Recommendations for kids books/crafts?

[Onetickettomars]

I’m will be off work with my 2 DC next week (planned leave). We were supposed to be visiting family, but will now stay home (as my elderly relatives want to isolate).

Usually I would take DC to a farm park, swimming, cinema etc, but now I’m planning home activities to keep them busy. I’ve started an Amazon basket...

Do you have any recommendations please for games/puzzles/crafts/books that your DC love?

My little ones are age 4.5 and just turned 2.

Thanks!

aquadoodle mat
playdough
sensory bins

Buy The Five Minute Mum book and/or follow her on Instagram.

oh, the dad lab website has some great ideas too

Baking kits
Hide small objects (we used to use clothes pegs) round the house and go hunting for them.
Make a washing line indoors and hang up anything you can find - pieces of paper, hats, gloves, empty cereal boxes!
Stack and unstack paper cups
Melissa and Doug reusable sticker pads
Lacing cards
Pop Up Pirate
Hungry Hippos
Buckaroo
Marble run
Usborne search and find books
Giant floor puzzles
At that age, my dc loved printing - hand printing, potato printing etc..
Make dens and tunnels and tents with sheets and furniture
Cook up a big saucepan of porridge (with water instead of milk) and let it go cold. Add some food colouring and it turns into a fantastic squelchy messy play activity, especially with little toys hidden! I do the same with custard and with mashed potato using a packet of instant smash! Polenta works well too, as does cooked couscous or cooked spaghetti.
If possible, get a piece of guttering, put it on the stairs and use it as a ramp for toy cars.
Indoor hopscotch with masking tape
Scavenger hunt - things of different colours, textures, shapes etc...
Make a bird feeder and hand it outside.
Make ‘islands’ out of the furniture and use cushions as stepping stones.
And when all else fails, give them an ice lolly - it takes them a good 15 minutes to eat!