I take care of my 3 and 5 year old children at home. Now that the
weather's not so good, we're indoors quite a bit. I don't like them to
have the TV on all day, and they're already tired of the toys they got
for Christmas, so I'm running out of ideas about what to do with my
kids during the day. Does anyone have any good ideas for at-home
activities to try with my kids?
Responses:
Subject: ideas for indoor play From: Mary Date: 02 Feb 2000 3:58 PM
I'm sure others will have lots of ideas for this topic, but one place
to start is to see the Mister Rogers activities posted on the Mister
Rogers Web site here at PBS. You can find a list of online and offline
activity suggestions at
http://www.pbs.org/rogers/tourguide/activity.htm.Hope this helps! Does
anybody out there have other favorite indoor activity ideas for this
age group?
Subject: wax art From: Jennifer Date: 02 Feb 2000 11:00 AM
My Mom stayed home with my sister and I for a few years, and one of our
favorite activities was to take all the old, stubby crayons and make
wax shavings from them with a butter knife onto a piece of wax paper.
My Mom would then carefuly take our creations to the ironing board,
lay another piece of wax paper on top, and briefly press with a hot
iron. I always loved watching the colors melt together - it's a
beautiful sight to a five-year-old! When it hardens, it makes great
refridgerator art....
Subject: Indoor Play From:Heather Date: 02 Feb 2000 8:59 PM
How about play-dough? Make your own at home and let the kids pick the
color they want. The kind you make yourself doesn't crumble as easily
as the other. Put a vinyl shower curtain or picnic table cloth on the
floor and let them have a ball. Give them cookie cutters, blocks,
toys, etc... They'll love to see all the different impressions things
make in the dough and it's great for their fine motor skills. Soup
cans make great rolling pins. If you need the recipe, here's my
favorite: 2C Flour, 2C Water, 1C Salt, Food Coloring, 4tsp. Cream of
Tartar, 2Tbsp. Oil. Place all in saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly,
until a ball forms (your arm will have quite the workout and you may
think your pan will never recover - it washes off very easily). Place
ball in a sealable plastic bag. It keeps for weeks. Even if your
little ones put some in their mouths it won't hurt them but it tastes
terrible so they probably won't do it again. Hint: You may want to
make this the night before the play time so that it has time to cool.
Hope this helps!!
Subject: Indoor play From: Diane Date: 02 Feb 2000 10:19 AM
A great big box, with appropriate cutouts for doors and windows,
provides hours of fun. Even younger children, with adult supervision
or assistance, can use their imaginations and crayons or paint to
create a house, spaceship, music studio, TV station, or
whatever!(Appliance stores are glad to get rid of these boxes)Another
idea: keep a large box of craft supplies (wiggly eyes, yarn, popsicle
sticks, glue, etc.) ready. Make animal masks one day... puppets the
next. And use another box to create a stage to put on a show!
Subject: INDOOR PLAY From: DOREEN Date: 03 Mar 2000 11:33 PM
IF YOU HAVE GIRLS-NAIL POLISH AND HAIR DAY-YOU DO EACH OTHERS NAILS AND
HAIR,WHICH THEY LOVE! ANOTHER GREAT THING IS MAGIC MUD(MADE FROM CORN
STARCH AND WATER ON A COOKIE SHEET). YOU CAN ADD FOOD COLORING FOR
DIFFERENT COLORS AND I MYSELF LIKE PLAYING IN IT TOO! HOPE THESE
HELPED!!
Subject: Social interaction From: Chris Date: 03 Mar 2000 4:06 PM
I am a stay at home mom of a 13 month old, and she only has interaction
with other kids at church. I feel that she's bored alot and needs to
have more social interaction with kids her age. Are there any
suggestions other than daycare, and any interesting activities I can do
with her at home instead of television.
Subject: Social Interaction From: Heather Date: 05 May 2002 11:12 PM
How about setting up a play group in your area for mom's that are in
your similar situation? You could put an ad in the newspaper or put
flyers up at the grocery or word of mouth through friends. You could
have some adult company and your kids would have lots of friends to
play with.
I have four children ages ranging from 7yrs. to 23mo. and understad the
challange of finding activities for all ages to enjoy! It's hard to
"sell" the kids on an activity, if you yourself are not thrilled with
it. I have found a ga-zillion ideas at www.family.com sign up "FREE"
to the Go network...and the ideas are endless! I like this sight
because you can choose the type of activity you are looking for, and
then choose the age of the child, and they compile the ideas for you!
Check it out, and tell me what you think.(sorry, I don't know how to
create the link...if any one can instruct me on how to create links in
this forum I would appreciate the info.)
I have a child with Asthma who has to stay in quite a bit.We have built
a routine in the mornings to help him use hismind, rather than build
his muscular strength. I work withhim on letter recognition by
matching letter cards with the refridge magnets. He lays the magnets
on top of the letter cards. We also work on counting with marbles.
He has learned to group marbles into plastic cups, subtract, and pour.
We also work on maps together. We plot the types of animals and where
they are found on North America and South America. He has learned so
much. He just turned 3!!!! I am a school teacher by trade, so I may
be at an advantage. But any learning that taked place at home early
helps when they are school age. Most importantly, I READ, READ, READ
to him.
Subject: indoor play From:joan Date: 06 Jun 2000 7:17 AM
don't forget the "imagination box" !gather capes, masks, wands, blow up
musical instruments, an old sheet to create a fort or "hide'
under...and let the play begin!
Subject: indoor play From: barbara Date: 03 Mar 2002 1:21 AM
make a slide with an extra leaf from a table. Prop it up on the couch
and let them slide. Let them sit on their blankie or a pillow and
they'll really slide. Be careful to secure the bottom of your slide
with your foot or the slide can slip off the couch. Baby can go boom!
Subject: Crafts and Activities From:Patty Fremont Date: 06 Jun 2002 9:03 PM
Make soap, organize a scavenger hunt or build a wild bird feeder. I’ve
found some sites with fun things to do this summer with the kids. Post
your own great site
discoveries.-Pattyhttp://www.edbydesign.com/kidsact.htmlhttp://www.very
bestkids.comhttp://www.activitiesforkids.com/kids.htm
