Favorite Activities to do with Littles

[shernandez]

Some quick background...

 

I will have 4 littles, 3 and under, shortly, so life is about to get cray-cray around here.  My DD is really the only one actively schooling (2nd grade) and she is mostly independent, but 7, so she still needs me.  Three of those 4-under-3 crowd are not my children, rather ones I nanny on a daily basis, so I am not battling sleepless nights, nursing sessions, etc.  However, that fact doesn't make my days easy, because littles (especially 3 of those boys) are a handful:)  

 

So, I need your favorite activities to do with little kids.  These ideas can be anything really.  I do try to be as hands-on as possible, but some independent-ish projects will be helpful for the times DD needs me for something and the youngest one is asleep (I mostly handle instruction at nap, but she needs to start school first thing otherwise she would rather just play all day).  

 

Thanks!!!  

[eternallytired]

How "under" are the 3-and-under set?  The activities I have in mind would work for most 2-3 yos...

Do-a-Dot painting, especially at a plastic-covered table

PlayDoh (my DS3 loves to use little construction vehicles to make roads, scoop and dump PlayDoh, etc)

Little-friendly "marble run" with big pom-poms and toilet paper tubes taped to a wall or window.  (If you want to get really creative, I saw someone who bought PVC pieces/elbows and attached suction cups so the kids could rearrange them on a window to make their own route.)

Duplos, expecially with vehicles or trains and people

All of my kids could play indefinitely with water at that age.  Fill a container, place it somewhere that can get wet, and give them boats and scoopers and pots and pans and things that float or sink...

Finger painting

Baking (Everyone loves helping to dump and stir!  But that may be nuts with SO many littles.)

Simple crafts (esp. the ones that merely require taking simple shapes and arranging them--like "pick some shapes and make a face for this Jack-o-lantern!")

Both my sons and my daughter were fascinated by those Melissa & Doug people you can dress with magnetic clothing--though again, depends on age; you may have to remove some of the small pieces like the shoes and shorts.

[Tawlas]

A lot of great ideas up there!  Do one of those projects each day, mixed with time for snacks, stories, outside play and bathroom breaks and that would probably take up most of your morning.  Afternoons could be more low-key with each child assigned to his or her own area (room?) with a place to lie down, a few books and puzzles and a small toy set (Depends on age of the kids of course, but I'm thinking math manipulative type things like cuisinaire rods or sorting bugs, or maybe a game like four in a row with things to order and insert as they like or the large wooden beads to string by melissa and doug).  This would take some training on your part at first, but would be so worth it.  I find kids, even if they don't nap, come back from independent, quiet play recharged and refreshed and ready to share and compromise for a little longer.  

 

A few other ideas that came to mind:

 

build them a fort with sheets and clothespins in the living room and give their stuffies a bed inside

balloons and/or soft balls

cars and a ramp (board propped up on the coffee table type ramp)

outside play and walks!  especially on a rainy day, puddle jumping!  I cared for three, 2 years and under, one year and this saved me!

any kind of magnets on the fridge (Melissa and Doug have animals, transportation, letters & numbers, etc)

if you have wooden train track, my littles loved to get help building a simple circle track around their sitting bodies to push a train around and around and around . . . 

pushing toys were a hit:  play strollers, push wagons, wheeled ride-on toys, especially if they have a cubby to transport a few blocks, stuffies or dollies

pull toys on a string: cars, animals, stuffies on a leash, etc

 

good luck!

 

[Homeschoolmom3]

Great ideas above...one activity that worked so well at the 1 1/2 yrs-4 is a big bin of rice with spoons, cups, you name it....he would spend about 40 min. each day on that....how bout letting them explore and play outdoors! My son plays at least 2 hrs each day coming up with something to do....:)

[shernandez]

Love all these ideas.  I just thought about doing a "center" type morning rotation with them.  My DS is 3.5, Baby 1 is 2.5, Baby 2 is 1.5, Baby 3 is 2 months.  Baby 3 is the easiest because I just wear him a lot;)  Baby 1&2 also nap consistently in the afternoon, and my son has fort time.  DH built him a fort in the school room so I could work with DD while DS plays quietly in his own fort.  DD is done with school around 2:30, so we save outside time for then when she can run out, too.  

