What do you DO with a 4 year old when the weather is crap and you're stuck at home?

[falalalalagirl]

I have just endured spent a fortnight on 'holiday' from work (I am a teacher) which has meant that I have been looking after DS (4) and DD (16mo) on my own, all day every day as DH has been doing over-time. Mornings are fine as the three of us can go out for a walk or do errands, or go to the library or soft-play-hell when raining. It's in the afternoons while DD has her nap (2 hours) that I have struggled to entertain DS.

During the summer hols it wasn't a problem as the weather was good as DS and I hung out in the garden but while we're stuck at home and the it's cold and rainy, all he wants to do is watch bloody TV (which I won't let him do). He gets 30 mins telly while I put DD down for a nap and then sometimes another 20 mins max if dinner is finished early in the evening.

He hates doing crafty stuff, drawing, playing with sticker books etc. He won't play games with me (e.g. dominoes or similar) and will only occasionally entertain himself with his toys. We do baking, but there's only so many cakes and biscuits we can cook and only so much 'help' a toddler can give when preparing dinner.

I feel as though, by the age of 4, DS should be able to entertain himself a bit better than he does and I was also recently a bit surprised by how many of his friends were drawing proper pictures of people and even writing their names as he still just does the odd scribble as he just can't be arsed. I am so tempted to give in and let him watch 3 hours of TV in the afternoons while I get on with school work and house jobs but that is just crap isn't it?

I have both DCs at the weekends as well so it's not as though this will cease to be a problem when I go back to work. So, those of you who spend more time than I do at home with your toddlers, please can you tell me what you get up to as I am losing the plot a bit!

If he likes baking, how about making play dough? It's quite easy (have a Google for recipies if you need it - the Imagination Tree blog has loads!) My 5 year old DS loves making it and will even play a bit with it by himself afterwards.

Does he dislike all forms of craft? What about painting? String/bubble/potato painting can be fun.

Would he listen to an audio book or podcast? I used to download the Cbeebies podcast for DS and he would lie in bed to listen to it on my ipod (on the speakers, not with earphones) They only last about 15 mins but that's long enough for a cup of tea!

I'm not keen on letting DS watch huge amounts of TV either but it can be so hard during the winter when it's cold and wet outside so he has watched quite a few films in the Christmas holidays. In the summer we'll be pottering around the garden again.

I was going to suggest swimming but I guess you can't if your DD is asleep.

Do you read with him, we tend to curl up on the sofa, wrapped in a duvet, with a huge pile of books and work our way through them.

Treasure hunt - using pictures rather than words. This can be in the garden or in the house, just stick on suitable clothes for outdoors.

Build a den using sheets / dining chairs / sofa cushions (we have a beach tent from the summer that DS uses as a den)

does he have a car mat to drive cars on? Could you design him one on a sheet of lining paper then it could be thrown away at the end of the day and he could have a new one next day?

Could DD sleep in her pushchair and you take DS out with his bike / scooter in waterproofs to splash in puddles, however rubbish the weather is?

Will he do board games, wobbly chef etc, or puzzles?

Hide and seek?

ooh, I remebered another one. My DS is a huge postman pat fan. When he had chickenpox, I printed the Greendale post office pages off the Cbeebies website. He has a cereal box with a slot cut in for a post box and uses a small fold up table for his counter and has a toy figure that he uses for a post office stamp. It was out even on Christmas Day, usurping the new Christmas toys but is just a few sheets of paper and don't cut the coins out into rounds or you'll drive yourself mad

Oh, and DS loves playing shop keeper with toy food and tins out of the cupboard. I have a seaside bucket as my basket and he has a till from a charity shop and his baking apron on and the kitchen tongs to help him pick up plastic bread rolls for his customers.

Amazing! Thank you so much, I think I just needed some inspiration.Yes, DS does have a car mat but he's not great at doing independent playing so doesn't use it much unless I am sat over him but I am definitely going to invest in Wobbly Chef and I love the Postman Pat stuff (DS is a big fan).

I did actually build him a den the other day (isn't that what clothes airers were actually designed for after all?) which was a big hit and I love the idea of the treasure hunt. I'll definitely experiment with some different types of painting but so far he's been pretty negative about most crafty stuff.

I think the problem is that DH looks after him three days a week and is utterly crap about doing anything like this so he's not really used to it when I am all excited about sitting down together and doing something quiet and focused. God knows what DH does with him watches TV I expect

Smudging I have just been on a phonics training course too so I could practice on DS!

To add to the great suggestions above - my 4 year old isn't that into craft & drawing, but loves cutting - we've got him some scissors of his own, and we make pictures using different colour paper cut into shapes etc. also he'll quite happily sit there and cut a piece of paper into smaller and smaller bits by himself - means I can have a cup of coffee but pay for it with the hoovering up afterwards

I am a sahm to a toddler and have a school age as well. Often in the Winter, I will chuck her in the bath in the middle of the day with anything she can think of basically so dolls, bath toys, tea set, bubbles you name it. She will often stay in for ages playing, I can clean the bathroom, study while sat beside her, play with her...and she is all clean and yummy and I don't need to bath her at night...win win all around...it is her favorite Winter actovotu/

Just like yawningmonster we use play baths to as a fun way to pass a rainy afternoon.

