They are now old enough to not sit quietly on a rocking chair or stare at the wall... But they are too young to understand puzzle books and playing games and certain toys..
It's a very complicated age for activities I feel... Also add to this the ADD that kids of this age have.... No toy holds more than fifteen minutes (on a good day) of his attention...
When he was younger this one day I was alone with him and at the end of my patience levels trying to get him to play with some stacking blocks toys... I needed something new.. Here are a few ideas I got off the net and some I came up with...
1. Started off my giving him my felt pens in a big box.. He removed each one and put them back... Twenty minutes of normal life..
2. Pulses in two bowls and three empty bowls... Again he would remove some and transfer them to the empty bowl.. Plus he loved running his little fingers they the pulses! Some days half an hour of normal life..
Yes each activity is time based.. You gotta know how long he needs to be entertained and accordingly give him something... It's like a game!!!!
3. Somedays I would just take a big box or bucket and throw in a variety of things with different textures... pens pencils, sketch pens, small plastic toys... Soft rubber bands.., some felt toys., a small car.. My hair clip .. Wool.. Paper.,,
You never know what would catch his fancy... This game when they are young gives you upto 45 minutes depending on how many items you put in,,, but as he grows up.. And starts to know what everything is... His attention span will be lesser...
4. Kitchen utensils and spoons are another favorite of kids.. Steel utensil that make noise... Plastic boxes that stack.. The rolling pin is one of his favorite items... This could easily give you 30-45 minutes...! And if you have things like murmura or Kellogg's chocos... You get more time!!
5. In the kitchen once or twice I was making te dough for the roti so I pulled off a few small round balls and gave them to him.. He loved the sticky sensation... I even stuck them on the glass of the window and he went nuts! I tried adding some color to the atta to make it like home made clay dough... But since he still hasn't fully started registering colors he doesn't seem to care... First few times twenty minutes but lately not more than ten. Please always be next to him or keep an eye on him because he will eat the dough... It's ok because it is edible.. But you don't want him stuffing his mouth...
6. My favorite but it's just too damn messy and calls for another baby bath time is painting!
Oh How he loves this!!
I make the paint with maida, some food color and water... This is the safest... But some times ( and don't judge me it's because it's so freely available in our house) I give him acrylic paint... This is only because I actually sit with him all thru the paint time... Don't leave him even for a second...
So we put newspaper all over the living room which in itself becomes a game! Then we start with brushes but eventually we just end up painting with our hands.. Then more than the paper we paint our legs and sometimes our tummies!!! Ha ha ha ha!! Don't ask!!
But of course he has to love the messiest activity no?!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment