How do you entertain kids on a boring day?

[applepansy]

Saturday I was baking and cleaning and grandson wanted to help. I'm not grandpa who doesn't clean as he goes so helping grandma wasn't going to work out.

I made Foam Dough and enjoyed 2 hours of quiet punctuated with wonderful giggles.

What other ways have you used to entertain your children and/or grandchildren that really worked?

[Bini]

Today we drew pictures and did a lot of Disney-sing-alongs.

[dahlia]

Children of all ages should learn to entertain themselves by reading, doing art (free form or using coloring books), working with clay, listening to music and dancing, writing stories, etc.

Notice I did not say get on the internet or use a computer, although I am not completely against the occasional technology-based educational game. The problem with doing this to excess is that the child does not learn how to be creative, improve their reading, or learn anything about themselves.

All of this is to be done out of the sight and hearing of adults, who have other things to do, but who should be willing to take a brief moment to listen to said stories or comment on the artistic masterpieces produced. A little gold star or sticker pleases the child and makes it more than willing to go back from whence it came and create even more masterpieces.

If caught at the right age, little boys and girls can both be *encouraged* to help clean the house because they instinctively want to help and to be thought of as a 'big girl' or 'big boy.' But this is a brief period in their lives, and the day soon comes when they would rather eat liver than help clean, so take advantage of it while you can.

I was a great mom. I'm sure I'll be a wonderful nana.

[applepansy]

I think I'll try this next:

Homemade Flubber

[applepansy]

Dahlia, I agree with the majority of what you posted. Thank you.

But, I'm looking for creative ways to help children be creative. My grandson is 6yo. I use a lot of technology which has him above his grade level in reading. Other children in his Kindergarten class who are using technology are also above grade level in reading. I've changed my mind about the role technology plays. Its for learning in our house, not just play time.

I'm looking for creative ways to entertain children. What art supplies do you supply? What types of "flubber" or "play dough" do you make?

Its probably different for a Mom with a household full of children versus a grandmaMom with one almost-6yo.

Edited February 5, 2014 by applepansy
spelling

[Bini]

You could try doing a puppet theatre? I don't know what the attention span is for a 6-year old, this might be too advanced, but there's all kinds of cool puppet theatre ideas out there. Granted, an adult will need to set aside at least an hour for this but it could be a lot of fun. So you could make sock puppets. Get plain white socks (or coloured) and decorate them, glue on eyes and other fun things (a bunch of which you can get at a craft store). Make maybe four of them. Then you could make a theatre stage. Get a large cardboard box and cut a window out. Decorate it, etc. I did something like this with my mum and sister when I was young but probably not 6, I'd say I was about 8 or 9. But we have an old VHS of us doing a little skit, it was so cute.

[Bini]

Okay, a couple more ideas I just thought of.

My sister at a pretty young age, showed a lot of interest in how things grow and change. She had a small book that was blank, and she'd go outside and find interesting plants and flowers to put inside the book. So basically, the plant or flower would be pressed and dried. She did a lot of these. It was really cool.

When she got a bit older, she was really into rock collecting and polishing rocks. My dad got her this little machine thingamabob that would polish rocks and stones - it was really cool. She had a pretty neat collection of them, too.

I guess these might be more of hobbies and less of a casual daily activity but just some more ideas :) But that said, you could make it a daily thing, going on a nature walk or something and finding new things outside :)

[Palerider]

When our grand daughters come over my wife will get with them and they do craft projects. They will make brackets or necklaces. By time their done they think they are worth a million dollars.

[dahlia]

Puppet theater is a great idea!

You can buy just big rolls of kraft paper or folders of plain paper used for newspaper. They're pretty cheap and there's a lot there. Get whatever size crayons are appropriate for the child's hands. I see commercials for different types of crayons and paints that won't stain or wash out easily; you might want to look for those. I don't think it has to be complicated - some paper, crayons and paints, a glue stick and sparkles, some stickers and you're good to go.

I don't think most children need to be told to do when faced with art supplies, but you might give them a theme - bible stories, dinosaurs, flowers, etc. to start off. I'm OK with coloring books, too. There are some very imaginative books at: Coloring Books.

Give them a paper bag, cut out the eyes for them, and let them make a mask they can put over their head. They can glue stuff to the bag so that it's 3 dimensional (i think a bag is 3D anyway, but you know what I mean).

