It's winter, we're in the midst of a Pandemic and I've been trying to find all the things to entertain the kids Our daycare provider is SOOO GOOD at teaching them different skills and lessons during the week days, I find it hard to compete with her on the weekends! Below are some great activities that have saved me.
The first thing I've really enjoyed is checking out "Play As Learning" kits from our local library. If your library has something like this available, check it out!! These bags come with a theme, activities for kids, toys and books. It is a great, free way to entertain the kids for a couple days before they get bored of the new toys. And, this way you're not wasting your money or cluttering up your house with toys they no longer play with. Our library allows checkout for 4 weeks. Check out your library to see if they have something like this!!
Another, similar product, that I haven't check out yet, but it's on my to do list is the Lend and Learn library kits. My Parents as Teachers educator gave me this idea and I will be signing up for as soon as I'm done with this post. I love that this is another resource for families that doesn't cost anything, but allows your child to learn through play. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against my kids watching TV, but I do prefer for them to be doing an activity that engages their brains rather than just staring at the TV all day.
Play dough is a wonderful indoor activity and SO EASY to make. I found this recipe from I Heart Naptime when I was teaching kindergarten and it is SO. SOFT. It takes all of 10 minutes to make (if that) and the kids LOVE it. Playing with play dough is amazing for kids. Not only does it give them a chance to use their imagination, it allows them to work on their fine motor skills and build the muscles in their hands. This is also a great sensory activity and can bring some calm to their play. If you add in some cookie cutters {I got this set from Michaels and it has every shape you can think of! Plus, it's only $15!} you can bring math into their play! You can talk shapes, numbers, sorting, the options are endless. Play dough is also fun to add things to, like buttons and toy cars!
In addition to play dough, we also love Kinetic Sand. It has the same benefits for learning and play as play dough, but with a different texture. If you don't know about Kinetic Sand, it magically sticks together so there is little mess. It comes in a variety of colors and is so fun and soothing to play with! I typically put both of these materials into a pan to help contain it and make clean up quick and easy.
While Monty is more into playing with play dough and sand, Kennedy is into drawing and painting. I found these crayons at Michaels that are good for little hands. I've also melted down old crayons from my classroom and poured the wax into silicone molds to make crayons for the twins. Another favorite coloring tool is Dot-a-Dot Art makers (there are other types of dot markers that I'm sure are just as good). These have been so loved in our house and have worn down. There is plenty of ink left inside, but the felt at the tip of the pen has started to wear off (but that is expected with some enthusiastic toddlers using them).
Another super fun indoor activity for kids is water beads! These little things soak up water and are so fun to play with. The sensory experience alone is worth it. I got this little bottle from Amazon after a friend recommended them. This bottle will probably last me a
life time. I poured one medicine cup of them into our water table, and when they grew, they filled a gallon pitcher.
What I love about them is that they shrink back down when they dry out, so no big deal if they are all over the house. I can't wait until summer when I can pour these into our little pool. The $8 these cost has already provided HOURS of entertainment at our house. TOTALLY. WORTH. IT. (Oh, and here was a genius moment: if you have a water table, put it in a shower or bathtub in the winter! Your kids can splash all over the place without any major clean up!)
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