Ideas for keeping pre-schoolers entertained at home

[soniamumsnet]

Running out of ideas to keep little ones occupied? Fear not. Use our list of ways to keep preschoolers entertained and add your own below.

We’ve already had some great ideas on this thread, so we’ve collated some of those with our own suggestions. We’ll keep adding to them as we go and please do keep sharing yours. Together we can beat the 'I'm boreds'!

1. Get arty

Tate Kids has lots of brilliant ideas for art lovers of all ages but some really sweet ideas for tiny art appreciators.

Go to the Tate

2. Go on a tour of San Diego zoo

Watch the animal web cams for polar bears, monkeys, giraffes and more and take part in fun activities.

Go to San Diego zoo

3. Build Kinetic sandcastles

“Kinetic sand in a large plastic container with moulds and spades.” Worriedaboutmom

Get Kinetic sand here

Related: Ideas for keeping primary school aged children entertained

4. Do some yoga

Cosmic Kids Yoga - mindfulness and yoga with stories and music for children aged three plus.

5. Make a den

Blanket dens (indoors or out) and snacks inside, obvs.

6. Make a pretend ‘car wash’.

Get them a washing up bowl full of water and a cloth and let them wash all their toy vehicles in the garden. Or go ambitious and let them wash their big ride-on toys.

Related: Ideas for keeping secondary school aged children entertained

7. Make a zoo

“Bring ALL the cuddlies downstairs and make a zoo, make a poster, brochure, map of the zoo, set up a gift shop, and record an advert for the zoo.” EllieQuinn

8. Make a beach in your back garden

If you’re the proud owner of a sand pit, slap on the sunscreen and let them have ice-lollies in the sand and build sandcastles. Hey presto! A day at the beach! You can even fling some sand in the bottom of your bag and strew it in various corners of your car for that REAL been to the seaside feel.

View sandpits here

9. Do some gardening

Dig out old seeds (or order online) and make egg cress heads by washing out your empty boiled egg shells and planting them up with soil and seeds. Or you can grow them on a bit of damp kitchen roll or cotton wool. In fact, the little blighters grow on almost anything so don’t let your toddler spill them on your carpet!

Get Cress seeds here

10. Go on a virtual ride at Walt Disney World Epcot

Can’t face another viewing of Frozen? Take them on a ride on at Walt Disney World Epcot for a change.

Related: The best online learning resources for children

11. Theme you Wendy house

Theme your Wendy house with a few accessories. Some blankets and a bowl of porridge - it’s The Three Bears’ cottage, bucket of water and a fireman’s helmet - it’s Fireman Sam’s house. Or stuff a pair of tights with newspaper, put shoes on the feet and wedge the legs under the bottom of the Wendy house and watch them roar with laughter as they realise they’re back in Kansas and the Wicked Witch is dead.

What are your suggestions for keeping pre-schoolers entertained? Post them on the thread and we’ll add them to the list.

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Cosmic yoga is great. My challenge is entertaining the 3 year old while my baby is destroying the place and trying to kill herself at all times. I’m not really sure how to combine the two together. I can do one or the other. severalboxes I feel your pain.

Today we hung a piece of string between two chairs in the garden and our three year old enjoyed pegging out her doll's clothes.

I have a 3 year old and a 1.5 year old. Toy rotation helps! I sorted all toys into boxes and set up one lot so they wake up and see 'new' toys then another round after lunch.

Our day is kind:
5-7am screen time, milk and toys
7-8 make breakfast and eat it
8-9 tuff tray activity
9-11 the small one naps so three year old does puzzles, board games or crafts

11-12 garden

12-1 lunch
1-1.30 bath
1.39-2 books
2-3 new toy rotation
3-4 planned activity such as play dough, junk modelling, small world play
4-5 screen time while I cook
5-6 dinner then run around in garden then book and bed.

I plan activities each night for my sanity. If all else fails then I get a duvet and watch cbeebies!

Salt dough... 1 cup flour, half cup salt, half cup water (can obviously be scaled up and down). Can be used to make models, shapes etc, then baked at low heat to dry out, then can be painted.

This video helped my two girls understand a bit more about the coronavirus and what is happening.

