Waiting Room Activities for 3yo

[Moonhawk]

What do you give your kids to do when waiting at lessons, etc., out of the house? Main concern is the 3yo. We have iPads and headphones, but don't want to make that the only option, I'd rather treat it as the backup. 

 

Some of the places are A/C, others are porches. Most days there is only an hour of class he needs to wait through, but Mondays will be 3 hours total (2 piano lessons then choir) where 1 hour is easily spent at a playground. 

 

3yo isn't into coloring really, which has been my go-to with the other kids. He's not reading yet and only can consistently sit through 1 book.  His card game acumen is limited to 52 card pickup, but it is a very loud game with him, lol. 

 

What are your best time wasters for this age group, that are easy to bring along? Bonus for educational but at this point I'm just happy to keep him busy. 

[nixpix5]

I remember having 3 year old twins while my daughter was in her ballet class. Eek that was rough. My boys really liked the magnetic drawing boards with the attached pen and magnetic shapes. That was a big hit for us. We even found one that drew in color from amazon.

 

Dry erase boards too. My kids liked those. Rainbow resource has some lap dry erase boards that are magnetic so we would vein along some magnet shapes or letters.

 

Activity books. We got them at Barnes and Noble. Books that came with a play mat and figures. My boys liked Paw Patrol, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ones.

 

Sometimes I would just hit the dollar store for some random fun stuff and out them in a small backpack. The books with stickers to put in was alot of fun for them at that age.

[Tanaqui]

I spy bag? Button sorting? Play-dough? Lacing beads or cards? A bag of dinosaurs or animals or cars? Bubbles, if you're outside on a porch? Rock paper scissors? Spot it alphabet?

[Tanaqui]

My boys really liked the magnetic drawing boards with the attached pen and magnetic shapes. That was a big hit for us. We even found one that drew in color from amazon.

 

If you have a Magnadoodle and also the Melissa and Doug magnetic alphabet letters, you can "stamp" the letters on the Magnadoodle, which is fun.

 

[kroe1]

Alex Toys makes a little "desk" that fits over the back of the seat in front of the child's car seat. It was nice because this desk easily came off to take with us into the restaurant, doctor's office, etc. I would alternate what my kids would find inside. But, here is some of the ideas.

 

Game boy

Dot paints

Colored pencils

Thomas the trains

Cars

Lego Kit (Duplos)

Finger puppets

Blunt scissors, glue and a bottle of fun papers.

Golden books

Puzzles

Trucks

 

 

HTH

[Ottakee]

Can you take a walk with him? Look for interesting bugs, twigs, leaves, etc?

[medawyn]

My toddlers have loved the Water Wow books from Melissa and Doug, pony beads and pipe cleaners for lacing (sometimes I add feathers and a favor bag size play dough to make monsters), a weekly pillbox with mini car/truck erasers and a small laminated road card (I'm keeping my eyes out for mini airplane erasers), sticker books, color wonder markers/books on occasion. We take these on airplanes, so I imagine they are waiting room friendly, too.

 

I usually stalk Target's dollar section and the Dollar Tree for goodies. I also usually carry a small package of balloons with me, in case we are somewhere we can be rowdy but there's not a park or similar.

[Guinevere]

We play legoes.

[Guinevere]

Oh, and we have a little train set with wheels that gets a lot of use.

[wathe]

wooden brio style trains (no tracks).  And engine and a few cars. 

[Wilma]

Pony beads on pipe cleaners was a hit for my tots. Or is taking a walk an option? Tossing a scooter or balance bike in the car to make the walk more fun would be cool, too.

[Xahm]

When waiting with my kids in a small area, we play games like I Spy, What Animal am I? (I'm very big and gray. I have big floppy ears and a long trunk...), charades, pictionary, and squigglediggle (one person draws some squiggly lines, the next person has to make them into a picture) A very verbal young child might also like word games, like thinking of as many synonyms as possible for "big" or "good" (or most any word, haha) or opposite challenge, where one person days a word and the other has to come up with the opposite. This last one has led to lots of interesting conversations and learning opportunities, like when a child have me "blue" and I said "orange." Progressive stories are fun too, where you take turns telling a made up story.

I'm not great about planning ahead, so I favor activities that don't require materials.