[medawyn]

My current 2.5 year old spends a lot of time with his "bins".  The favorites are (1) rice and black beans, (2) dried corn, and (3) aquarium rocks.  I include measuring cups, scoops, plastic test tubes, plastic tweezers, and a large baking sheet for pouring into.  We play on a large oil cloth, so clean up is very easy.  I also have a play yard I picked up cheap on a local mom's e-mail group, so he plays in there, which prevents more mess and keeps the 11 mo from putting everything in her mouth.

 

Water play is also HUGE here.  Just a bowl or two of water and some scoops works great, but we often extend play with colored water (food coloring - good for color mixing), cotton balls (I do not understand WHY these are such a huge hit, but I won't complain), bubbles and small plastic animals/vehicles to "wash", or ice cubes.

 

I will second play dough.  I make my own and add scent and/or glitter for additional sensory fun.

 

The book 150 Screen Free Activities for Kids has a surprisingly large number of activities for this age group, which take very little prep and many can be done mostly independently once they have been introduced.

 

Other toys that have encouraged extended independent play include magnetic blocks, bristle blocks, and a bin of small plastic animals.

 

I cannot remember where I read this, but I have read that the expectation for focused "work" is 5-7 minutes per year of age, so I tend to consider an activity that gains me 15 truly independent minutes a success. Obviously, we have many times where independent play extends long beyond that, but of course, there's the frustrating times when a "tried and true" activity only ends up holding his attention for 5 minutes.

 

Good luck!

[T'smom]

One thing that worked well for me (kept them busy for a long time) was to take a large cookie sheet and cover with baking soda. Then fill little bowls with vinegar and add food coloring. Give them eye droppers to put the vinegar on the baking soda a few drops at a time. The little explosions plus the color mixing keeps them entertained for quite awhile!

[Jennifer132]

I have a friend who home schools and has in home daycare, and she has 4 two year olds. She uses hoola hoops and does stations with them. Rotate stations every ten to fifteen minutes, and each child sits in their individual hoop and plays with an educational item (lacing, sensory bin, file folder game, etc-Google tot trays). When the timer rings, they rotate. Time ends when everyone has had a chance at each station.

[deenamathew]

The best activities for the little ones are painting, play dough, drawing, readings, crafts, make a simple egg carton train with pipe cleaners, foam shapes art on the window and coloring pages.

 

I do engage my kids in doing few activities like paintings, coloring pages, finger paintings to keep them in busy. I have downloaded disney coloring pages for my LO to color. My kids would love the disney characters. Here is pages to download http://www.momjunction.com/articles/disney-coloring-pages_0086350/

 

And list of few activities http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2012/08/www.growingajeweledrose.com.fallactivitiesandcraftsforkids.html

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I second the person upthread to get out one new activity per day, so that they stay very fresh and new for longer.  

 

Depending on obedience level, you might do well with a huge bin of rice, along with cups, measuring spoons, little shovels, etc.  My kids will play for an hour without a sound when I get out the rice box!  But we've had to put it away, because the one-year-old is in the stage of wanting to be in on the action, but not being able to understand DON'T THROW THE RICE!!!  

:-)

 

Dark room plus flashlights

Sheet fort

masking tape roads for toy cars

Scavenger hunts

Nature walks (including building lean-tos or miniature lean-tos with sticks, digging holes, etc.)

 

 

[Holly]

Little People.   Once in awhile I'd set up a LP village around our living room...They loved it!  I should do that soon for my little guy!

 

Some of my kids liked to listen to music and dance along...as long as it isn't too distracting for the big kids.  

  

[kalusignan]

 

Water play is also HUGE here.  Just a bowl or two of water and some scoops works great, but we often extend play with colored water (food coloring - good for color mixing), cotton balls (I do not understand WHY these are such a huge hit, but I won't complain), bubbles and small plastic animals/vehicles to "wash", or ice cubes.

 

 

 

I love this activity! I use a big plastic bin of water, set on a beach towel on a tile floor. Measuring cups and spoons, eyedroppers, turkey basters, etc. I used this a lot when we lived without air conditioning in the summer. Just being able to put your hands in cold water had a cooling effect.