A thread to help do more with the kids

[Tamadot]

I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread of support for mums like me who tend to not do much with their kids at home.
I've heard quite a few mums on here say they're happy to take their kids out and about but find it difficult to spend time doing stuff with them at home.

Maybe we can make a commitment to do at least one activity a day with them, or get ideas about things to do?

I really want to try to do more with my lovely boys but I do find it hard. I don't want to ever look back and have regrets that I thought washing the dishes and doing the laundry meant that I put off doing anything with them.

I'm so glad to see this thread still going
Everyone appears to be getting crafty and having fun.

We have been busy over the past few days with friends and family. We've had a great time but I've not needed to do much with my boys myself.
We have, however, baked cakes, done lots of looking at books, reading and chatting. I've started reading The BFG to ds1.
We also had a balloon fight which was lots of fun.

Tomorrow I'm planning to make those martian things that ds1 has. I was going to do that last week but a friend came over with her children.
Wednesday I'm planning a trip to the garden centre to buy some seeds and soil and then do some planting.
We're visiting my mum on Friday so I'll get the boys to do some baking for that.
Our weekend seems to be a bit quiet at the moment so I'll try to organise one outing and hoping to play some board games.

(((virtual hugs Silvery))) I can definately relate to that.... DS2 (14months) is teething bad at the moment so sleep isn't something I get much of.... doesn't help I stay up so late trying to do all the things I find impossible to do during the day!

I have to force myself to DO something daily otherwise DD (3.5 yrs) becomes a whirlwind of terror and I too end up a shouty mess.... I struggled with PND at the beginning after DS2 birth and for ages DD didn't get any ''activity'' time, which I do feel guilty about, so now try and do at least 1 thing a day :)

I'm going to make Find It jars with my boys today.

It's a jar (or other container but it has to be clear and you need to be able to seal it closed well) filled with rice (can dye it different colours to make it look nicer) and you put little things in the jar for them to find by shaking the jar/rice about.

I need to hunt down small stuff to put in.

Will do a list with a picture of each item needed to be found that can be ticked off when found. It might even keep them quiet in the car for a while!

OvO Another great idea!
MLKThe dc's sleep fine! It's just me most of the time

Made ice lollies today, using orange juice and apple juice. Kids can't seem to grasp that it actually takes time for them to freeze and it doesnt just happen immediately!

I am sorry Silvery I didn't mean to pester Sending you big by way of an apology.

I wasn't planning to do anything really today as we have a bit of a rush around after school - we are only just home and dcs are in the bath/shower.

I did make a daisy chain with dd though which was fun - free again as well. Only 10 mins but when they get to her age 10 mins can be precious.

Hehe carrots I was saying that in a sarcastic fashion, hope I didn't make you think you'd offended/upset me. It's all good.

great thread - lots of inspiration

I didn't really get any time with dd today as Wed is our other busy day. I spent ages looking through a book with ds today though, over an hour, it was lovely.

The find it jars were a great success except for when my 3 year old realised I'd put a tiny Woody figure in (which had sat in a kitchen drawer for months!) and he wanted it out so badly that he had a meltdown.

Only cuddles and biscuits with Daddy would calm him down. [suspicious]

I loved the dyed rice and need to try to think what else I could use it for as it's so purty.

Could you do art work with it OvO? eg glue it to paper to make a pretty collage?

You could use it for practising letter formation or just drawing eg pour it into a deep tray and draw in it with your finger.

I'm not letting THEM near it! . It's mine now!

I might try a collage, good idea.

we do a hot choc tea party complete with tiny marsh mellows. tiny cups and dollys too.

Can anyone recomend box games for an almost 3 year old? She is addicted to pairs but if i have to play it one more time I will scream. Had a brief foray into ELC but left very quickly when DD2 discovered how to climb to the 'bestest' toys on the top shelf..... Thanks

Marking place, fab thread! Very impressed by everyone.

FourFish have you ever played Tummy Ache? It is very simple and doesn't take long. My dcs are 10 and 6 and still love it.

You each get a place setting card and then take turns choosing a card from the pile. It could be a drink, dessert, main dish, side vegetable with a fork or side vegetable with a knife. The hazard is that some cards are inedible and disgusting eg potatoes with a spider on top. The first one to complete an edible meal is the winner.

I also think anything by Orchard in the age range is worth a look. Their games are usually good, simple and age appropriate.

Many of the games in ELC are a little suspect IMHO. They don't always hold their attention very well.

Ds is off school today with a nasty cold so we have already played a board game (The Snowman) which ds won

He has just brought out Beetle FourFish. I don't know if it is still made as this game is from when I was wee. You could make it yourself though.

You each have a leaf and have to build (or draw) a beetle on it. The bits you can draw are determined by what you spin on the spinner (or roll on the dice). You can't do anything until you have a body, then you can add a head and 6 legs. You can't add the eyes or antennae until you have the head. The first complete beetle is the winner (just like a beetle drive really.)

My dd loves red dog, blue dog and the Jack and Jill game from Orchard Toys. (She is 3.1) Loads of the Orchard Toys games would be suitable. The Incy Wincy Spider one is nice too.

Think I might get DS some Orchard games for his birthday.

Been an up and down week here but today we walked into town to stock up on craft supplies and because I was feeling lazy, I let him dictate the pace and stop whenever he wanted to look at something. We spent about 10 minutes watching some gasmen digging up the road and talking about all the different equipment they were using (the bloke driving the digger looked a bit paranoid). Had lunch in the shopping centre cafe as a treat, so DS got to watch the lifts going up and down for about 45 minutes which he loved. Have bought some plain tshirts and a pack of cheap white babygros for us to decorate later and got loads of bits for the craft box :)

Having some telly now though as both he and I are knackered Think we went at the right time...it's pissing down.

FourFish having spent much of the day playing with ds I have remembered that Boots used to do some good simple board games too. I don't know if they still do.

where would i get "orchard games"?

Most toy shops have them stashed away somewhere - John Lewis usually have them. Hang on and I will have a hunt.

This is the official website here

They are on Amazon here

just found some on amazon.
jigsaw puzzles look great, i know DS would love them not sure if he's too young for games though he just turned 2yo on 11/05 what you think?