After school activities for school aged mindees - fresh ideas needed!

[KaySamuels]

All my mindees are school age (3-14), may have one mindee after school may have six depending on the day of the week. I always have a planned activity as well as all my other resources (toys, games, etc).

So what do you do after school? I'm looking for some fresh (and hopefully not too expensive) things to do! Been doing this 2years and running out of ideas!

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LEGO! I too have a selection of mindees between 3 and 11. It is the only thing that keeps us all quite for 3 hours! Me included!

thanks!

well i have on average about 10 after schooler (mostly boys aged 8) a day and they love to play with:
baby toys (its true)
jigsaws
pc
paper (making paper areoplains is the new biggy at the mo)
play doh
top trumps
cards (play snap etc)
chess (have a few good players now)
board games (guess who, mr pop)

on nice days they play out in the Garden with varies toys i have

dont really put the tv on at all always forget

ps i dont plan things for the after school children as they have all had busy days at school
the only thing i get them to do is art activitys on special occassions such as easter, mothers day but other than that they just play with whatever they want to

dont stress yourself with planning Ofsted dont really care for over 5's as they are in education so just relax

what is top trumps?

its a card game they have loads of sets including:
cars
simpsons
star wars
disney
pirates of the carabian
bratz
dinosaurs

each card has 5 cats for example cars:
speed
horse power
engine size

etc etc

this game can be played by two or ten

they have sets of two at the mo in asda for £1 i got cars and dinosaurs

Ooh thanks am off to asda tomorrow anyway so will have a look for them.
You have your hands full after school - boys are fairly easy going tho I find, do you?

I know I don't have to plan things but all my mindees are schoolies, I focus my business on ages 3yrs and over - the parents like that I have time with their older children and take time to plan activities for them. (wouldn't have time to plan if I had littlies too) Get heaps of praise from mindees and parents for doin it and I get my days free with my ds (2yrs).

DS is just 6 and he loves top trumps. Yawn. He goes to a CM and usually the have a run around on the rec after school and then just have free play. There is not that much time and I am happy for him to play at what he wants rather than having an organised activity because once he gets home he has to start on reading, spellings etc. I do like him to have activities in the hols though.

The earliest my after schoolies go is 6.30pm latest 8.30pm. Usually get in from school, fruit or yoghurt and drinks, planned activity (not compulsory)and/or free play, outdoor play if not raining, then tea, then free play again!! Then slope off home exhausted!

Oh that is very late. I used to pick DS up abut 5.30-5.40 but now get him at 5.10 which means he is there much less time. He plays with lego/k'nex quite a bit at the CMs.

my under 5yr olds all go home before 3pm so i am lucky in a way i just have schoolies from 3.10pm until 6.10pm

i do do their homework with them we do 4-5 pages of reading and then they do their sheets if they have any. my boys always get left to do their homework till 7ish