Always be on the lookout for interestingly shaped rocks, or large pebbles, at the beach or on nature reserves. Pick up larger, rounded rocks, too. If you have no rocks at hand, however, you can get the kids to search the garden for larger stones. This is a great family project. Clean the rocks and paint them. Add details with markers, or paint pens, to create animals, bugs or anything that the rock shape reminds you of. Abstract designs also look good. You can varnish over your handiwork if you think it will look better or want to protect the painted design.
Kids will love making this mixed media collage -- an adult should mix the Jello with the boiling water, however. You will probably need two packets of Jello. Pour roughly 2/3 of your Jello into the bottom of a clear glass bowl. When the Jello is set, after approximately 30 minutes, make a design of your choice on top of it with nuts, fruits, marshmallow pieces and other edible items. As an example, make an orange Jello base and make a lion with fanned out mandarin orange segments in a circle for it's neck ruff. Cut a body and tail from pear slices and have the lion laid in grass made from coconut colored green with food dye. Half a grape for a nose and small nut pieces for eyes complete the image. Pour enough Jello on top to just cover the image and set.
This is a fun pen (or pencil) and paper activity that can be completed in an hour or two. Allow a single page for your comic novel and think of a short story to fill it. Decide which are the key scenes and information that will need to be included in the graphic representation of your tale. Divide the page with a ruler into the required number of boxes and draw in your comic-style images and text -- voice bubbles with other essential information written at the bottom of relevant boxes. Additional coloring is optional. This is a challenging, but mentally stimulating, project for all ages.
A quick, yet absorbing, exercise for all ages, this requires only a marker and paper. With expansive, curvy marker strokes, draw a loopy random pattern onto a piece of large paper. If you are just doodling on the bus or in a dentist waiting room, for example, a small piece of paper and a pen will do. In the pattern, look for images, or shapes that remind you of something. Fill them in and add parts to finish them. You'll end up with a wonderfully zany, tangled, mixed-up picture.