PLEASE GIVE ME PLAY IDEAS FOR TODDLERS / PRESCHOOLERS!

[SpawnChorus]

My mother always used to say 'only boring people get bored', but I have to admit that I am suddenly finding entertaining the DCs (2.7 and 1 year old) more than a little dull.

I have to supervise them closely in our garden (it's not terribly toddler-friendly), and we just end up milling about aimlessly.

We do quite a bit of crayoning/painting.

Used to do a lot of reading, but this seems to be quite difficult nowadays (DD doesn't like sharing reading time with DS, and DS just wants to hurl the book on the floor).

Going for a walk is a bit of a palaver as DD wants to run about and play, and DS is stuck in the buggy getting bored (and he's getting too heavy for the sling).

I'm in a serious rut.

Please let me know how you entertain your preschoolers.

My mother used to say that too

I'd be interested to hear answers to this one too as I'm in the same predicament. I have dd1 (2.4 yrs) and dd2 (6 months) and anything that seems an option with one isn't with the other iyswim. We do colouring and painting, but nothing entertains for long. I can often just get away with sitting on the floor talking to dd1 while she plays with her "poeple" but now dd2 grabs for them if she's on my knee and I feel bad leaving her out!

Sand? Duplo? Washing dolly clothes? Give them a bucket of water and a big paintbrush and let them "paint" the patio, wall, fence etc

I am afraid your best bet is to take them out everyday and let them run off steam, maybe with a ball in the park, on the swings etc

Give them a large box to play with

Collect things lijke bottle tops, shampoo bottles, pine cones, and let them play with them.

Insides of material bolts (laura ashley and other material shops) basically 'big' cardboard tubes are great to run cars down. Vary the height, vary the speed.

I stuck a cheap wooden train set to a couple of pieces of mdf and painted a scene -grassy bit/pond using ds's paints so no extra money/special paint needed. This enabled free play with the frustration of knocking the train set over. Have since taken off the track and painted a racing car circuit over it to reuse it.

Ds loves playing in his tent -very cheap from charity shop. I put his sleeping bag in it and he loves to pretend 'camping'

A bag of big stones (supposed to put into glass vases) keeps him entertained for ages, just supervise you lo.

Feathers -Instore sell great packs of things -lollipop sticks/feathers'plastic shapes etc. Good for colour recognition and for sorting. Also good for just good fun!

When you are cooking give them dried pasta and various plastic items to practise filling/emptying. Jugs, spoons, cups etc. Not that messy (try using rice!) and easy to clear up.

Playdough -can make your own easliy use internet to search fro the recipe. You can add rice, food colouring, glitter, different colours and smells.

A bucket of water kept my ds amused for ages the other day!

Hope some of that helps!

(Obviously I would unerstand some of these things are supervised/not suitable for a tiny one but do credit you with intelligence to know that!!!)

I'm in the same boat, have dd 2.9 and ds 13mths. I know what you mean about the reading! Does your youngest have a fairly reasonable nap? I've found that it works best for us if i make sure dd gets to do some 'big girl' stuff such as sticking, baking cakes, reading together etc, when ds is asleep. I think at this age ds just likes to feel included in any activity, so dancing around to some music, playing with blocks etc. As long as we're in the same room he's easily pleased! Th rest of the time if we're not out, I tend to just let them play/interact/squabble together.

singing and dancing in the front room - I kid you not must look mad to the outside world! and I also make little gym courses as well with the pillows/his tents/toys etc.

DS likes a blanket over two chairs to make a den! lol. think's it's fab also a ball will keep him entertained for ages.

Muppetgirl, can I send my dd's round to play at your house???

muppetgirl - some great ideas there!

I think part of the problem is that they don't tend to play happily without my involvement.

I would just love to be able to plonk them down with something and let them get on with it for an hour or so. Perhaps my expectations are unrealistic for their ages though.

Mollycoddle, I ALWAYS had to be involved when my DCs were this age. But now they are 4.6 and 2.9 and quite often play alone or together for long periods. It will get easier.

When they were this age I sometimes got 10 minutes when they were both awake with DD in the playpen and DS playing with his cars.

Most of my ideas have already been suggested apart from:

making 'soup' in the garden, bucket of water eat, plop in grass, daisys, earth, sand, petals etc.

decorating the trees in the garden with daisies, dandelions and other flowers they can be encouraged to pick

We go out every day at least once. In the mornings we usually have an organized activity - Yoga, playgroup, music class, football etc

At home, we do various things. Off the top of my head, favourite activities include:

Heuristic Play

Baking

Empyting the tupperware cupboard

Empty boxes to climb in/ put things in/ use as a car etc

A tent/ tunnel

Empty containers, yoghurt pots etc

Ride-on Toys

Music - listening to, dancing, playing
various instruments

Train set (one of those wooden ones)

Lego (Duplo)

Sand

Sticks, rocks, chalk

Playdough

Water play

Shopping

Free days at museums, the zoo etc

Reading

Colouring

Playing in the bath (when it is empty)

Swimming

The Park

Dolls & baby buggy etc

I'm sure there are lots more.

Can you change your garden at all so that you CAN leave them more? Don't know if this is possible but if it is, seems worthwhile

some good ideas on here

Playdoh
Mock baking
Messy play with a bowl of cornflour and water.
sand and water
sticking things to paper to make collages of leaves, material, glitter.
potato printing - cut out shapes and use paint to make stamps.
reading to them.
Flashcards - ask them to pick out objects from the cards or/ and say what they are.
Tv for short spells to get you time.
singing songs with actions for 2.7yrs and clapping along for 1yr.
local park
soft play area
swimming
local farms/ garden centre.
jigsaws
sign language.

These are some of the things I do with my dd and 2 mindees ages 20mths, 2.1 and 2.2.

Oh, and recent new favourite thing is a wooden dolls house. DS uses it to put his cars in. And out. And in. And out etc. He can spend hours playing with it.

Also, making musical instruments (2 yoghurt pots with rice in etc)

Songs with actions (buy a CD to sing along to)

Feeding the ducks

Watching construction sites. Dull for me, but I can now tell the difference between and excavator, a front loader and a backhoe loader, as can DS (24 months)