Nature Color Hunt

Grab a few paint sample cards and head to the nearest park or trail. Each kid gets a card and has to find something in nature matching every color. Bark counts as brown. The sky counts as blue, but that's the easy one.

This works for ages 3 to 6 especially well because there's no winning or losing — just noticing. You'll be amazed what they spot that you walk past every day.

Bring a bag for treasures (pinecones, cool rocks, leaves) and make a 'museum' on the porch when you get home. Label everything with the kid's name and the color it matched.

Total prep: five minutes at a hardware store. Total calm afterward: considerable.