What do your after-school mindees like to do?

[twinky]

I am hoping to be registered soon and will be looking after children aged between 4 and 12. I've got a load of crafty stuff in, some lego, jigsaws etc but is there anything in particular that your mindees love to do? So far all I've been told to get by a potential mindee is a Wii!

the older ones disappear upstairs and make up their own games / make stuff out of boxes, play schools with the blackboard, do jigsaws, argue and bicker until I tell one to sit in a different room!
Dinner is at 5'ish then after that they watch tv, help clear the dinner table, tidy toys etc. till hometime at 6 - 6;30

Thanks Moogster - I thought as much. Oh well, perhaps they'll give me some more ideas soon.

Wii is a good idea but you'll need a few controllers and multiplayer games, my lot went through a phase if playing on the mario Olympics games cos 4 could play at once, mine don't really want to do much at all at the moment but they're all shattered.

Recreation Ground/park -FAVOURITE , Moon sand, , Drawing, wrestlers and ring, board games, dresing up,

Looking to purchase a tent.soome different types of drawing stuff, more board games.

Will watch this space for more ideas.

Mine love dancing, dressing up, staging talent contests, but the winner is a visit to the park.

I am neither a childminder nor a user of childminders, but I know what my DD and her friends want to do after school: go to the park! And I think that, if you have a group of children, playing outside after school in relative freedom is just about the best thing they can do to relax and wind down and have fun.

Yes, the park is a must! It also keep the kids out the house and helps keep the house tidier longer .

My older mindee girls love crafty things, they all love painting (I have water colours for the older ones and it is not that messy at all), moon sand (If I can be arsed!), Wii, pc games, board games, sometimes they will play with the train track if it is still out from the morning.

Thankyou everybody for some great ideas. We're lucky in that there is a fab park next door to the school so that will be getting regular visits. We also have a very child friendly village library but I need indoor stuff for when the weather's appalling. What on earth is moon sand?

Get a cardboard box.
You could spend millions and still never provide the joy children get from a cardboard box.

Give'um a pack of crayons/felt tips/paint and they'll have a whale of a time!
Making it into a train/bus/puppet show/house etc.