Activities with dcs after my surgery advice

[caringiscreepy]

Just looking for some advice. I'm a few weeks after some brain surgery and whilst will be fine am absolutely physically wiped out and have to take a lot of medication over the next couple of months. I have 2 dcs 6 and 4. The 4 year old seems to be struggling quite a bit and is in general quite sensitive. I know it's not my fault but the guilt is wild that I can't do more with them at the minute and it probably will be a good few months before I can.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of things/ activities I can do with them that aren't at all taxing. Anything your 6/4 yos love to do? I'll have a look on hobbycraft but just looking for other ideas too. TIA

Hopeful bump

I'm glad your surgery went well, I wish you the speediest of recoveries.

I reckon your best bet is going to be making and baking. Hobbycraft is a great place to start for both.
Making
Piggy banks (balloon, papier mache, paint)
Costumes
Pillow fort for a movie night (we used to toast marshmallows over candles - you'll ideally need an unscented, undyed, beeswax or soy candle)
Anything with glitter and stickers (sorry)

Baking
Marshmallow cakes (melted chocolate, marshmallow, smarties)
Cereal cakes (cereal, syrup, melted chocolate)
Shaped cookies (can get really interesting shapes in Hobbycraft, and if you're not up to actually making cookie dough you can buy that in any big supermarket - decorating them is the best bit anyway)

If your DCs are naturally competitive then coming up with competitions for the two of them could be fun - who can make the best boat out of the recycling and then test them in the bath (you're the judge), or create a scavenger hunt out of items you won't have to hide first. Things like that. Kids that age also tend to love helping so you could get them making their own lunches (I'm talking sandwiches not souffles) or creating their own pizzas for dinner.

I think you should be kind to yourself though. Not every day has to be about making memories, it's alright to put the TV on sometimes. And it's crap just now but these few months will barely be a minute in their memories when they look back in years to come.

Ah this is brilliant thank you so much! I was massively into baking so that's definitely something I can get back to. Some really great ideas and you are right, I'm glad they're so young and hopefully won't remember too much of this!

Board games
Jigsaws
Treasure hunts around the house and garden
Pebble painting
Make a time capsule
Look through their baby photos and show them photos of when you were young
Make ice lollies
Fly a kite
Freeze plastic animals in a bowl of ice and hack them out with a spoon and fork!
Make jam jar lanterns theimaginationtree.com/jam-jar-and-tissue-paper-luminaries/
Hama bead key rings
Make a bowling alley with skittles made with plastic bottles
Make a shadow puppet theatre and put on a show
Play pin the tale on the donkey (or any variation)
Make a piñata and let them take turns bashing at it!
Scavenger hunt
Tie dye tissues in food colouring
Make slime
Play shops
Balloon ping pong
Life sized drawings on large sheets
Make homemade pizza
Sow cress on cotton wool in egg shells and runner beans in plastic bottles
Egg blowing and painting

I've had open-skull surgery myself and was absolutely shattered for weeks afterwards! I think the anaesthetic needed for a long op takes it out of you.

Def agree with the sitting down stuff like crafts, jigsaws - any kind of game you can play every day as a series and keep score. Paper mache (pasting bits of paper on to a balloon) to make your own pinatas takes ages there is the drying which can be a testing time for kids and can be fun.

And games/equipment to play with in the garden, if the rain ever stops

Good luck with the recovery OP, wishing you all the best!

Thank you all, some brilliant ideas. Managed to decorate some wooden spoons today and I'm absolutely shattered. Baby steps

Do you have a laminator/printer etc.

You can print pics from holidays/ things you've done and scrap book or each cut them up and give to the other as a puzzle.