Keri is a full-time pediatric occupational therapist. With more than 18 years of clinical experience, professionally Keri specializes in working with infants, young children and their families by promoting developmental milestones in clients' homes, in the public school system and in the community.
Over time it was clear that Keri had developed a talent for finding developmental toys that promoted a child's educational skills, in fun, natural and playful ways. Visit www. These play ideas and games for the babysitter will help keep kids entertained and engaged, while parents are at work for the day or out for a quick date night.
Read a Book and Make a Snack Children love to hear stories read out loud. After reading the story, make a healthy snack inspired by the book you read. Cut green apples and strawberries and arrange them in the shape of a caterpillar, add a little food color to scrambled eggs for green eggs and ham, or use cookie cutters to cut out shapes from a slice of cheese.
Classic Outdoor Games Kids need gross motor activity to stretch their muscles and release their energy during the day, especially after they have spent any time watching television or using a device. Outdoor Water Play Get on those bathing suits, grab a hat and lather on the sunscreen because outdoor water play is a fun activity for kids to enjoy on a warm day.
A slip and slide, water blasters, water balloons, sprinkler play, or a water table or small, plastic container filled with bath toys will keep kids cool and happily entertained. Design an indoor obstacle course.
Sit-ups, push-ups, log rolling, somersaulting, frog jumping, and bunny hopping are fun activities to include. Make sure to take turns being the leader, because designing the next course is just as fun as completing it together. Assemble No-Bake Treats Lots of kids like cooking and baking, but to minimize the use of the oven or stove, there are lots of no-bake treats and snacks that kids crave.
Each time the music stops, the child must stop or freeze in position until the music plays again. Chalk offers endless playtime possibilities for all ages. While many kids have chalk at home, bring some with you just in case.
For older children, fun chalk games include hopscotch, foursquare, sidewalk Twister and more. For the younger ones, just coloring alone might be enough to occupy them, or for an educational twist, write out a handful of numbers and letters and allow the children trace over each one. Best of all? It requires only four supplies paper plates, tape or glue, Popsicle sticks and balloons that can easily be packed in your purse.
Oh, and did we mention the easy cleanup? To make the racket, tape or glue popsicle sticks to the back of a paper plate. This game is good for toddlers still developing and perfecting their fine motor skills or older children who love to compete. At the end of the paper towel roll? Save it! Grab three or four paper plates, cut out the center of each plate so that it can be used as a saucer.
Take the paper towel roll and make four, 1-in. Fold the four flaps back and apply glue, secure it to piece of cardboard, cereal box, or another sturdy base. Play a few rounds to determine the winner. Go outside with the kids in your charge and tell them whoever pops the most bubbles wins. Then, you blow bubbles into the air. Who says you have to leave the house to go bowling? Use plastic cups or bottles as bowling pins. Let each child take a turn to try and knock down all the cups using a regular-sized ball.
For a fun twist, stack the cups in different ways or create side-by-side lanes. This game is great for kids of all ages. There are no winners or losers in this game. The drawing challenge allows kids to think creatively but also follow directions.
Develop cards that instruct children to draw pictures of specific things. To add an extra element of fun for older children, set a timer for each topic and let them know they only have 60 seconds to draw each picture. This game will kickstart their engineering minds!
Bring over plastic cups and let the kids build a structure of their own creation. If babysitting just one child, make it a competition between the two of you. Whoever creates the tallest structure wins! Be sure to bring a measuring stick or tape. Draw a table that is seven 1-inch squares across and nine 1-inch squares high. You might be able to find a printable paper Tetris table online.
This will be the game board. Make several copies! Then, use construction paper — or other colored paper — to create the pieces. Each piece should be made up of four 1-inch squares, to match the paper Tetris puzzle, and in cut into the following configurations: S-shaped, Z-shape, T-shaped, L-shaped, line-shaped, mirrored L- shaped, and square-shaped.
You could even ask the kids to help you cut out the shapes! This game can be played between sitter and child, multiple kids or even completed in teams! Set a timer to see who can clear four lines the fastest! This is a fun swimming pool game to play for 3 or more kids. Chess is a great way to train yourself to develop plans and think strategically. Draw boxes on the ground with chalk with the numbers 1 to To play you throw a small stone to put it in a square then hop in the numbers missing the number with the square in it.
Check what you have in the cupboard, there are so many great board games to play for any age, here's just a few:. A pack of cards is so versatile, there are hundreds of games to play, here are some great suggestions:. Another classic kids favourite.
One child is the seeker, they close their eyes and count to 20 while everyone else hides. Last person found is the next seeker. Such a simple and fun game. All you need is a ball tennis balls are perfect and a flat hard surface to play on. You can mark out squares with chalk, or even better, utilise the joins in a concrete path.
This game is great for improving coordination and fitness. This is a fun guessing game for all ages. Divide into teams and one person at a time acts out a word or phrase that is written on a piece of paper. The actor cannot speak while acting. The team with the first correct answer gets a point. This is another classic game suitable for all ages. Take turns to carefully remove a block from the tower with a single hand only and place it on the top.
Whoever knocks the tower down is the loser, everyone else wins! This game has a great buildup and a sense of anticipation.