[Laurie4b]

When I wanted to engage my kids at that age, I had special toys that only came out in certain situations. Didn't matter so much what they were, just that they were not normally available. Thrift shops/yard sales are a good source for "new" toys that can be quickly turned over when they are no longer engaging. 

[ashfern]

I can share what I use for my 3 yo at church. I'm lucky if I can get him to sit for 20 min doing all of these. I have a blank notebook & crayons. We draw whatever he wants (rainbows, spiderman, etc). I have one of those magnetic play sets. I have a reusable sticker book with pirates and a bunch of clothes & accessories. I have snacks. At home he will read books, play with cars, build with legos. I can only carry so many things in my church bag. Good luck!

[Moonhawk]

Thanks everyone! Great ideas, some things I'd never would have thought of.

 

I have some pony beads and pipe cleaners on hand so I'll pack those for today. I'm a little leery of multiple-part stuff because they always seem to roll under something and then he's running after it, lol. Well see how the pony beads go before trying other multi-part ideas. Oh, the Water Wow books too. He's a little too accustomed to them, I think, but if I pack them in the to-go bag and only let him use them while we're out, they'll probably become cool again. 

 

Ah, and of course the snacks, that always helps. Totally spaced out that important detail.

 

Can't take walks at 2 of the locations because they aren't walk-friendly places, and I don't like leaving my kids with teachers unattended,  just a general self-rule I have, at least for these ages. And, it's too hot anyway right now to do a lot of walking in the middle of the afternoon, I'd end up dragging along a little puddle of fussiness, lol. Maybe later in the year I can figure something out for outside-but-still-close. 

[heartlikealion]

I had to go through this recently with my 2.5 year old. I brought a stash of Color Wonder markers and books, but since he isn't into coloring (he might like those?? You just scribble and then the colors appear) maybe some blocks or something? I took her Magnatiles to the Apple store during ds' apple camp haha. That didn't seem to hold her attention long that day, but at home she has been using them a good bit.

 

I like the Magnadoodle idea. I really want to get one. We have an etch a sketch but I think it's too difficult. You can hardly see what you're doing or control much.

[fdrinca]

I don't know how old the children in classes are, but I was at the same place last year - made more delightful by an infant as well. I decided that even though I didn't prefer to leave the older kids, I had to balance their experiences and the smaller ones. We turned the two hour block of piano lessons into the most fun weekly supermarket date ever. The little girls get to pick out new foods, push the tiny cart, look at flowers, all sorts of stuff.

 

Otherwise, lots of audiobooks in the car for us.

[Rachel]

When my oldest is at piano we walk around the block. I usually have a couple toy cars in my purse and if I know I'll be in a waiting room I have my kids pick out a couple books.

[Kerileanne99]

We have tried just about everything mentioned above and more. My crazy-busy toddler boy manages a maximum of 5-10 minutes of those.

 

The ONLY thing that holds his attention (and that of every child present with us!) is a set of magformers! Every single kid gravitates to them. He prefers magnatiles at home, but we keep a bag of Magformers in the car. They work when nothing else does, especially if we pair it with a car or two to drive through tunnels:)

[katilac]

You say some are porches, so it's at a house? I would ask if playing in the yard is allowed, and then keep it simple with a ball to toss and bubbles to blow, that kind of thing. On the porch, you could roll the ball if he gets too rowdy throwing it, or doesn't aim well. 

 

Follow the leader. I Spy. Sensory bins with beans, rice, buttons. Colorforms (the little magnetic playsets) and any other kind of safe magnetic toy. 

 

If Mondays are 3 hours in a row, can you do a little picnic to begin the last hour? Just snacks if it's not mealtime, but with some fun to it, like a picnic blanket and so on? That can eat up some time (ha ha) and give him something to look forward to, plus make it less like he's just waiting around. He's not waiting for sis to finish piano, he's having a picnic and then art class (or whatever). 

 

I'm working on the theory that many of the quieter small motor activities will be a bust with a kid who doesn't like to color and doesn't have the patience for card games or long books. That's a lot of waiting time for a 3-yr-old, so I'd expect to have to be part of the entertainment. 

[kroe1]

Here is the little case I mentioned in a post above. This was probably the best childhood years buy in my 37 years of parenting. Lol.

 

https://www.amazon.com/ALEX-Toys-Artist-Studio-Valet/dp/B000GEDUMA/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501573718&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Alex+toys%2C+car+seat+desk%2C+case