Easy activities for 2 & 4 year old that won't cause too much fighting?

[yawningbear]

I really struggle to find harmonious things to do with them together that doesn't involve Cbeebies.

I find it much easier with DD who is 4.6 when she is on her own. We do all sorts of arts and crafts and she loves imaginative play, but it is much harder with DS in tow. His attention span for crafty things is very limited and needs constant supervision or the walls end up painted. It has been sunny of a couple of occasions so we made crowns and painted them outside which they both loved.

Play doh is also a hit as is hide and seek but other than that I really struggle and end up either spending as much time out of the house as possible or sticking on c beebies

[nextphase]

Have you got any outside space?

My two love "painting" the garden - a bucket of water and a big paint brush.
Or chalk on a patio/drive sort of surface.
These "big space" craft projects keep them interested for much longer than a delicate things.

We make caves out of blankets and sofa cushions

Obstacle course - blanket on floor to crawl through, something to jump over, we have a pop up tunnel to crawl through.

If play doh is popular, have you tried making biscuits? 1oz sugar creamed with 2 oz butter, and then 3oz of flour added in makes a good dough for rolling, cutting. Cook at 180 dec C for 10 mins, and then decorate with glacé icing and sprinkly things.

[Staryeyed]

Ok, I'm going to sound like one of those really twatty mummy's now, but I'm quite crafty and like doing it;

I have two the same age and we do stuff like making a pond out of a foil blanket and cardboard fish with paper clips and a rod out made out of a long cardboard roll and magnet at the end. Kept them entertained for ages.

We also made and indoor golf course out of building blocks and ramps from various toys and a golf club and balls from pound land.

We bake biscuits with cutters and decorate.

If we get any cardboard boxes in, we make stuff. Depending on size of box; trains etc and pull them around for a bit. Or just tell them it's a house/ present box and let them make their own game.

Easy threading is good as is cutting and sticking/ stickers.

If you want to relax a bit, make / get popcorn shut the curtains and tell them it's cinema time.

[MrsMangoBiscuit]

We don't have patio or walls for painting, so we use a big roll of old wallpaper spread out over the lawn and let DD go to town with the paints.

You could do inside crafty stuff with stickers instead, to avoid the big clean up?

We make dens with chairs, clothes airer, and spare duvet covers.

A treasure hunt type thing? You hide a set of something small around the house, toy plastic eggs, playmobile people, plastic cuttlery etc, and they have to find them all. Bit like hide and seek, but it takes longer and you get to sit down with a cup of tea for a bit.

[nextphase]

That pond idea sounds FAB, Stary. Guess what were going to be doing this afternoon But along the boxes lines, we got given one of these for DS1's recent b'day. Not really had a go yet, but might appeal to you?

Just a thought, bear, are you aim things at a girly end, and so not exciting DS as much? What about a princess item for DD, but a knight for DS sort of thing?

[yawningbear]

Great ideas, thanks everyone, just what I needed. The fish pond does sound brilliant Stary, you don't sound like a twatty mummy at all. We made some sea creatures recently and they fish for those with nets but the foil blanket and magnet poles will definitely be a hit. I wonder where I get a foil blanket from

Treasure hunt will be great too, I do a version of it where they follow picture clues to some treasure which they do love but it takes a while to organise and doesn't last nearly long enough, so will try your version mrs mango. Also like the biscuit idea, That could work well with both of them. They do love a den but that tends to end in tears, maybe I need to make more than one

And YY nextphase it does tend to be more girly stuff I guess but DS doesn't seem to mind that at all, he told me this morning that he Luffs pink and although we have gender neutral toys and more traditional boys ones as well he favours my little pony and baby in a buggy just now. I think it's more that his attention span is very short so any activity is necessarily short lived and I get worn out quickly!

Anyway, thanks to all of you we have done stickers, read some stories and played shops, and now the TV is on so I can have a coffee and reply to you lot but I don't feel too badly about it

[LoveBeingUpAt4InTheMorning]

Sleeping

[NervyWervy]

Foil blankets are in poundland in camping section!

[yawningbear]

Oh if only Love! Two determined non feking sleepers here! Thanks Nervy, I do love a trip to Poundland.

[LoveBeingUpAt4InTheMorning]

Mine two

[ipanicked]

Ooh yes I know exactly what you mean...Have 2 and 3yr old here, no garden or tele and struggle to keep them entertained and keep the flat under control

Play doh gets used a lot in our house too! They are really into making playdoh cupcakes, decorated with lots of glittery sprinkles and flags made out of cocktail sticks (Poundland, love it).

We sometimes make little oceans with bowls, water and some blue food colouring and make all the plastic animals go for a swim

Actually I love day baths! I tried that thing where you mix cheap shaving foam with food colouring and let them paint the bath and they loved that

We have a lot of discos (can you get fun kids radio station where you are?) and turn the sofa into a stage to dance on

We make lots of slides out of mattresses and make forts and dens with clothes horses and blankets, give them a torch each and it seems to keep them entertained for hours

We concentrated all our toys into being either duplo or trains so there was enough of each not to have fights (barely works but gives me 15 minutes peace on a good day)

Also made fishing rods out of sticks and magnets on a bit of string, chucked a load of metal things down the back of the bed and enlisted some 'helpers' to retrieve them

When I'm feeling strong they 'help' me with the chores like the washing, cooking and cleaning, which they love and I secretly despair at the total chaos!

[yawningbear]

I am in awe of you ipanicked, no TV, no garden and a 2 and a 3 year old and you are not insane Seriously it sounds likes your DC have a ton of fun.

I had thought about the mattress for slides before, guess that could be incorporated into the o stable course and they would love it but do you actually take a mattress of one of their beds, I'm guessing it would be easier if we had an old spare one!

I will definitely get some cocktail sticks for flags, they'd love doing that but I will need to be vigilant that is all they do with them.

Not heard of kids radio here though that would be a big hit, we have never had a disco, Which was blatantly obvious at a weekend when DD went to a party and all the kids were doing Gangham Style dancing and DD was clueless. She has since been chanting 'Cameron style' to herself And torches, great idea. Thankyou and have some too

[ArabellaBeaumaris]

Great ideas

[ipanicked]

Yawning that made me laugh, DS sings 'Camden style' but 'Cameron style' is brilliant! I know, I dunno how much longer I can hold out without a tele.. not through choice really, DS kicked the tele and broke it Yes the mattress is off the beds but they are both still in cot beds so its not such a job to haul them off.

[gybegirl]

Duplo is a great passer of time!

Mine loved spin painting. You get a really cheap salad spinner and then cut card discs and put in the bottom. Blob paint and spin - with the lid on! It's a no mess painting activity!