This is fun to setup as well as play. Use whatever random household objects you have to create a variety of obstacles along a path from a start to a finish. Who can do it the quickest? This can be played indoors or outdoors. Teach kids to clean up after themselves with the pack away game. Just start singing to the tune of London Bridge is falling down :.
My kids love this game. Start with a selection of 1 to 8 toys of various sizes and shapes then one person hides them all in a room or the backyard. Then everyone else tries to find as many as they can. Daloodoo is a fun spelling game that's easy to play and lots of fun! To start, print out the free Daloodoo game sheets and you will set everything up in just a few mintues. The first person to spell 'Daloodoo' wins! Instructions provided. This is a fantastic low-energy game that can be played anywhere by any ages.
For younger kids start by saying the colour of the spyed item, for kids who can read use the first letter of the word. Fold a sheet of paper in half 3 - 5 times in different directions and at different angles then start cutting small shapes out.
Unfold the paper to reveal your creation. Try experimenting with different folds and cut shapes. Can you make a snowflake? Start by drawing landmarks like mountains, trees, rivers and buildings. Then draw a big red X where the treasure is buried. Make your map look old by creasing it and soaking it in cold tea to yellow the paper. Hold a piece of paper over an interesting surface and draw over the top with a crayon to reveal a textured pattern.
What patterns can you find inside or outside? See if anyone can guess what the textures came from. Cover it in aluminum foil to make a silver crown. Decorate it with coloured beads, cellophane, and jewel stickers. Add ribbons and shear cloth like a veil.
Optionally make a wand or scepter. One person draws a simple abstract squiggle on a page then a second person does their best to turns it into something. Try doing this in a group, everyone draws a squiggle then passes their paper to the next person and everyone tries to make a picture. Start with something easy like a cape, a fancy collar, or leg warmers. Try pants and a shirt if you're looking for a challenge. Take 10 blank A4 pages, fold them in half and staple them along the spine.
Find a nice piece of cardboard to make a hard cover and decorate it with wrapping paper. Attach a ribbon for a built-in bookmark.
For girls, rainbow fairy makeup or a butterfly are great ideas. For boys, a superhero or monster may be more their preference. Animals like tigers, frogs, or a shark are also popular. Use a thick black pen to make a complicated maze then see if anyone can make it from start to finish using a pencil.
Rub out the pencil for the next person to try. Make it harder by not touching the sides or completing the maze with a one line and not lifting your pencil off the page. You can work from a photo or try drawing a portrait from life.
The model sits still while the artist draws them. Try drawing with different media: Graphite pencil, coloured pencil or markers are great. Draw little faces with markers and give them arms with pipe cleaners or wire. Make little clothes from scraps of fabric. Make a whole family. Start by exploring outside to find the perfect rocks. Small stones that fit in the palm of your hand are best.
Attach a tongue made from a piece of red fabric. Try making a forked tongue from a red rubber band to make a snake. Flick through the pages to see your animation come to life! Make a movie series with a different book per episode. Paint two tissue boxes dinosaur skin colour, you can even add plastic mesh so it looks like scales.
Get out your coloured markers or crayons, download our free coloring book or try our amazing coloring book of kids drawings , print them out and start colouring. Try playing music at the same time to get the creative juices flowing. They look brilliant on the street! Take it off before cutting out the eye holes. Next get together lots of different materials and let the kids decorate their mask.
Try out wool, coloured paper, stickers, sticky tape, beads, fabric and whatever you have lying around. Find a large paved area such as a driveway or concrete patio and get drawing with coloured chalk. Try drawing a big hole in the ground and try not to fall in! Everyone loves receiving presents, why not make some for the people you love. Find an old toy, unused object or something you have made and wrap it up with beautiful paper.
Have fun giving! Find an empty plastic bottle, put in a handful of rice and close the lid to create a basic shaker. Experiment with beads and other items to create different sounds. Paint it in bright colours. Start with plain paper or cardboard and decorate it with markers. Line up 6 markers in the colour spectrum order and sticky tape them together: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. You have created a rainbow pen!
Drawing a rainbow in one simple arc with your rainbow pen! Try drawing other things too: hearts, stars, patterns and write your name! Cut out wing shapes from thick paper or cardboard and sticky tape them to the sides of an empty plastic bottle. Make a cardboard propeller with a hole in the middle that neatly fits over the bottle opening, screw on the bottle cap to hold it in place.
Find a big piece of cardboard then cut out a rectangle that is slightly smaller than your artwork. Cover your frame with aluminum foil to make a fancy silver frame.
Draw patterns over the top with a black marker. Use stickers to create a picture on paper and draw in extra parts. Try decorating something by covering it with lots of stickers. Check your fruit bowl, most fruit comes with special fruit stickers, or make your own from sticky tape and markers.
Next, decorate the wall by putting up lots of drawings, photos, and paintings with blue-tack so it can be removed later. They will be so proud of their creations. Kids love getting their fingers into playdough.
Make a dinosaur or a mushroom house, or a turtle. Make it in 3 minutes with our easy playdough recipe. Get out your paint set and paint a beautiful picture. Try setting up an easel outside and paint a landscape from life. Next, draw a basic shape in every second square, eg: circle, spiral, star, heart, letters or numbers.
To play the game the child tries to copy each shape as closely as possible by drawing it in the adjacent square. This is an excellent way for children to learn shapes and practice fine motor skills. Make the grid smaller and use more complicated shapes for advanced kids.
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