What Activities Can A Childminder Use Children

Simple crafts are entertaining for children

"I'm so bored!"

It's a claim that childminders and babysitters often hear from their young charges and, fortunately, it's a simple situation to remedy. Whether the sun is shining or the cold wind blowing, there are numerous ways to keep kids entertained. With a little imagination and motivation, it's possible to turn that "I'm so bored!" whine into laughter and shrieks of excitement.

Make Something Fun!

Experiment with homemade play dough

Fun to make and play with, these recipes also double as science experiments. When mixed, the ingredients often have surprising reactions and kids enjoy experimenting with the different textures.

Un-Cooked Play Dough

There are recipes for both cooked and un-cooked play-dough, but when making it with small children, it's best to avoid the cooked variation.

Items Needed:

1/4 cup salt

1 cup flour

1/4 cup water

Mix the flour and the salt in a bowl. Add water. Now the fun part! Knead and squish the mixture until it has the consistency of play dough. For color, add a few drops of food coloring. Since the mixture is non-toxic, even the youngest children can play with it.

Make Some Slime!

Items Needed:

1 cup water

1 cup corn starch

Have the kids mix the water and corn starch together. Mix until smooth. Add a few drops of color and mix, if desired. For a different texture, add another cup of corn starch.

"Flubber"

Items Needed:

5 cups water

1/4 cup Borax (which can be found in the detergent aisle)

1 cup white glue

Food coloring

2 glass jars, with lids

Empty cup

In one jar, dissolve 1/4 cup Borax in 4 cups of water. In the second jar, mix 1 cup water with 1 cup white glue. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring. Make sure the lid is closed tightly and shake until well mixed. Pour one cup of the Borax solution into the cup and add 1/4 of the glue solution. Mix. The glue mixture should thicken immediately on contact. Remove the "flubber" and knead. The final product will stretch, bounce and drip. (Borax is toxic and is not recommended for children under the age of three.)

Let The Inner Child Out(side)

Organize an outdoor scavenger hunt!

Go outside when the sun is shining and start to think like a kid. Play hide and seek or a game of freeze tag. Have foot races. Play catch. Take a walk or go to a park or playground. Pack a lunch and have a picnic in the backyard. Or how about a scavenger hunt?

Make up a list of things to find: common items may include a bird feather, flower petals, certain shaped or colored leaves, coins, a round rock, or maybe a gum wrapper. The winner is the one who finds the most items on the list. Another variation would be to assign a color rather than items and whoever finds the most blue (or red or yellow) items wins.

Another outdoor activity for kids is the game Red Light, Green Light. Variations of the game are played all over the world for one good reason. Kids enjoy it! The rules are simple; whoever is "it" stands in front of the others, with his back turned and calls out "green light." The others run towards "it" then he yells "red light" and turns to face them. If anyone is still moving, they have to sit out. Whoever reaches "it" first, by following the rules, wins!

Indoor Imagination

Crayons and coloring books can offers hours of entertainment

Freezing temperatures and frigid winds don't have to put a damper on playtime. With a little imagination, the house can become a playground. Build a fort with an old sheet and some chairs. Lay a blanket out on the living room floor and have an indoor picnic. Or better yet, have a picnic in the fort! Read books together or gather up some coloring books and crayons.

Arts and crafts are always a hit with children and there are many crafts that require a minimal amount of time and involve minimal mess. How about putting on a puppet show?

Puppets can easily be made with items around the house; old socks, small paper bags, felt, construction paper, buttons and yarn. With a bit of imagination, a single sock can become a frog, an elephant or any other critter, real or imagined. The Legends and Lore website offers a good tutorial on making sock puppets.

Put on a play. Dress up in costumes or play clothes and have the kids' act out a favorite story or book. There is a huge assortment of board games on the market; pick one and watch the hours fly by. Or how about a game of "Sardines"? The opposite of Hide and Seek, in "Sardines" only one child hides and the rest seek. When the hider is found by the seeker, the seeker joins the hider until all the kids are wedged into the same area, like a can of sardines!

Keep in mind, however, that repetition can be comforting for a child, so be prepared to play the chosen games over and over. And over!

Wedding outfits

Thursday, September 12, 2013