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Can we have a thread with good home-based ideas for people to do with three-year-olds?

29 replies

Pruni · 22/11/2006 12:57

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Pruni · 22/11/2006 12:58

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Mellowma · 22/11/2006 13:00

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Pruni · 22/11/2006 13:11

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expatinscotland · 22/11/2006 13:13

I took a bunch of scrapbooking paper leftovers I had and cut them into strips.

Time to make paperchains for the Xmas tree!

expatinscotland · 22/11/2006 13:13

You can also use leftover wallpaper for them.

Anything sturdy.

Scootergirl · 22/11/2006 13:16

Mine loves washing up - only those plastic cups and plates from Ikea though!

treacletart · 22/11/2006 13:17

Write yourself a letter or picture , go to shop buy stamp, put stamp on adressed envelope, walk to post box, put envelope in postbox, wait for postman, open letter - big thrills all round (honest)

make little sailboats out of whatever you can find lying around - blue tack, bottle tops etc, fill a tray or platter with water, blow boats with straws and have races.

get an old argos catalogue or somesuch, choose jewellery together, cut it out and stick it on yourselves with sticky tape. My mum forgot and went out for the evening in stuck on sapphire and diamand earrings.

get a load of polystyrene packaging or beanbag beads or torn up tissue or something and make a right mess on the floor with it then get the dyson out and let ds hoover it all up so he can be just like daddy - see I've got the men in my life well trained.

Go for a numberhunt choose a number go for a walk and give ds a jellytot or something everytime they spot a number on a house, car,sign etc.

make your own playdough. 3cups plain flour, 1 and a half cups salt, 3 cups water, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon cream of tartar (this is the secret ingredient apparantly). Mix all together then split into different saucepans (if your going to make different colours) and heat over low-medium heat with food colouring and a few drops lavender oil or somesuch to make it smell nice, stirring with wooden spoon until it all starts to come away from the sides nicely. Non stick pans work best but not essential. Very easy, Very theraputic and you'll feel nicely smug afterwards.

expatinscotland · 22/11/2006 13:20

Salt dough deccies!

We're doing those as soon as DD1 feels up to it.

I have a bunch of Xmas cookie cutters to use.

Then we'll paint them and hang them on the tree and in the windows.

How about the plant your own Xmas tree available in Oxfam?

That's another project a 3 year old would love.

GoingQuietlyMad · 22/11/2006 13:20

Some things we do (pretty run of the mill, but home-based)

  • dd (3.2) washing up (plastic stuff that never gets perfectly clean in the dishwasher) while I cook.

music time - we all sit together (dd2 9 mths) and sing songs to a children's CD while using "musical instruments" (eg bells, party whistles etc).

Play Doh / Paints etc. Ideas for making colouring in a bit more interesting - trace out pictures from their favourite story books (Miffy and Mr Men are favourites) for them to colour in/paint.

You can buy magazines called Favourites/Friends which have activities in to do together and colouring in for them.

Baking - a good recipe for a cake is one that starts with turning flour/butter breadcrumbs - at 3 they can do all of it themselves without needing help.

My favourite - "Quiet time" where I set up dd in her room with a quiet activity for 1/2 hour when her nap used to be - gives me a break.

I will watch this with interest as I am always on the lookout for something new.

treacletart · 22/11/2006 13:22

oh yesterdays game was painting all his little toy cars, tractors, farm animals etc different colours and then washing all the paint off again.

Mercy · 22/11/2006 13:26

Make biscuits

Make a mask. Get some paper plates, paint or draw a face on, make 2 tiny holes, thread some string through etc.

You can also make a spider with a paper plate.

And get some glue and stick pasta shapes, rice and lentils on for different type of collage.

Keep cereal boxes and kitchen and toilet roll tubes. These can be painted, made into a house, a telescope, a garage etc.

lostinfrance · 22/11/2006 13:28

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ProfYaffle · 22/11/2006 13:30

Dd and I went to our toddler group yesterday and we had a couple of fab activities which would be easy to do at home.

Get a zip lock plastic bag, squirt in some paint, preferably 2 or 3 colours and a load of shaving foam. Zip up, give to lo to squidge the colours around, wash and repeat .....

We also had the lights off and the kids played with torches and various light up balls, whizzy things etc You can put the torches inside boxes with holes cut in the sides to make lanterns, play 'chase' with the beams from 2 torches, shine through cardboard tubes with tissue paper stuck over one end, shine through zip lock bag full of paint and shaving foam, shine into a mirror, play at blinding Daddy etc etc

treacletart · 22/11/2006 13:36

love the zip bag and shaving foam idea.

pour rice, couscous or whatever onto a tray and let little one "draw" in it with their fingers, cover thomas toys with it etc. etc.

shrub · 22/11/2006 13:40

big bag of balloons - either helping them to blow them up or letting them use a pump and then letting them go and fly around the room.
an indoor sandpit thow in old cups, spoons, sieve, funnel etc. unfortunately this will only work if you have wooden/tiled floors though!
making your own swords and/or bow and arrows from sticks then having a battle to rescue the princess from the dragon etc.
tape recorder - lettiing them record themselves chatting/singing/making rude noises and then listening back to the results.

nailpolish · 22/11/2006 13:46

wash dollies clothes
wash dollies tea set

bits of string dipped in paint and make pictures

paint pasta and make necklaces and bracelets with string

have a disco (good exercise for you too)
musical chairs/bumps
do an exercise video - you will be rolling around laughing in no time

get then to help with the dusting (buy a comedy duster) and sorting the washing into piles for whos whos

get out the photo albums (children love seeing pics of themselves)

watch a video for quiet time

have the daily bath in the middle of the day isntead of at night time (my dd's seem to lvoe this and get v v v v v excited espp if i get in too)

nailpolish · 22/11/2006 13:47

agree re the balloons - letting them whizz around the room making farting noises is a big hit

blow them up and draw faces on them

attach string/wool with sellotape for hair

Twiglett · 22/11/2006 13:49

Snowball fights (and avalanches)

loads of pieces of white paper crumpled up

Salt Dough / Clay / Playdough / Paint

Building dens out of sofa cushions

Hide and Seek

Getting a long piece of rope and trailing it aroudn the house and kid must follow it

Dancing

Making musical instruments out of old plastic bottles

Making muffins (or cookies)

Washing up

Stripping beds

and my all time favourite

CBeebies

Pruni · 22/11/2006 16:40

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hovely · 22/11/2006 19:56

drawing a map of a familiar route
eg here is our house
what do we see when we go to (nursery etc)?
there is the letter box
there is the busy road with cars and buses
etc

handlemecarefully · 22/11/2006 20:02

there are some excellent easy to do arts and crafts projects for pre schoolers here which I do with the lo's do all the time

the model it section is particularly good I think...

We've done jelly fish and rockets etc on here. Suitable for both my 4yr old and my 2yr old (although obviously the 2yr old needs more input)

handlemecarefully · 22/11/2006 20:04

Hana (or is it hama) beads are good too. You make patterns and designs on peg boards, put some ironing paper over the top and iron to make the design permanent. You can do mobiles and all sorts.

Also writing icing is good - get them to decorate some digestive biscuits etc with it.

handlemecarefully · 22/11/2006 20:05

It is imperative however to buy writing icing with lots of E numbers in it

HowTheFillyjonkStoleChristmas · 22/11/2006 20:09
Pruni · 22/11/2006 20:13

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