[Guest]

I don't have to do anything special for my kids. They are outdoors type of kids. They would go trekking all over the neighborhood and come home with critters. They built a fort out in the woods and battle with their nerf guns. They climb trees and take their game up there. They play pretend - like they're aliens looking for a human specimen to observe from up there. They would put up their tent in the yard and then play survival stuff where somebody ends up getting "voted off the island". They turn on the sprinklers or chase each other with the water hose. They chase the dogs and hide bones for them to find. They go biking or ripsticking all over, go to the community playground, play in the community basketball court, jump in the community pool and play wrestling with the Bosnians... if they get tired of outside, then they go play inside - the piano is going, the drums is banging, the TV is blaring, the video games are pinging. Then they're building legos and Godzilla (could be the bird, could be the turtle, could be the dog...) goes and knocks it down... then they put their Halo machines and soldiers on the Halo battlefield, put their snakes in "castles" with a flag each for their King and go battle each other... they still got their Thomas train tracks from when they were little kids and they would build tracks with layers and things so somebody has to open the bridge or close the bridge or open the tunnel or whatever so the battery-powered trains can go through... and then they time it so it crashes...

I'm lucky to have 2 boys and a neighbor who practically lives in my house... they keep each other occupied but they can also get into all kinds of things which drive me crazy. Yes, my house is crazy - mud getting tracked all over, kids running their skates on the floors, kids wrestling knocking all my stuff (I had to pack all my kithcy figurines) and shooting nerfs all over that one time it ended up cooked with the soup. I'd be sitting in Relief Society and they would be talking about "Peaceful House with quiet voices"... I soooo do not have that house. if I'm not yelling, nobody can hear me from all the racket...

Edited February 5, 2014 by anatess

[Iggy]

When my baby brother was about 5 - we were so broke, that Christmas presents had to be made. I made felt finger puppets to go with the story books my older siblings were giving him. Because I was old enough to use a needle and thread, I sewed them together, but I glued a lot of the face features on.

Grandma gave me the thread (her crotchet thread) to sew the felt figures together, Mom gave me the felt scraps (from the felt skirts she made my sisters and myself - I was 13, they were 17 & 18 - this was in 1965).

Baby brother loved those puppets. When he was older and the much younger cousins were over, he would entertain them by reading the storybooks and letting them wear the puppets.

Flash forward to 1997 when baby brother's second son is 6 years old, and he gives him the finger puppets and story books from that long ago Christmas. Touched my heart, it did.

[applepansy]

Love the ideas. Thank you.

Unfortunately its 15 degrees here this morning and it wasn't much warmer yesterday afternoon. And we're getting getting the storms we prayed for. In warmer weather we often go for walks. We live in a great area for seeing wildlife and all sorts of interesting things.

I bought perler beads last year but unless he has a friend over who likes to play with them too I can't get him to play with them for very long. He doesn't have a short attention span actually the opposite for a 6yo boy. But once he thinks he's learned all there is to something he wants to move on. I was actually surprised that he played with the soft dough for so long. It dried out and instead of adding more shaving cream I added water. That was an interesting mixture. It was running but self leveling. When scrapped up off the cookie sheet it looked dry, then would melt into a puddle. But... fascination with that only lasted 30 minutes.

I love puppets but he won't play very long with them unless there is another child. He gets tired of talking to himself I guess.

thank you again.

[Lakumi]

I love puppets but he won't play very long with them unless there is another child. He gets tired of talking to himself I guess.

I was banned from owning puppets, there were no other children but I kept talking:lol:

[Traveler]

Interesting - I have a son that is selling their home and have moved into our home for a while. They have two children, a 2 year old son (almost 3) and a daughter almost 1. I also am a consultant engineer that works from my home. For whatever reason my office is their favorite place in the whole house. I do not make any effort on my own to entertain the children - they seem to do that well enough on their own.

My grandson loves to ask questions like - what'ja dong papa? I have several terminals monitoring different operations at different places. I love to show an tell and he loves watching - sometimes for hours . His sister however is problematic and trying to get into everything - especially the trash - but she can only mess up so much before it becomes nothing more than moving the mess around. I lock critical drawers and keep important papers and things out of reach.

I have a blackboard, whiteboard and a magnetic board in my office they love to play with. As I said I do not go out of my way while working to entertain them and when they tire they will go to the game room and play with toys. But I kind of like having them around.

When my children were young (teenagers) - sometimes I would take one with me on site. It is interest how many places would let me bring one of my kids. Sometimes days got long and they would loose interest but still loved traveling with dad none-the-less and were willing to put up with it all. Sometimes I think the more we try to exclude children from what we think is boring to them in our lives - the easier they get bored with life and the harder they are to entertain.

Something I learned from my father - if a child (or adult) ever says they are bored - give them work to do. Never ever try to end someone's boredom by trying to entertain them - play is what creates boredom.

The Traveler

[applepansy]

For the most part my grandson happily entertains himself. Being the only child in this house has made it a necessity for him. But... I try to give him learning experiences that keep him occupied for awhile. Especially if I have to do something that really requires my attention, such as balancing the dang check book.

[Crash]

Kids love to build forts. Get some blankets, boxes, pillows, whatever, and build a fort. It can last for hours!

