Scrap the curriculum and learn through play...what activities would you suggest?

[Nixz]

If you had two children (6), who both had the learning age of a toddler, what activities would you do with them in the afternoons?

Im thinking nature walks, leaf printing, bead threading, sandwich making, music making etc...

What exciting things can you think of or do you do at home with your children

swimming, planting spring bulbs, flying a kite, potato printing, 'writing' postcards and posting them to granny, cutting and stickign to make collages

hide and seek, treasure hunts, dragon hunting, cooking, building house etc with lego and making up stories, those "anti colouring books" are also brilliant

cooking cakes and really bad stuff - yum.

never underestimate the learning value of playing with sand and water. How is sand different when it is wet/dry? Hide things to find in sand.
Water - what floats and what doesn't and why? Add bubbles and colour the water etc.

Bake cookies and use smarties on top to practise colours/counting without it being a big deal

Use lots of different textures - cornflour with water, cooked pasta to play with.

Talk about the changing seasons on your walks.
How exciting, I wish I could do this all over again

Don't forget listening to different types of music and talk about how the music makes you feel (happy, excited, sad, sleepy etc) and DANCE!!!

It is very exciting...im doing this and getting paid for it for the next few weeks!!!

All the fun without any of the cleaning/worrying about dinner/sorting the laundry etc!!!

Your ideas sound great...they will be added to my list!

I used to work in a preschool and though the money was appalling, I really miss it!

Movement to music, story telling, nature walks ( great time of year for this) , baking, role play.

Face painting especially if you let them do yours. Try the cornflour in water trick i.e. it feels solid in the cup but pours like a liquid. When younger my DS used to love acting out stories we had read. He spent a lot of time morphing from the very hungry caterpiller into a butterfly.

It was really quite difficult to guide them through play today tbh, we did painting and made musical instruments by putting rice in bottles and went for a nature walk. I need to be able to have them in a more controlled and contained environment, otherwise, one would run off one way and the other would run the other way!

They both have very different personalities, it was fun and they are lovely children but I need to rethink my activities!

I think a routine would be helpful, i was going to chill out and let them be expressive this week, so i could get to know them but i think it would be best to get into a routine sooner, rather than later!

Phew!

nixz I have a 5,2 and 1 yr old and type of things we do are
planting things
painting
pictures
themed topics so if we play with a castle then we talk about them and knights etc, read story on it might visit one if we can
sticking and gluing
cake making
play in sand
play in water and talk about other things that use water
making food plates with pasta and lentils etc
texture pictures
read story then make something relevant..elmer then stick colour squares onto elephant shape etc
walks to collect leaves etc and listening walks
music time sing, play instruments
playing with blocks
make playdoh
cookery of icing biscuits, bagel pizzas, fruit salads