Rainy Day Projects

Underground News Station Broadcast

A child of eight to ten who has energy and no school has the capacity to run something genuinely complex for a long stretch — they just need a frame. A pretend news station provides that frame: there are jobs, a deadline, and an audience. They will write, argue about format, make props, and rehearse without much adult input. You set the concept and walk away. What you come back to is usually a production they want to perform for you.

Ages
8–10
Time
120 min
Adult help
Kids can run it
Mess
Low mess

Before you start

Set this up before calling the child over by making a simple 'anchor desk' — a chair pulled in front of a plain wall with a table or TV tray in front of it. Fold a sheet of paper into a tent-card nameplate and leave blank paper, washable markers, and a ruler on the desk. Write three topic starters on a separate sheet and leave it as the 'assignment sheet': a made-up local event, a pretend weather forecast, and a sports result they can invent. Children this age will nearly always add more stories once those three are done. The play stalls most often at the 'live' moment — actually performing feels suddenly exposing. If that happens, suggest they record on a phone or just do a 'dress rehearsal' first, which usually gets them over it. The session ends naturally when they perform the broadcast for you; plan to watch the whole thing, however long it runs.

You will need

  • Chair and small table or TV trayPulled in front of a plain wall as the anchor desk
  • Printer paper or notebook paperTen or more sheets for scripts, props, and the nameplate
  • Washable markersMultiple colors for props, headlines, and weather maps
  • RulerFor drawing straight lines on maps and charts
  • ScissorsChild uses blunt-tip on paper; adult need not be involved

    Blunt-tip scissors are adequate for all paper tasks in this activity.

  • Tape or binder clipsFor assembling a backdrop or holding script pages together
  • A bedsheet or large piece of fabricoptionalOptional; hung or draped behind the chair as a broadcast backdrop
  • Phone or tablet for recordingoptionalOptional; child records their broadcast to watch back

Steps

  1. 1

    Set up the anchor desk

    Pull a chair in front of a plain wall and place a small table or TV tray in front of it. Leave blank paper, washable markers, and a ruler on the surface. Fold one sheet into a tent nameplate and write 'NEWS ANCHOR' on it so the child sees the role immediately when they walk in.

  2. 2

    Leave the assignment sheet

    Write three story starters on a sheet of paper and place it on the desk: a made-up event in your town (a dog that learned to skateboard), a pretend five-day weather forecast, and a sports result they can invent. Say, 'This is your newsroom. You have three stories to cover. The broadcast goes live when you are ready.' Then leave.

  3. 3

    Let them build the newsroom

    Children this age will spend twenty to thirty minutes making props before they write anything — weather maps, headline cards, a printed-looking logo on paper. This is not stalling; it is production work. Do not interrupt unless asked.

    Tip: If two children are involved, a second chair beside the desk creates an automatic co-anchor role without any adult narration.

  4. 4

    Check in once at midpoint

    Around the forty-five-minute mark, look in briefly and say, 'How is the broadcast shaping up?' Accept whatever answer you get and leave again. This check-in signals that someone will actually watch, which often gives the project a second wind if momentum has slipped.

    Tip: Avoid asking to see what they have — that can feel like an audit and shut the play down.

  5. 5

    Be the audience

    When they announce they are ready, sit down, give your full attention, and watch the whole broadcast. Ask one or two questions at the end — 'What caused the skateboarding-dog situation?' or 'Is there going to be a second broadcast tomorrow?' This closes the play with genuine respect for what they made.

Try it another way

  • With two children, one is the anchor and one is a field reporter who steps into frame to deliver a live update from another room.
  • An older or more confident child can add an interview segment, playing both the anchor and the guest by switching chairs and using a paper microphone.
  • For a quieter version, skip the performance entirely and have the child produce a written and illustrated one-page newspaper instead of a broadcast.

What they get out of it

Children practice putting their own ideas into a shape that makes sense to someone else, which is one of the most useful things a person can learn to do.

Take it to the table

Materials checklist, the steps and the variations on one Letter page.

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