I have a 21m old to occupy but still really struggling after reading this thread. We don't have a garden, only a very small yard. She also doesn't have that many toys and she's just not interested in playing with things for more than about 10 minutes at a time really. She much prefers to be out so we would always go to lots of groups, play parks, days out etc when she wasn't at nursery. It also now seems impossible to actually buy anything to entertain them as everyone else has already done this. E.g. I was thinking she could do painting in the yard, and Smyth's don't seem to have any paint in stock at all. I see my friends with their huge gardens that they've stocked up with slides and swings and sand pits and all sorts and they've bought every craft item under the sun and I don't have the same, money, or resources for all that. And what I can afford, I now can't source anyway! So frustrating.

Sink or Float keeps my 3 year old busy for an hour or so. I set her up with sink full of water (I'm working from home so put laptop in kitchen to keep an eye) and tell her to get various items from around the house and see if they sink or float.

@MeadowHay I have similar age toddler. Putting 'things in things' keeps him entertained for ages, e.g. empty box, empty milk bottle, whatever is around the house and dry pasta or teaspoons or whatever fits and makes sufficient noise.
Also, you can make 'good enough' paint with food coloring if you can get it, ask Google for directions.
Also, TV. It's a pandemic. If screen time has to increase for our sanity so be it.

Get them to make fun A4 drawing with THANK YOU in large.
Then tape it to the bin to thank the bin men who are working for us in these difficult times.
And
Tape it near your letter box to thank the Posty who is working for us in these difficult time.
The drawing can be related to who you are thanking
They can make a nursing or home visitor or supermarket cashier THANK YOU to stick in your window.

Freeze some small plastic toys in blocks of ice, e.g. in margarine tub, and then use toy tools, or a spoon, to chip the ice off and save the toys.

Use a ball of wool or string to create a spiders web by criss crossing it at different levels and anchoring to furniture in a room. Try going over it, under it, through it, tangle up some toys in it. Take turns being a spider.

Set up a supermarket with play food and/or real food packaging. Put together a purse of coins (real or some kind of substitute) and cards (can be old train tickets, spent gift cards, whatever rubbish you can spare from your wallet), if you don't have a till, mock one up from a small cardboard box, simulate a conveyer belt by pulling a blanket slowly along a table.

Sweeping - kitchen, garden, anywhere. This one never gets old.

Check the back of your food cupboards for out of date dried food (flour, rice, lentils, pasta, etc.) Pour into a tray or bowl and provide spoons, cups etc. To change it up put some toy vehicles in with it. Child can help to Hoover up. And finally give the toys a bath in the sink. .

Punch through sheets of newspaper.

Screw up pieces of paper and use the bin as a target.

Play skittles with empty plastic bottles.

Line up chairs to make a bus or train. Child as the driver, teddies as the passengers. Make tickets to issue to the passengers.

Clean the house together.

Bake together.

Meadow hay - there are lots of good cheap ideas on here:

• music class with lots and pans, shakers made of bottles and rice
• make a necklace from penne pasta and paint it
• float or sink is a great one
• colllect leaves on your walk and use them to make a picture
• chalk drawings on the yard, then wash them off with a sponge
• sweeping up toys (mine love sweeping!)

Look on Pinterest for free ideas for entertaining kids.

If you don’t have access to chalks/pens/stickers/glue I’d be happy to send you some.

Some of these are great, thank you.

When my son was a bit younger (12-18m) he'd tidy up cotton buds forever. A tube like tub i.e. water bottle or protein shake bottle and scatter the cotton buds all over and let the child thread them into the bottle.

There’s a free 10.30 Singing Hands session Monday Wednesday and Friday on their YouTube channel which might break up the day a bit. link

My 4yo has loved “filling up” for a long time. Stand him at the kitchen sink with various cups/plastic containers (tiny ones work well) and basically let him have indoor water play. Invariably I have to mop up the kitchen floor afterwards but hey, that job probably wouldn’t get done otherwise!

The younger children version of this that he also loved was playing with pasta. Couple of handful of tricolore pasta (might be hard to get right now) plus all the pans he could lift. He would sort/scoop/make a mess unaccompanied for a reasonable time, if I was in the same room.