My son likes to read but he LOVES to draw, so I just let him go at it with my printer paper. We've got drawings all over the house and he's started decorating my room with them, too.

We also play hide and seek, tag, and acting out Plants vs. Zombies instead of playing the video game.

[Quin]

Children of all ages should learn to entertain themselves by reading, doing art (free form or using coloring books), working with clay, listening to music and dancing, writing stories, etc.

LOL.

Not ALL kids!

My oldest is an extrovert. An outgoing extrovert.

Definitions

Introvert: Someone who recharges with alone time. Being around people is exhausting.

Extrovert : Someone who recharges around others. Being alone is exhausting.

Shy Extrovert : Classic Wallflower, or "does great in small groups". Mistaken for classic introverts...but they actually WANT to be part of the crowd, and need it so badly, that they'll hang around on the fringes (wallflower) until they can find a small group or 1:1 to recharge in, or an outgoing extrovert adopts them into the in crowd so they can be in the thick of things.

Shy introvert : Classic Introvert. Not everyone who is alone is lonely. These people are happiest by themselves.

Outgoing Extrovert : Rare. Classic Extrovert. Needs to be around people constantly, and by gum, make it happen! Often the "in" crowd, uber popular, party planners, charismatic or obnoxious & oblivious.

Outgoing Inteovert : Mistaken for Classic Extroverts. People are great. Love people. Will chat up strangers in line. But needs alone time, and will fight to carve out space & time to themselves.

It's as painful for him to be by himself, as it is for a shy introvert to be thrust into a giant party setting.

It took me EIGHT years to be able to have 15 minutes to myself (and only then if you don't count "Hey Mom! Wanna see something cool/funny/gross/whatever?" Every 5 minutes.) 10 years before I could get an hour (which is pretty much his max).

Even still... It's actually painful for him.

As painful as forcing a shy introvert to be bubbly and social for an hour.

I realize there aren't that many outgoing extroverts around (most people seem to be shy extroverts, or outgoing introverts), but their emotional needs are just as valid as introverts (shy or outgoing) for whom spending time alone is not only easy but needed. Just like it would be cruel to take a shy introvert to a giant party (tantrum in 3 2 1), outgoing extroverts lose it when forced to be alone.

My others are all more normal. But THAT one? He's like a limpet. Even if he's plugged in, it needs to be online/social/interactive.

Q

[Quin]

As far as schtuff to do...

If I actually need alone time, and it's miserable outside, I plug them in.

xBox Kinnect is pure Awesomeness!!! Unlike the Wii, you can't cheat and just flick your wrist, so if I want them moving but the furniture in its original condition, then they're dancing or doing battle. Barring that, a bowl of popcorn and a movie.

The REST of the time?

- Enlisting (I put kids to work starting at about 18mo)

- Homeschool Stuff (I homeschooled for many years, so I've got acres of things to do).

Q

[applepansy]

As far as schtuff to do...

If I actually need alone time, and it's miserable outside, I plug them in.

xBox Kinnect is pure Awesomeness!!! Unlike the Wii, you can't cheat and just flick your wrist, so if I want them moving but the furniture in its original condition, then they're dancing or doing battle. Barring that, a bowl of popcorn and a movie.

The REST of the time?

- Enlisting (I put kids to work starting at about 18mo)

- Homeschool Stuff (I homeschooled for many years, so I've got acres of things to do).

Q

Me too. My grandson also makes his bed and sweeps he floor. I need to teach him some more jobs. All my kids (except my daughter) learned to cook simple foods by age 8. Things like Campbell's soup or Kraft Mac N Cheese. My boys all know how to make homemade bread...but not my daughter. I don't know where I went wrong there.

My grandson loves to bake and he cooks his own eggs (with supervision).

Today we also made PlayDough on the stove. That was good for about 1-1/2 hours of fun. :)

[bytebear]

I didn't read through all the posts, so I don't know if this was suggested, but how about making a couch fort. I loved that as a kid.

[Quin]

Me too. My grandson also makes his bed and sweeps he floor. I need to teach him some more jobs. All my kids (except my daughter) learned to cook simple foods by age 8. Things like Campbell's soup or Kraft Mac N Cheese. My boys all know how to make homemade bread...but not my daughter. I don't know where I went wrong there.

My grandson loves to bake and he cooks his own eggs (with supervision).

Today we also made PlayDough on the stove. That was good for about 1-1/2 hours of fun. :)

Ha! It's the men in my family (predominantly) who bake, as well.

My dad, my brothers, my son. I'm okay-ish, but it's kind of like grilling. I may be able to cook some mean food over a fire (or bake halfway decently) but if I get the chance to SIT? And let THEM do it??? Oh, honey. Pass the lemonade, while I curl up with this book!

Q