activities for 2 year olds

[steph29]

Am looking after a 2 year old boy 3 days a week but he won't do any sit down activities. It's a bit cold to play outside for long (which is all he likes to do usually!) but is happiest when i leave him to play with the toys and just supervise. his mum is fine with this as its all he does at home but i feel under pressure from ofsted to be educating him more and also i get really bored sitting around the house watching him play i feel like i'm not doing my job properly! We do painting play-doh,drawing, sticking but it gets a bit repetitive doing the same activities every day. anyone got any thoughts on if this is ok or ideas on what else we could do? (he tends to cry when i ask him to try something new,especially when no other kids are with me)

How about finger painting, gloop, hunting for objects in spaghetti. Dancing to music/bubbles. Or you could play musical instruments or even make shakers.

Hope this gives you some ideas

thanks COOLiciclepuddleonfloor will give it all a try!

Boys are not like girls. Boys I find don't particularly like sitting down activities. There are always some exceptions of course, but generally I feel pre-school boys don't particularly like: painting, sticking, colouring, writing, play-doh.
I tend to find they do like:
making indoor camps (Cranium Super Fort has proved to be a popular present this Xmas) though a couple of sheets and a table can work just as well (if they try to avoid bumping their head).
making outdoor camps - forestry commission sometimes have areas where they put out large tree branches for camp making. You can also use a large bush in the garden with a sheet and pegs.
train sets - though don't expect the track to keep it's layout for that long!
jumping in puddles, mud etc.
collecting things - give them a plastic tub and see what they put in it... mini-beasts, leaves, mud, stones etc.
Boys need a good walk every day. So get out of the house and go for a walk somewhere. Where doesn't actually matter... it's the walking bit (take the buggy for things collected on route, plus tired child on way back). Look at road signs, types of leaves, talk about things you see. Teach road safety.

Nannynick - you've just described my little boy who is 2!! I thought it was just my little boy that wont sit down for a second!! Its funny this post has just started because i was just thinking today that im running out of things to do with him. He got so many lovely presents from people at christmas like play doh, reading books, colouring books and pencils etc but he is just not interested! A couple of people got him 2 of those personalised paper back books which are lovely but i know if i gave them to him they wouldnt last a second. He will try things but then gets bored so quickly which leads to naughtyness - like drawing on the table instead of his books. He is definately an outdoors little boy - he will walk and walk and walk - that is so true. We are having a fight with him at the mo because he just wont sit in his buggy. The difficult thing is we have twin girls (6 months) as well so its so hard for me to give him all the attention he needs at the mo, i cant really get out the house coz theres not many paths where i am so i would have to drive somewhere then get out and load them all up and my little boy cant quite be trusted to walk too far sensibly so the roads worry me when im on my own. Its very hard. He also loves rough and tumble play, chasing me around the house, screaming, he loves those plastic farm animals and chasing me with those (he has a snake which i pretend to be scared off and he thinks this is hillarious!! He's also right into pots and pans (but real ones) he's not really into anything fake/pretend (except those animals), he loves mobile phones, dvds (he will sit for 10 minutes trying to open the cases) and generally anything that needs to be worked out (he's obsessed with my husbands screwdrivers, so we got him a plastic one - not interested)! Havent tried the camp thing yet though so i might give that one a try! Depends on how energetic you are i would try more lively games.

Some like cutting things out - tends to be more at age 3 and 4, though some 2 year olds can use scissors.

Drawing: Cover a table fully in paper. Get some cars and draw on roads. Stick crayons to side of a truck and let them drive it around, making marks as they go.

With walking, try to find somewhere that they can be on their own, walking say 8-12 feet in front. I live near Windsor Great Park, so that's ideal to give children some freedom to roam. They soon get used to commands such as Stop, Wait, when they get too far ahead.

Oh yes, running around the house - though not great to encourage that one. Indoor play type places are good for that, large halls/sports centres.

Farm Animals, Dinosaurs, Monsters, Robots - that kind of toy. Soldiers, Castle. They can be quite imaginative when playing with these things... sometimes I have no idea what the game is!

Cooking can be a good one, but they tend to loose interest very quickly. It's the stirring things around they like.
Pots and Pans with wooden spoons make good musical instruments. Took a 4yr old and 1 yr old to a museum last week - at the museum they had musical instruments with a hands-on area. The boys loved bashing the drums! Horniman Museum, Forest Hill, SE London

Taking things to pieces is something a lot of boys like doing. I remember doing a lot of that when I was little. You can get toys especially which come apart, build with bolts - Build&Play Car - BuildIt Construction.

Though of course an old remote control, or some other bit of technology, is so much better to take apart - even if a bit more dangerous!

I loved Tap Tap Art as a child. Would need lots of supervision with this though as aimed at older children (says not for under 3's on the box).

He is into scissors, he loves them. I got him some plastic ones a while ago and loves them although still throws a paddy every now and again when he cant have the real thing. You've made me think now about getting him out the house - its definately the key. He is just wearing us both out at the moment, its amazing at just how a 2 year old can exhaust 2 adults! He goes to nursery a couple of afternoons a week (he hasnt been going long) he seems to really enjoy it but i thought it would wear him out a bit but it doesnt seem to be, im wondering whether to put him in for longer - perhaps 1 full day and 1 afternoon. I just feel a bit guilty as i dont want him to feel im pushing him out because of the twins - not that he will realise i guess but im conscious of it. Do you think it could help?

Couple of afternoons sounds about right. If he really likes it you could see if nursery would increase to 3 afternoons, if it helps give you some rest.
Mornings are the best time to spend with all your children, going for walks to the park and the such - twins will then have morning nap in buggy. Lunch can then be at home, twins then have after-lunch nap, while your DS1 goes to nursery or has your company.

I tip half abag of flour on the table and put toys on it. Army toys are fun or animals. Also cups and spoons keep them occupied for a good while.
Also check out toucanlearn.co.uk - its £16 a year but gives eyfs activities for each childs age x

Does no-one else shudder at the idea of playing with food? (Spaghetti, flour etc)
I am always telling mine not to play with food they are eating. I even hate lentil/rice/pulse art as it's so wasteful.
Maybe I'm just tight.

What about setting up some small world play? You could incorporate some sensory play with that.

How about story sacks? A good way to keep more active children engaged in a story.

Do you have any bean bags? Kids love playing with those and you can do it indoors, either throwing to each other or trying to throw them into something like a bucket.

I don't like them playing with food they would actually eat - messy play with mashed potato fills me with horror and I have seen custard, jelly and yoghurt being used. I don't mind for because they don't eat it like it is and it only costs about 45p for a big bag x

This is an old thread, that child would be about 6 now