Activities for a 3 year old

[KeepSmiling83]

I have a DD who is 3 and have recently gone part time (I only work mornings now). I have completely forgotten how I used to fill my days on maternity and am worried I am not doing enough exciting things with her.

I pick her up from nursery about 12.30 after she has eaten her lunch. What types of things do you do? What do your afternoons look like? Do you play with them all day or leave them to play independently?

Many thanks!

I used to do a bit of both. We did a lot of painting and crafts. Some park visits. That was it! Cafe now and then.

Try the imagination tree website - lots of fun creative ideas .

Well this afternoon we played in the sand for a bit, partly while I hung the washing up.
Ran around the garden being planes
Watched a bit of cbeebies while I got the dry washing away
Played with our musical "instruments" (lentil shakers, wooden spoons, cake tin forums etc)
Went to the library
Got the play dough out
Read the library books
Cbeebies again while I cooked
Then tea/bath/bed

Sometimes we cook, go to the park, meet up with friends, do the supermarket run, get the crayons out etc etc :)

Forums should read for drums!

Here lunch then nap. Then usually out to park/ museum/ gallery/ shops/ visit friends/ read/ paint/ bake.

Tend to do say two main things, and leave them in between. Ie today I was at work. Dh took them to history museum to see earthquake section for an hour. Back and they apparently played alone for hour whilst he worked, then he set them up with watercolours and Half painted with them/ half replied to work emails. After they played together mainly with odd book read every so often. That was 2-7pm.

DD and I walk DS2 to school, walk back via town and/ or the playpark. Feed the ducks, go on nature safari's/ bug hunts, tell silly stories, go to the library (not as often as we should because its always fun when we do), go to our local health club - we're family members so it doesn't cost per visit.

Today we went to little Legoland (Manchester) and the sealife centre, went to Lidl, did a load of washing hung it out and collected it in, cleaned out the rabbits, made up a fishing game in the garden using a baby bath and plastic fish I got conned into at Sealife.

I find that she likes to do what ever I'm doing and if she helps me the day goes very quickly and little gets done.

We have a local National Trust house which is very nearby and has a few measured length walks and a huge playpark on the mile walk loop. I often take DS (almost 3) there, with a flask of hot chocolate and/or picnic if it's dry enough. I find the combination of fresh air and all that walking/running about is perfect for when he's being a little sod sensitive.

Something else that he loves to do - the other two (6 and 5) also like to join in if they are at home - is get a load of containers/pots/spoons etc and a jar of lentils or rice and just set them up with a large tray and let them pour/scoop/'cook' to their heart's content. It's a good 1/2hr activity at least.

Also quite good for young kids are those painting books that just require water and a paintbrush. Perfect for when you don't want them to get massively messy but they still get to be creative.

Something DS and I really like to do is get either the Playmobil trainset (which is quite large and remote control) or the Brio trainset (which is much longer and has lots of bridges/tunnels/crossings) out and completely cover the playroom floor with it. It's lots of fun just building them and often will take a good 1/2 hr to set up before we even begin to play with the actual trains!

Sometimes, when I am at my wits end with DS, and a bit stir crazy (I struggle sometimes as most of my other 'mum friends' are back at work now so I only see them at weekends), we drive to our nearest town (we are quite remote) and catch the park and ride into town, go and have a coffee/babycino at M&S and then catch the bus back again. DS loves riding on the bus and it's a fairly cheap afternoon/morning out!

Have you a local playground and/or a swimming pool? My dd loves these things. Also general shopping, or just a basic walk in the countryside. Any trip out, really.
At home she likes: baking; craft; gardening; reading; a bit of basic phonics (Biff, Chip and Kipper); playing on musical instruments; listening to CDs; playing with toys; watching telly; a bit of iPad time; colouring.

I have dd (3) in the mornings.

We walk dd1 to school, and then we go to the park, feed ducks (different park), meet with friends, shopping, CBeebies, iPad, play trains, play dough, cook, drawer I hate painting, she does that at nursery, visit pet shop/farm, visit family, swimming, cycling, library, reading.

My dd is quite a young 3, so museums would be run around unfortunately.

Thank you for all the replies.

Yesterday we played in the garden with the water tray and her bouncy castle for a bit then watched cartoons while we had a snack. Then we did some puzzles, played doggies and made some play doh cookies! I just feel like if we don't get out of the house then I'm not stimulating her enough. Part of the issue is that I'm pregnant so struggling to find the energy to do things! I will try better though!

Hi, don't feel guilty, it sounds like you are doing plenty with her. I remember being in the same place a few months ago. Now with a 3 yr old DD and a 4 month old DS I let go of too much tv guilt. Needs must! And also noticed that she got much better at entertaining herself too.
Just enjoy time together, it doesn't need to be packed with crafts 24/7. Playdough is great, I usually ive her some plastic animals or figures to go with it and she plays for much longer, i.e. Polar bears on white playdough-snow.
I love library as well, afternoon well spent and we end up with a pile of books to take home.

Sounds like you do plenty. And good to get her used to being ignored left to be creative now

Dd is now 5 months and ds is three years. When I was pregnant I did very little thanks to spd but luckily he's well used to a little benign neglect.

I do find that getting out the house helps with general sanity levels, but we don't do structured stuff much. Mostly just mooching to town, park, or friends houses. It's all i can manage when sleep deprived. ..