If he likes baking, does he enjoy the instruction following aspect? My 4 year old loves Lego, and one of our best buys was a big box of bricks and the Lego ideas book, which shows all different things that could be made, and allows DS1 to use the bricks imaginatively. The minifigs are good for character play too.

I also noticed that as he improved at manipulating the Lego, his writing improved - I think because of the dexterity needed to use the smaller bricks.

What about investing in some serious wet weather clothing and sending him out into the garden anyway with a bucket, spade and watering can? My DD1 is happiest when digging mud, catching snails etc in her Togz suit.
She also likes a bath or big bowl full of water to play with her animals, boats etc
She also loves having a friend around and generally messing about together.
Other ideas would include games on the CBeebies website (or if you're feeling virtuous you could try the phonics websites recommended in the current thread under primary education).

"There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes". Our DTs (5.5) were handed down rather good sets of waterproofs by a Norwegian friend of ours. Wrapped up well they like going out to the muddy park in the rain - when it's deserted and they go startlingly fast on the slides.

A playdate yesterday was cut short as their friend was rather less well equipped and was complaining about being cold. You can play outside in this weather, you just have to prepare for it.

My 4 year old has never been into crafty stuff - thank goodness because I hate it!

Jigsaw puzzles, sticker and activity books where there are little games to play (spot the difference etc) he loves. Reading, Lego?

DS1 is pretty good at amusing himself though, he loves imaginative games and will spend ages constructing a scenario with various toys.

What about snakes and ladders, snap, memory pairs?

falalalalagirl - you could be me speaking! I feel exactly the same as you on days when it rains. My dc also hates crafts and finds it difficult to entertain himself! Watching with interest

Brill, all great suggestions, thanks. DS does quite often go out and do 'gardening' in his all-in-ones which entails putting the hose on and watering everything in sight (and sometimes posting the hose through the cat-flap too )

I think he just needs a bit of training in things like sitting and doing spot the difference and playing board games as he's just so bloody active! He's got tons of lego but his fine motor skills aren't that great and he gets very frustrated with it when it breaks and he can't fix it, and he's never been keen on his duplo.

I feel like if I can get him spending a bit of time doing things like cutting and drawing then he'll get better at all these things and then he'll enjoy them more. I've found a couple of online computer games that he really likes but I don't want him getting too into gaming either! It's just really hard starting from scratch when he hasn't really done any of this sort of thing before. I know he gets the opportunity to do crafty stuff at nursery but I don't think they really overly encourage him to do it if he doesn't want to so he opts out. It all seems a bit self-perpetuating

I'm sure your son will soon develop his fine motor skills. Keep enjoying his busy, active personality- he sounds a cutie-reminds me of of my boys when younger.
My eldest DS wasn't much into drawing/craft either(loved to run/sporting activities) but I do remember him enjoying making a massive robot out of huge boxes! Would he like this?
Then he became an avid reader and prolific drawer during primary school (in top reading/writing group). Now he's back to favouring all things active, especially football, riding his bike, though still loves to read when tired (13 now)
Enjoy him watering everything in sight, sounds like he's developing just as he should!

Junk modelling!!!! Also comes with a warning- once they get into it they want to do it all the time and until they are 5.5/6 that requires a lot of parental involvement. Is quite creative and fun though.

Then DD will listen to me read loads of stories. She will play her own imaginative games when in the mood, but she is also a TV monster and I have to limit. Eg I asked DS and DD what they wanted to do tomorrow -Inset day- DS (6) wanted to go out somewhere like a museum, DD (4) wanted to watch TV and play in the garden. Hmmmmmm....!

We just got a whiteboard for ourselves but before it went on the wall I let the kids (2 and nearly 4) play on it - they loved it and were playing much longer than they would with pens/paper - the 2 year old loses interest after about 10 seconds usually.

We also made a puppet theatre out of the box the whiteboard came in. That was fun to make and to play with after using the few puppets we have and ordinary soft toys.

You can do the bath thing and put some food colouring in some pots of shaving foam if you want him to do painting-y stuff.

Also we watch quite a lot of telly.

Yeah, telly can have it's moments. DD loves the Winnie the Pooh movies, they are handy on those afternoons when noone feels like playing .

This has been one of our best buys for wet weather.

galt folding trampoline

A great activity for fine motor skills with active kids is to give them a squirt bottle such as a cleaned out cleaner bottle. Fill with water and if you want some food colouring and they go nuts outside writing on fence etc, great for finger muscle development

ds1 was never much into drawing at that age, but he liked drawing on the patio window with a whiteboard marker.

My 4 year old helps cook all our meals through choice! Also consider making tents with blankets in the lounge, setting up tea parties with teddies and hot chocolate, audio books and long baths with bubbles and toys