Work in pairs. Make a list of reasons that teens use to explain why they hang about at home instead of having fun.

2. a) Look through the article below. What excuse does it deal with?

One of the best things that seems to be coming out of the changes in the economy is that we are finding creative ways to entertain ourselves these days without spending a lot of money. Stop complaining about boredom and look at 15 fun ways that you could spend your free time while keeping it free:

1. Learn a game for the park. Just going to the park is a really great way to spend your free time but you can enhance it even more by learning a game that you can play yourself. Think of picking up juggling or hackey sack or just grab a tennis ball and start playing catch with yourself. You should be able to find something lying around your house that you can take to the park and play with.

2. Take photographs. As long as you already have a digital camera that belongs to you or borrowed from your friend and you don’t feel the compulsive need to print out your pictures, you don’t have to spend any money to enjoy this art. Head out to anywhere with your camera and challenge yourself to have a great time staring at the views around through the lens of your device.

3. Check out the free events in your area. There are always free things happening even in the smallest of cities. Check your local newspapers and blogs for announcements about free art openings, free outdoor movie screenings, free lectures at schools and libraries, free book readings. If you open your mind to trying to find events in the area that are free, you’ll find that there’s a lot to do and a lot to learn.

4. Host a comedy night at your house. Gather together the bravest group of friends that you’ve got and invite them over to come perform stand-up comedy for each other at your place. Make it pot luck so you don’t have to pay for snacks. If you’re not the comedy kind, you can qualify for improve karaoke or some other form of performance art with your friends and family members. It will easily result in fun time if you’ve got laidback friends who can laugh at themselves.

5. Spend time making a wish list. One of the best things that you can do to have fun with yourself is to daydream. Sit down and spend some time dreaming of all of the things that you could wish for. Make a list of goals – places to travel someday, areas you are determined to succeed in, things that matter to you. You may find that this inspires you to do more with your life.

6. Count the stars. Search for a place where you can see the stars and settle in for a few hours. Look up and see if you can count all of the stars in the sky. Do this with someone else and you’ll find yourself remembering old times, talking about big ideas or simply gazing at the expanse of the sky. See if you can start identifying constellations or picking out planets. Be wowed by the world that surrounds you.

7. Have long, relaxed conversations. So much of the conversing that we do these days is in the form of short exchanges of information no one responds to. We waste time and energy arguing with strangers, commenting on meaningless events and listening to complaints from people we don’t even sympathize with. Take the time to really engage in long conversations about relaxed topics with the people that you enjoy speaking with. Get together for a cup of coffee in your living room and talk about your favourite memories, your biggest dreams, your silliest stories.

8. Offer to help people with stuff. Do you complain about your friends and family members asking you to help them with housework, move into a new place or host a yard sale? If so, you might think of/about changing your attitude. If you focus on the good stuff – the fact that a yard sale allows you to have great conversations with your neighbours, for example – then you will find that you actually enjoy donating your free time to assisting others with their tasks. Building the community around you is a great way to improve your use of your free time.

9. Play with kids. If you don’t have kids then volunteer to babysit the kids of someone that you do know. They’ll teach you how to play all sorts of games that don’t cost you any cash. In fact, you might have noticed that a lot of the things on this list are things that you used to do as a kid. There’s a reason for that – kids will remind you of the fun you used to have as a child without spending any money.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 1230