Activities to share with your Tween to early Teen age daughter/s

I was asked by a single Mum friend of mine to help her out with her tween and nearly tween aged girls.  I gave her a whole list and she has already implemented many of these suggestions, so I thought I'd share them with those of you who might be in a simular situation.
(Any prices mentioned are in Australian Dollars.)

Sewing based things.
Cross Stich. You can get small ones for $2.00 from the discount shop, all you need are the needles all else is provided and they are great for beginners. you just sew little crosses in the coloured in places, is easy and they get something out of it, as well as learning a skill, AND it is a mellowing down thing, it's relaxing/calming. You can have good ones framed or buy frames and make framing them another activity.
Knitting, but this is harder and messier.
You can Hand Sew little handbags and decorate them. it's easy, cheap, & like cross stich can be out away and picked up with minimal fuss, they get a handbag out of it (or a book bag???) and it teaches them a "grown up" skill.

Scrap booking. Get them an album each. Dig out old photo's of them and together you can help them set out pages. It is all there's and they can keep them forever. Weekend reward shopping trips to Discount Stores for $10.00 each of scrap booking gear once a month or so will make it all the more fun. To make it cheaper use old wrapping paper, birthday cards etc they can cut pics out of magazines and words etc to make their pages cool.  Also if you have any of their old stamps left from when they were younger, they are great for scrap booking.  Stamp and add fine glitter etc. or colour the stamp in with coloured pencils, dampen a cotton bud and wet the pencil after it’s on the paper, it goes a bit like water colours, pretty.

I used all the cards we got for aour wedding in my wedding album in a scrap booking way, much better than sticking them in a dusty old draw for the next 60 years, hhhmmm, best make that 50 years.

Getting some mounting tape from your discount store $2- (it is like double sided sticky tape with foam in between the sticky bits).  Print off on your pc from digital pics 3 or 4 fave copies of the one fave pic of themselves.  leave the first photo intact, on the second photo pic bits that you would like to add dimention to.  for example.  Perhaps they're wearing a peaked cap, you can add dimention to the peak by cutting it out & sticking it ontop of the intact photo with the mounting tape.  Or Perhaps a hand is closer to the camera or a skirt /dress is swishing, a ball is present etc etc.  Simply cut out of the spare print's the exact part you want to add dimention to and add it, then pop into a shadow box frame.  these are not always cheap or easy to find, SO, you can make one with a shallow obling box (Like a picture frame might come in) preferably with a lid, mount your built up photo inside print out a border if you need one on the pc OR cut out of some nice but neutral wrapping paper or card, you can tape on some clear sheeting you may have saved from packaging, or if you are pushed, try a clear "Loose Leaf Binder Pocket", cut it so you have 2 sepparate sheets as sticking it on as a pocket will make it a bit blurry.

Kids this age act out most due to bordom and insecurities.  Doing something even in half hour stages every second night, will give them some inner peace, you will become the solid rock they need and perhaps find that lovely ballance between parent & friend.

More to come in another advice so stay tuned if you liked anything in this one.  Have Fun.

Free printable scapbooking cut outs see this link  http://parentingteens.about.com/library/sp/scrapbooking/blfreesets.htm

I also just found this link which gives free info on how to make your own Mini Album for scrap booking
http://www.bisous.biz/scrap/scrap_ideas27.htm      So you can learn how to from this one and print out free pages & cut outs from the top one.  No excuse now.....