As a mum I know how sometimes we all sit and think ” What shall we do ? Where shall we go? What is best for our budget? What is suitable for our children’s age?”
We all want to occupy them with a good activity – something that they can learn from whilst they are playing.
Why don’t you plan your own activity? Don’t forget! Activities have to be fun, fun and fun!
All children learn best through play. If they enjoy what they are doing, they will continue to do it; they won’t get bored. Don’t forget safety as well, make sure all equipment is suitable for your activity.
As an example: let’s create a “rock painting” activity. This will be suitable for ages 3 and above. (If you have younger children you can use potatoes or sponges to paint.) You and children can start to explore your garden to find some little or big stones or rocks. You can go to your local park, country park or you can go to the beach to look for rocks and stones. Be careful about sharp edges make sure the rocks have a nice surface to paint on.
Then the rest is depends you and your children’s imagination. You can all look at the rocks and try to guess what shape they look like or what they can draw on them. A turtle, a mouse, a ladybird, (That’s my favourite, it is so easy to draw and my 3 years old and I love to paint them) a rainbow, an owl, a football, numbers, letters or just colour them in. If you would like some more ideas, you can check online and there are some rock painting craft kits available. You can use water-based paint as it is easy to wash but older children can use acrylic paint, especially if you want to keep the rocks in the garden.
Don’t forget to have fun! If they started to paint nicely then mix the colours, that’s ok. Let them enjoy it and have and experiment with colours. When you have finished painting, leave the rocks to dry and then take a picture to show Nanny, Daddy, a friend or just display it on the fridge. This is encouraging for them, they are always proud of to show off pictures of their hard work. You can use the painted rocks as a paper weight, door stopper, under plants or use them as a garden toy. Turn them in to a number train or colourful caterpillar which the children will enjoy playing with. You can wrap the rocks as a gift for someone. My little one gave a rock ladybird to Nanny – she is looking after her first ladybird pet now.
By doing this activity your children will use their gross and fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination which will help their physical development (picking rocks from the ground and holding them, drawing and painting them, holding the brush). They will use their imagination and creative skills which will help their brain development (trying to imagine what shape they look like, thinking about them, choosing colours or letters ).
This is free and fun, just create your own activity – it’s enjoyable and doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. You just need your imagination to plan a fun and creative activity which will help the children to meet their development milestones.
By Kivilcim Spires.
About Kivilcim: I am a happy mum with 2 beautiful girls age 3 and 2. I recently got my Early Years Childcare and Support Work in the Schools qualifications. Currently I am volunteering at Basildon Children Center and I love working with children.
