything. A private place to chat… never mind that anyone outside of it can hear you, it feels private. A castle. An imaginary world. Or, well, a fort.

It’s fun to see what goes on in a child’s head in a fort. My kids are rather fond of playing Narnia in them.

Find stores in your area that offer free workshops. Home Depot, for example, has these at many of their stores. Their kids workshops are geared toward kids ages 5-12, the first Saturday of each month. Other stores may also offer crafts, either for the cost of supplies or free.