January 31, 2010

Super simple activities for busy days!

As I've mentioned before, Hubby and I have been very busy and feeling kind of stressed lately. Although I feel like I should be doing more planned learning activities with C, we haven't been doing many, as I've been trying to squeeze in a lot of errands and work before I leave on my trip to Ottawa tomorrow.

We all have those days (or weeks, or more) sometimes, so I thought I'd share a few super simple, low-prep activities we've been done:


Measuring
C is fascinated by measuring tapes. We measure everything - toys, books, people... here you see her measuring Little People. On this day, she ran back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, bringing in Little People one by one to be measured, and she put them all in a big semi-circle. She must have brought in almost 30! It gave me tons of time to make dinner!

Rolling coins
C's piggy and froggy banks were full (and heavy!), so we rolled all of the coins this week. Hubby and I did most of the rolling, but she was entertained for quite a while with filling up a roll and emptying it over and over again! When her banks get a few more coins in them, I think we'll fill up a basin and wash them!

Watercolour painting
A classic low prep, low mess activity. Look, no paint shirt!

Dominoes
Just don't expect to get a whole design set up! We normally just line them up and knock them down, although we sometimes do some matching.

Dress-up
In our house it's mostly about hats, but necklaces, receiving blanket dresses and C's Little Red Riding Hood cape are popular too.

Beanbag toss
Toss beanbags into a basket from various distances and locations, and count them as you go. Parents have to try, as do favourite stuffed animals and dolls!

Cooking
Well, cooking isn't actually low prep or low mess, but making peanut butter sandwiches is!

Playdough
Shape it, cut it, roll it, and use cookie cutters! C had a great time making up stories about Alice the Mouse the other day (but I had to keep reattaching her ears and nose!). This is my favourite playdough recipe.

Sorting cards
I must remember to stick a pack of playing cards in my purse!


Laundry Basket pretend
Never underestimate the power of a laundry basket paired with a child's imagination. This week, our laundry basket has been a crib, a train, and on this day, Nova Scotia! We flew all around the house to different places. The basket was Nova Scotia, the nook between the loveseat and end table was Quebec, PEI was her bedroom... what an imagination!

If you like these ideas, also check out Super simple activities for lazy days!

10 comments:

silly eagle books said...

What a great post! I love the measuring little people and sorting cards--I am going to tuck this ideas away for a rainy day! Thanks!

And thanks for stopping by my blog!

Ginny Marie said...

My kids never leave an empty laundry basket empty! They are always crawling in and imagining the basket is a boat, or a house, or a bunny hutch!

momandkiddo said...

Got to love super simple!

Kim said...

We do a lot of those activities, too. We measure items around the house, and have a ball toss, but it is the same. :-)
Great list of boredom busters.

Sab said...

Aww, what fun!
I remember doing stuff like that when little. Those were some fun activities. Now to remember to do stuff like that with my munchkin!

Anonymous said...

I've been remiss is leaving my kiddo alone with a package of playing cards!

Anonymous said...

I've been remiss is leaving my kiddo alone with a package of playing cards!

CM said...

Great tips! I had not thought of Dominos, but I know I use to like to knock them down when I was a kid!

Amber P. said...

That was like a snapshot into our life! We love all those activities. On a side note, I met Mom Tried It at Blissdom this past weekend. She's a whole lot of fun to hang out with.

Kirsten said...

Amber - I've been reading so much about Blissdom; it sounds like a blast! Kim seems like a lot of fun; glad you had a good time hanging out! :)

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