Activities by age

Activities for kids, age by age

“What do I do with my seven-year-old this afternoon?” is a different question from the same one about a thirteen-year-old. These pages take the Tandomo starter library and sort it by age, from 6 to 16, with notes on what each age often enjoys and how a parent fits in.

Every page has around ten activities adjusted for that age, a set to play together, screen-free picks and the questions parents ask most. No app needed for any of them.

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Ages 6–8: play it with them

Short, physical and hands-on. The parent reads the instructions and plays along; most ideas take 5–15 minutes.

Age 6

Activities for a 6-year-old at home

Moving their whole body · Making something they can hold · Simple rules they can win at

Try: Walk and count how many dogs you spot; Kitchen experiment: predict float vs sink for 5 objects, then test; Build something and give it a name

See ideas Age 7

Activities for a 7-year-old at home

Fair rules and keeping score · Puzzles that click · Reading short things on their own

Try: Kitchen experiment: predict float vs sink for 5 objects, then test; Hopscotch: chalk a grid and clear every square; Walk and count how many dogs you spot

See ideas Age 8

Activities for an 8-year-old at home

Secret codes and spy stuff · Doing it 'for real' · Competing with themselves

Try: Walk and count how many dogs you spot; Build something and give it a name; Hopscotch: chalk a grid and clear every square

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Ages 9–11: let them lead some of it

Real puzzles, math with a purpose and first bits of independence. You switch between co-player and audience.

Age 9

Activities for a 9-year-old at home

Guess, then check · A grown-up job · Classic brain-teasers

Try: Split a pizza fairly: 3 friends, 8 slices, who's owed what?; Ratio raid: mix juice concentrate and water at exactly 1:4 for 5 glasses; Explain in your own words why the sky is blue

See ideas Age 10

Activities for a 10-year-old at home

Projects with several steps · Making things for other people · Strategy games

Try: Ratio raid: mix juice concentrate and water at exactly 1:4 for 5 glasses; Name 3 countries in our time zone (guess, then check); Magic square: fill a 3×3 so every line sums to 15

See ideas Age 11

Activities for an 11-year-old at home

Having an opinion · Real-world math · Tricky puzzles with a reveal

Try: Water jugs: measure exactly 4 gallons using a 5-gallon and a 3-gallon jug; Kickoff is 3 PM in London — what time do you turn the TV on?; Label the big rivers of North America on a printed/drawn blank map

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Ages 12–14: sponsor, don't supervise

Hard problems, real budgets and things with an opinion. You set up the challenge and show up for the result.

Age 12

Activities for a 12-year-old at home

Hard puzzles · Designing and creating · Money and deals

Try: Kickoff is 3 PM in London — what time do you turn the TV on?; Label the big rivers of North America on a printed/drawn blank map; Water jugs: measure exactly 4 gallons using a 5-gallon and a 3-gallon jug

See ideas Age 13

Activities for a 13-year-old at home

Being taken seriously · Real logic · Skills with status

Try: Balance puzzle: find the fake coin in 3 weighings; Knights & knaves: 3 islanders, one lies — who?; Mean vs median: your last 10 game scores — which tells the truer story?

See ideas Age 14

Activities for a 14-year-old at home

Responsibility with trust · Arguments and evidence · Mastery

Try: Cryptarithm: crack SEND + MORE = MONEY; Balance puzzle: find the fake coin in 3 weighings; Mean vs median: your last 10 game scores — which tells the truer story?

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Ages 15–16: back their plans

Real-world jobs, money decisions and logic that stumps adults. They run it; you fund it, ask good questions and join in when invited.

Age 15

Activities for a 15-year-old at home

Running their own show · Catching people out · Skills that pay off now

Try: Truth table: is this argument actually valid? Build it out; Pythagoras in the wild: is that TV really 55"? Measure and check; Hat colors: 3 prisoners in a line — who speaks first, and why?

See ideas Age 16

Activities for a 16-year-old at home

Independence that counts · Thinking about the future · Hard, honest problems

Try: Truth table: is this argument actually valid? Build it out; Spot the logical fallacy in this short argument; Pythagoras in the wild: is that TV really 55"? Measure and check

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How these ages were sorted

Each idea in the activity library has an age range where it tends to work best, a rough length (about 5, 15 or 30 minutes), where it can be done (at home, outdoors, in the car) and how much energy it takes. The age pages pick from those, keep the subjects varied, and add a note on how to make each idea easier for younger children or harder for older ones.

The age ranges are a starting point. A confident reader of seven may love the nine-year-old puzzles; a thirteen-year-old who is having a hard week may want something lighter. Go by your child, not the number.

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Ideas like these, every day

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