When I was working as a resisted child minder, like most other child minders I looked after a variety of children of different ages, stages of development and some with special needs (often all at once).
My favourite activities which can be enjoyed by everyone, with maybe a few adjustments to suit special needs are:-
PLAY-DOUGH:
I used to make my own as I found this was the easiest to remove from carpets and clothing, I also made it with the children, as an activity in itself.
Recipe:
1 cup of flour (cheap value flour works well)
1 cup of salt
2 teaspoons bicarb. of soda
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup of water with food colouring ( if the colouring is added to the water rather than the made dough, it doesn’t come off on hands).
Mix all dry ingredients together, add oil then water and stir over heat until it comes together; ensure it is cool before giving to children.
Babies from around 18 months will enjoy squeezing play-dough, keep a close eye on them as they may put it in their mouths ( it isn’t toxic, but could be a choking hazard)
I supplied rolling pins and cutters for the older children.
Salt dough is great for after school age children because it can be baked then painted and the children can keep their masterpieces.
SINGING:
Babies will love listening and trying to join in with songs. Action songs like row, row, row your boat were a baby can be rocked to and fro on an adults lap while given eye contact is wonderful.
PAINTING:
Young children will enjoy finger painting if they are too small to handle a paintbrush, again make sure they don’t eat it.
COLOURING:
Chubby crayons are good for young children to practice mark making scribbles, older children can be given colouring pencils or felt tip pens, I gave the after school children adult colouring sheets to keep them occupied.
JIGSAW PUZZLES:
As there are so many on the market , have a selection to please everyone; board peg puzzles for the youngest and harder ones with many pieces set up out of reach of tiny fingers for the older children.
CUTTING AND STICKING:
I used to give the children old magazines and holiday brochures to cut out their own pictures, I encouraged them to give some to the younger ones who hadn’t mastered scissors, or I cut pictures out for them.
Supply paper or card and glue for them to get sticking; sometimes I would have a theme, such as items of a certain colour or beginning with a particular letter of the alphabet to develop colour recognition.
GOING FOR A WALK:
I had one child who required a wheelchair when going out, when we went to the park and the children wanted to have a race, I ran along pushing her wheelchair so she could take part.
BOARD GAMES, DOMINOES AND SNAP CARDS:
Again there are a large variety available. Snakes and ladders was always popular, the younger children liked to roll the dice for the older ones and we would all count the moves together, encouraging number recognition and counting skills.
Picture dominoes and snap cards are best for the younger ones.
Most activities can be adapted to suit different ages and stages of development with a little imagination. These ideas would also be good for parents with children of varying ages.
Please share your activities for different children with me.
As always questions and comments ( which I love to read) are welcome.
Until next time.
Karen
x
Lovely ideas for children when the weather stops you going outside to play, so much better for them than watching telly or on the Internet .
As a childminder myself, i absolutely love your blog. These are such classic and timeless activities that everyone can enjoy
Thanks Claire, let me know if you have any topic suggestions or requests x
Thanks for sharing your homemade play dough recipe! #globalblogging
Is it really bad that one of my favourite games to play with the kids when they were little was dead fish
#abitofeverything
All great activities to do with kids that work on creativity or fitness, both of which are important. #abitofeverything
Puzzles are something my eldest was especially in love with doing, and play doh has been a huge part of their upbringing as it was my own. #stayclassymama
Excellent choices – foing for walks and playing board games are popular in my household. X #abitofeverything
Hi lovely I am back, I left a comment for #stayclassymama but also thank you for linking up to #Ablogginggoodtime you’re awesome!
Great activities! I love the idea of practising cutting skills by cutting out pictures from holiday brochures. Fab idea. #ABloggingGoodTime
Thank you for the play douhg recipe 🙂 Hide and seek including with cuddly toys plus sly fox we like. #alittlebitofeverything
Hide and seek with cuddly toys sounds great, Thanks for your feedback x
I love board games myself. and jigsaws – the kids not so much. We used to paint boxes outside and make big Trains or castles that were bigger than the kid painting them. ANd then after playing with them for a bit, paint over them and make something new. The BIG ness was as important as the paintting part. #Stayclassymama
Oh yes, definitely. I remember doing all these things as a child. Cutting, sticking and drawing was always a firm favourite. Thank you for sharing these ideas with the #DreamTeam 🙂
Great recompilation of activities !! Will get some ideas from your post definitely #alittlebitofeverything
I’ve never tried making my own dough so thanks for the recipe and linking up with #stayclassymama
These are all favourite activities with us too. I’ve never tried making my own play dough though. That’s a good tip about putting the food colouring in with the water. #KidsandKreativity
Playdough and jigsaws are firm favourites here! #KidsandKreativity
Some great ideas, we are turning in to a proper jigsaw family at the moment! Thank you so much for linking up with #KidsandKreativity, I really hope you come back next time x