Are there any hobbies I can share with my 5 year old daughter?

[mummyloveslucy]

Hi, I have a 5.6 year old daughter and I'm looking for ideas of organised activities or hobbies that we can do together.
She has some SEN's and can be very demanding and hard to have fun with. We both love music although we can't actually play anything. We both like dancing too.
I took her skiing once but it was very hard work as I had to hold her the whole time.
If you have any ideas then please let me know.

i was going to suggest a music lesson!

or a dance/theatre group? perhaps if you have a local one you could volunteer to help out there so you can do it togehter?

She loves the piano, if she had lessons would they let me watch? That way I could help her practise at home.

You could find a tutor to teach you both I'm sure :)

Or maybe something crafty like card making? you could get a few things and sit together making christmas cards maybe....

Card making, cross stitch - can be as hard or as easy as you like.

Baking? Photography?

Perhaps not quite yet but a couple of recorders might be fun to tootle together.

That would be good. I could have a look and see if I can find someone.

Martial arts? From what I've seen everyone starts all together in a big hall so you'd be learning together. It doesn't need to be combative, you could do tai chi or similar - I'm hoping my family will do that when the DCs are a bit older.

The Christmas card thing would interest me, but she gets fed up within minutes with crafty things. Maybe because I take over a bit.

My DDs karate club looks funny - there's little kids with higher grade belts than hulking big blokes

I thought about it, but she's just not the sort of girl that would like martial arts. She was terrified of the advert for the Karatie Kid. I tried to explain and she just said "It's naughty to hit people."

She does love the series Jane and the Dragon at the moment, and there is a fair bit of sawed fighting in that. Maybe she'd like that? If she got hurt even a tiny bit or felt scared that'd be it though.

How about iceskating? Just thinking along the skiing lines.

A piano lesson sounds good, a tutor for both of you.
Iceskating is lovely if you like it, and a terror if you don't, but giving it a try might be fun.

& at piano lessons you can watch, but to be sure phone up first.
Some people offer piano lessons on a trade-trade thing, can't quite remember what it is but I'm sure somebody else will! So if you have a skill to offer their children, they'll teach yours etc etc.

We did try ice skating but again I had to hold her up the whole time. She loved it, but my arms didn't.

geocaching
mine loves it all that treasure hunting is very exciting

Cooking, gardening, bowling, swimming, natural history , walking, art, sewing, rollerskating, cycling

I came on to say geocaching too! All my 3 love it and it gets them out and about. My 6 year old set free his first cache at the weekend (with the help of his dad) he was super excited.

Geocaching :)

When DD did piano last year I used to be in the room watching. She has them at school now so I don't have a clue.

Craft? Maybe scrapbooking.

Would riding be too scary? Some kids really bond with horses and seem calmed by them, I've heard. My DD, DH and I had some lessons together, on very differently sized animals!
I'm trying to think of activities which don't require you to support her, from what you've said I would guess rollerskating and cycling wouldn't be apt quite yet.

I was about to say horse riding! Seek out your local RDA group if she has SEN as they may be able to help and you can talk about whether you could ride at the same time. There is something about the motion of a horse that is very relaxing and lots of reports of children concentrating on it when they normally struggle to stay focused.

Cycling - forestry enterprise and national trust have some lovely sites with waymarked trails on quiet tracks, short and long, for all different abilities. Some other big landowners too - Water Companies (well, Severn Trent, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water that I know of). Many of them have bike hire too. If she is not up to riding her own bike you could get/hire a trailer or tag-a-long (a pole thing that attaches child's bike to adult bike).

I think personally it's a bit ambitious to want to share a hobby with a five year old, let alone one with SNs. My littlest daughter does ballet, the odd bit of pony riding, swimming, but by herself (I sit outside or watch). Together, we make cakes (she breaks the eggs, tips stuff in the bowl, starts off the mixing and does very elaborate, ahem, icing), she does drawing and I look and make suggestions and help with her writing. We tidy her room together, and we spend her pocket money £2.50 or £3.00 together once a week - she loves a shopping trip!! We go to the little pocket money toy shop, to a vintage shop for little china models and to the sweet shop and browse for ages. And we do the normal stuff like go to the cinema and pizza express and park. Maybe she could go on her scooter and you could run??? She could be your personal trainer? Feed the ducks together (wholemeal bread only please, or birdseed). I find the idea of doing recorder lessons WITH any of my children completely horrific!

Thanks everyone. She can't ride a bike, she can't manage the peddles. She's scared of horses although I'd really like that, I used to ride when I was younger. If I could get her over her feer of horses, that would be great.

I honstly don't think a grown woman needs to share a hobby as such with a five year old. She can have her interests and you can have yours, but still be a loving mummy. Stuff you can do 'together' is make cakes, be around while she paints or whatever (don't take over!) go for a walk in the park to find wildflowers or whatever. Find a movie you'd both enjoy (Nanny McPhee worked for us) and buy popcorn. Go for days out to places you can both enjoy - eg a garden or interactive museum.

true, but I'm just trying to think of anything that will make us closer and help us to enjoy each others company. usually she just drives me mad.