Dinosaurs, animals, cars, baby dolls, kitchen equipment. Lots of unusual objects to explore for younger children. Blocks and things to build with, various size boxes to hide in or hide things in. Simple games such as lotto and puzzles. Mirrors and lights. Play dough, sand and water. Painting - shaving foam makes nice clean ‘paint’ to paint toys with.

Preschool children often like peg boards and shape pictures.

Lots of stories and rhymes. Practice doing own shoes, clothes, buttons, zips etc. Things to balance on and jump on.

I think a lot of the 3/4 yo will struggle with missing friends as this is the stage they really enjoy spending time with friends so maybe see if you can arrange Skype (or similar) for chatting time. Nurseries should be able to help with knowing which friends your child would like connecting with.

Just came on here to get some more ideas and thought I'd share some of my own...

• My little girl loves playing with aquadoodle type drawing sheets you can get

• Baby Sign is a big hit, we did this before the lockdown in person and the lady that runs it now does it online wednesday and Saturdays for free or donation (www.toddleupandsign.co.uk).

• Gym (like the rest of the world my 5 year old enjoys Joe Wicks, but my 2 year old loves joining in aswell)

• When its sunny, out door fun sowing seeds for a 'Bee Runway' or painting rocks like bees.

• Zoom (or Whatspp) sessions with granny and grandpa)

Thansk for the ideas!

Some more ideas

Pine cone art or a general family art and craft night
Guided reading sessions
Exercise class (use YouTube for this) or just dance to music.
Toddler baking or cooking class

My daughter-in-law is a nursery teacher so I've been nicking ideas for my 2yo

Poke dry spaghetti strands through the holes in a colander and get your DC to thread hooped cereals on to them (cheerios etc)

Tape two or more empty loo roll tubes to the back of a door, one under the other, leaving a small gap, and DC then put a pom pom or similar in the top one and watch it fall.

I've also been marching with my DD, she finds it hilarious. Just sing any marching song as you go, or just march from room to room, especially helpful if they're getting bored and whingy!
Ring o ring o roses is another one to keep them entertained.
For younger toddlers/older babies sit on the sofa with your feet flat on the ground, sit baby on your knees and gently lift and drop your feet, keeping toes on the ground, while singing humpty dumpty. When you get to had a great fall, open your legs slightly so they "fall" (all the while holding their hands/wrists so they don't actually fall!) Kept all my DC amused for hours

Foam and food colouring "rain"
pin.it/4jRy65H

Lots of good ideas here already but not sure if these have been mentioned...
Draw felt tip designs onto sheets of kitchen roll then use a teaspoon (or pipette if you have one!) to drop water onto them. Little ones love watching the effects. Older ones can also explore chromatography. We cut our kitchen roll into Easter egg shapes first but you could do letters, shapes, numbers etc.
Shaving foam play
Mini bucket of water & thick paintbrush to paint/draw outside.
Little ones love filling and emptying bags so give them an old handbag/purse/paper bag & lots of objects (bricks, cars etc)
Memory game - cover a selection of objects with a cloth. Can they remember what was there? Hide one. Which one’s missing?
Act out a well known story using props/toys from around the house, e.g. Goldilocks.
Colour/decorate a sheet of paper to make a background. Cut out characters from a kids’ magazine (or draw them). Stick them onto the background to make a picture.
Fill a large bowl with packing peanuts, strips of paper or similar. Give them a wooden spoon to stir. Provide more objects (bricks etc) to add to the mix. Obviously watch they don’t taste it!
Shredded paper in a paddling pool.
Sink play - fill sink with water/shaving foam/similar & pop toys around it. You can even theme it depending on what you have to hand, e.g. ocean (plastic sea creatures), snow (magic snow/shaving foam, ice cubes), space (foil, bubbles), volcano (red food colouring in water).

Detective hunt.

Challenge them to find things from a list - use magnifying glass or binoculars if available. If you have an older sibling who can read, they can go around with them reading out the items and writing down the finds.

Eg. Something tiny
Something purple
Something that makes you laugh
Something cold
Something square

Relatively little input and aftermath.