DD2 is about to stop going to nursery in april, funding has run out HELPME, what can I do with her to stimulate her, she is going to miss it and be bored and diruptive

[TrinityfeelslikeahopelessRhino]

she goes two mornings a week
8 hours on total
she is very bright and needs to be occupied, not just sit in front of telly whilst mummy tries to keep her eyes open and look after gecko
what little acitvities can I keep in seperate boxes, teach her to clear away with me, be fun for her and akin to what they did at nursery and dont cost the earth

I know they do playdoh, sand and water play (agggh) and she loves to colour and they also do sticking and cutting
They do soooooooo much with her and I am goign to fail jher

she gets bored so easily and then becomes grumpy and disruptive

she is 2.11 btw

you can get craft kits from ELC so you don't have to think up ideas yourself - ask for them for DD's birthday.

At least it will be summer when she is at home with you. So you could go for a walk, get DD to collect bits - leaves, grass, flowers etc - and then stick them on a bit of paper when you get home.

Water and paintbrush outside to paint the patio or wall or whatever with water.

Sticker books.

I don't think it is so much being scared as that some pools have ratios. I think you are allowed in learner pools with two children though.

Its not that I'm scared about having them in with me
The pool wont let me
You have to have 1 adult to each under 4 yr old

I've just headed over to netmums and found someone reallly close to me with a gecko aged child but I'm scared to do anything about it

Its just one regular swimming pool, no nice learner pool or anyhting

I'm liking your other ideas ruby
you're so right about the supermarket shop
Its my attitude towards it that is the key

Playdough recipe

1 cup of plain flour
2/3rds of a cup of water
2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of veg oil
Some food colouring

Chuck in a pan and stir continuously over a low/medium heat until it makes a dough. Allow to cool before using. Store in a plastic box or sealed bag.

Home made playdough

3 cups flour
1.5 cups salt
2 tbsp cream of tarter
3 tbsp oil
3 cups water
Pour all ingredients into a large pan. Add food colouring, fragrance (eg lemon oil, vanilla essence) and glitter if wanted. Stir constantly over medium heat until a ball forms by pulling away from the sides. Knead the playdough until the texture matches playdough.

is really easy once you have the stuff. I second MamaG - baking is fab with this age group - start with scones. easy and she can mix and stir for ages.

LOL cross posts with mercy

whatever you do, do NOT use tartare sauce instead of cream of tartar. C of T is found in the baking section - its a powder

Forgot to say, get some shape cutters, plastic knives and forks, rolling pin, scissors etc for her to use with the playdough. Also paper cake cases etc.

lol Franny!

Also use cheap salt, not your best Maldon sea and definitely not rock salt!

what a pity about the funding

things ds enjoys
"washing up" - will stand on a chair and play with water at the sink for ooh 40 minutes
sticking of any sort - pasta shapes esp popular
a big tray of lentils and a digger toy and various cups and receptacles - again 40 minutes out of that one
chalks on the patio, then washing it off
library trips
icing biscuits
i would definitely try to build up the nerve to arrange some playdates with the other kids, childcare in company is so much more relaxing.....

Oh yes, washing up is a big hit (put old towels on the floor though!)

thans for all your great ideas
I'm going to keep this thread and refer to it
can I have some wonderful words of encourage that I can manage to have the two of them with me all day every day
pleeeeease

I've just made my 3 up a tool box each with pencils, crayons, pens, cellotape ,glue, stapler,scizzors etc. Keeps them quiet for hours.

DD was playing hospitals at pre-school today. They'd lined up chairs and put a doll on each. Had an ELC medical kit.

Playdough definately ,keeps mine quiet for hours. I vary it each time to keep their interest up-glitter one day, my baking tins another, dolls plates, match sticks for making hedgehogs etc

Just also bought my lot the circle palettes from ELC they're fab. Put a blob of each colour in, seem to make less mess somehow.

Library visits definately, bring home the max you're allowed(think it's 8)and keep them in a special basket. Keeps mine quiet for hours.

Foam shapes from Tesco, fold a piece of paper in 4 and sort the shapes out and stick.

Goggly eyes, draw a monster and stick it's eyes on.

Also bought mine all an A4 pad each for special drawings.

Some cheap envelopes, a pile of 1p stamps and a letterbox- they love to write letters.

An etch a sketch-you call out draw me an..... erase then you do one etc.

Old catalogues cut out pics and stick onto a house shape eg beds in a bedroom.

Rolls of paper to draw a road on then play cars with it.

Sticker books

Stencils

ELC has a 20% offer on at the mo and free postage over £40 might be worth stocking up with some craft stuff. Tesco is good and The Works(both cheaper)

When it's the holidays I actually plan out the days and work out a crafty activity and a play activity for each day of the week so I know a couple of things to do each day-keeps us all sane!!!!!!

I've also made a list of all our toys and craft stuff so if they're all fighting I can quickly suggest something to diffuse the mayhem (otherwise my mind goes blank and I can't remember what we've got).

Hope this helps, my twins are 4 and dd just 3 and I remember the 6 month run up to funding, couldn't afford to send them to pre-school before. Keeping things varied really helped.

Have you tried the softplay at community centre near me? My dd love it at your dd2's age

Don't worry we'll keep her occupied between us

thanks purple

Hmmm not been to that softplay since I was pointedly ignoresd when I took Jess when she was 3!!

Oh i didn't know you then! but dd was at playgroup by then but there was some stuck up mums there

As bozza says at least were coming up to summer so we can do loads with our dd's

Just adding words of encouragement that you can (and will) manage them both at home every day

I can't think of much more to suggest that isn't on here already, but I would recommend getting some kind of routine going so dd2 knows what to expect. I try to get mine out every day and fit my plans round that. Toddler groups if you can (church ones tend to be cheaper and more friendly ime), shopping, local market, library, every free activity you can find, visiting friends, and the park.
Do it on the way home from dropping d1 a school if you can so you're already out.