Play ideas

[susanmt]

Wasn't sure where to put this thread, thought here would do!
I wondered if people could reveal their child entertainment secrets! I have a 2 1/2 yr old (and a baby) and am always looking for new ideas to keep them entertained. What's your top tip???

My 2 1/2 yr old loves playdoh, playing shops,babies and pretend cooking etc. She also loves painting, drawing cutting, sticking. Basicaly anything messy. She likes "helping" me cut veg for dinner, "making" own sandwhiches, making cakes etc. Loves playing at kitchen sink, sand pit, slide, climbing frame etc........Will post more when I've more time. Off swimming now-she loves that too!

Use biscuit dough instead of playdoh - you can eat the results!

I go out into the garden with a paint brush and water and paint an outline of a huge teletubby, bob the builder, tweenie character etc. and get ds to paint the rest. Keeps him amused for at least a few minutes.

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I'd second the sandpit - make sure you have one with a lid to deter snails, cats and foxes from visiting at night. DS has played in his continuously since he got it at 2.
Cutting and sticking can get messy but that's something we always enjoy doing and lately we set up an art gallery in the hall to show off some very fine collages.
I do find that sitting and watching CBeebies together for a bit, and chatting about what we see and how it relates to what we have at home, also pays dividends. DS camouflaged (with flannels, under bath mat etc) all his bath toys tonight having seen an item about it on Tweenies this morning.
A bag of plastic food, £4.99 from Woolies, has been the starting point for shopping and serving dinner on numerous occasions too. Chocolate pizza, anyone?

mmm. I could quite fancy some chocolate pizza, actually. Hide and seek is a relatively painless- though repetitive- favourite in our house at the moment. I like it for the opportunity to sit down for 5 mins while they laboriously conceal themselves in the most obvious places and for the joy of saying sarkily "Well I never, you're behind the door again! Why did I not think of looking there? How clever you are!" The boys believe me! hahahaha. Oh well, their self esteem rises and I get the opportunity to practice the lowest form of wit!

Water play is good too and doesn't have to be a riotous outdoor thing. I often give mine bowls of water to float paper boats on etc. They like bowls of uncooked rice too so they can recreate the pit of peril by burying their thunderbird men and getting the mole to rescue them from under the rice rubble.

LOL Scummy, so glad to hear I'm not the only one practising sarcasm on their kids. Why am I not surprised to hear that you also amuse yourself this way?

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