Entertaining my four year old grandson for the weekend

[snauralaura]

He's a lovely, lively, happy little chap. We've got him for four nights. I have all the usual playdough, paints, baking equipment. He loves dinosaurs and cars. What activities/games can I plan and what bits and bobs can I pick up from the charity shops to keep him entertained? Thanks in anticipation for any advice!

Get out as much as possible especially with weather like this. Local playground?

Haha. I'm in Scotland. We are not having "weather like this" We had hailstones this morning!

I'm scavenging the charity shops - paw patrol? Spider man figures? Are these appropriate?

The Works is great for budget friendly activities and games if you have one near. Our grandchildren have just spent several hours making and playing with things that we picked up very cheaply (though unfortunately all made in China).

Build a den from sofa cushions and blankets.

Swimming. Draw it out by eating in a cafe afterwards.

Build a track for his cars together with household items.

Hunt the thimble.

DS loved bubble baths at that age.

What does he like to do?
Mine loves sitting with two bowls of water and various spoons, medicine cups, toys and skiddles around for ages. Waterproof mat on the floor and big waterproof bib on.
"Jump battles" on YouTube burns energy if it's not outdoor weather.

oh goodness… it’s been absolutely sublime down here. Think sunny and t shirts and shorts and sunbathing in the garden!

Despite the weather… you WILL need to get out every day for a run around

I agree with PP about the works, they have loads of crafts and activity books etc Charity shops can be great for dressing up clothes.

I used to love baking with my Nana, even the little cupcakes kits you can get if you’re not a baker she sometimes also used to just put the music on and we’d make up crazy dances which I used to LOVE (my poor Nana)

Soft play centre if the weather is bad? Would he be interested in doing some baking?? Mine used to love decorating plain biscuits with writing icing. Pizza roll ups are fun to make and even better to eat 😜

If he's into toy cars, a road map rug could be a good charity shop find. Something like this: share.google/dMDtkbk2wjUBKf0Wc

Also, playing in an extra long, extra bubbly bubble bath can be a good one on rainy days, so maybe some bath toys suitable for his age group?

Scottish weather - we've had one day so far (this year?) which has been proper outdoor weather. Even then it was very very windy.

Indoors we can do hide and seek, tig, chasing, the youtube "jump battles" I previously mentioned. Things like how many hops/jumps/squats can you do in a row. Counting/timing them as they run in rings round the house. Dance party.

Sometimes it's just too awful outside to face going out. If it's only a bit of rain or wind we normally still go.

Look for a Tuff Spot can be used inside or out. Google Tuff spot activities online. Can be used with natural materials and dinosaurs or diggers etc. You can put wet or dry materials in for pouring or mark making etc. Cornflour and water is great. You can make your own play dough that keeps in the fridge.
Get scissors, cutters, silicone cases etc.

Don't buy loads of stuff for one weekend. Get him to join you on whatever you're doing. Get him involved in cooking, go for a walk, give him a bath, help in the garden etc. The time will fly by.

What @Happytaytos said.

Get him to "help you" with whatever needs doing. He will enjoy spending time with Grandparents "helping" them and doesn't need entertaining the whole time.

Don’t buy loads of stuff; he will probably ignore it. Get his parents to bring round their stuff. And go out! Hes such an easy age to take out - swimming; soft play; park; local farm?

Do you have any way to acquire a massive cardboard box? My parents once got a washing machine delivered just before DS went to stay for the weekend, and he spent the entire weekend playing in the box.

Mine love a treasure hunt, either outdoors or indoors if the weather is bad - obviously a simple one as he's only four. They liked planting seeds too. Making pancakes is simple - I use the Jamie Oliver recipe, one egg, one ramekin of flour and one ramekin of milk - they like wielding a whisk. Hide and seek is still requested and he's six now!

For quiet time, maybe looking at books - those ones with the flaps are good.

Then painting, colouring and other crafts to fill in the gaps. Unfortunately, however much you plan, they seem to whizz through activities so quickly!!!! If all else fails they can always have a bit of CBeebies!

Have fun with your grandchild - precious times!

Look around for good local playgrounds to go to when there is a break in the weather.

baking.

let him add the toppings to a pizza.

Don’t forget to get boos from the library. Maybe he could help choose them or take him to a charity shop to pick some

A big cardboard box to make a house/den etc
stickers to decorate
cut out windows etc
Make it a 4 day project

YouTube is good for various kids videos, my two like yoga, dancing, and they found some that were like an obstacle course they had to jump at the right time, dive left, dive right, duck down etc.

Similar to this if you have space we spent a lot of time in COVID designing obstacle courses and then racing round them - using hoops, cones to dribble a ball round, baked bean tins were often involved although I can't remember why - maybe we balanced on them?!

Toy cars. Masking tape or washi tape on the floor/carpet for roads, big books propped up as ramps. Cardboard boxes for garages, car wash etc. Cut holes and flaps for doors. Get him to help you build them maybe.

I have soft spots for hexbugs, trio building system and magnatiles. You might find some bargains on the first two in a charity shop and they have decent longevity. I would also look for big Usborne nonfiction books there - there are some beautiful (often huge) ones which again can last a few years.

Library books.

I saw a play therapist at work once. She had a giant roll of white paper which she unrolled and stuck to the table.
She drew roads/ train tracks/trees etc depending on what they were playing with.

Farm at Heads of Ayr is great. Depends where you are. Beach with wellies rain coat. Picnic in the car! Soft play in Falkirk! Play park at the kelpies is brilliant and free. Also falkirk wheel. If your just indoors sellotape across a door frame and through light balls, see if you can get them to stick. We used to make roads with books and zoom cars about. Hope the weather is not to bad!