I know "cheap" is not a word many of you like to use in reference to yourself, but "economical" just doesn't have the same ring to it. Plus, then it would be "Two C's and an E" and that would derail the rhythm I'm trying to create here. And as some of you know, I call myself cheap with pride. I'm always looking for free entertainment, whether it's a trip to the library or zoo, or something to do at home. So I'm going to share some of the best ideas I've come up with (and borrowed) to amuse children at home. Some are crafty and some are not, but all are creative and fun.
Toe Painting:
This is one of my favourite memories with J. We were finger painting and he sat in the paint. Fortunately, I had covered the entire floor plan (not just the floor) with newspaper and we were painting on several sheets of Bristol board. He got up and stepped in the paint, and started using his feet to create a masterpiece. He was slipping and sliding all over the place and it really wasn't a great picture, but it was a lot of fun. Caution: if you do this activity make sure you have plenty of old rags and towels for quick wiping, some wet and some dry. Also be sure to have a clear and protected path to the bath tub (I like to fill the bath tub before bringing out the paint, just to be extra sure).
Laundry Basket Ride:
A laundry basket is the perfect mode of transportation for a child of 1-3 years. Whether you have carpet or hard wood it slides along easily (I put it on a towel to protect wood though). It's basically a version of an indoor wagon, but the bending and stretching and pulling will give you a workout too, so you can reduce your gym time by ten minutes, at least. It's not much different than sailing along on a ride-on toy, but it's wacky enough that the kids will be thrilled.
Matching Games:
Cut out pictures from old magazines. Get a bunch of construction paper or baskets (tuppy dishes work well too) and have your child sort the pictures according to a theme. For younger children use something simple, like colours or animals. Older children will be challenged if they get a bunch of random pictures and have to come up with their own theme, like all women wearing blue, or things starting with S. Or you could also employ the older children to cut out the pictures for the younger ones.
Holiday Banners:
This is appropriate for whatever holiday is coming up, and a great way to spend an afternoon. Using construction paper or card stock, cut out several holiday shapes. We did one with eggs for Easter, but you can use ghosts for Halloween or wreaths and trees for Christmas. It's easier if you use a stencil to get many shapes at once, but do what you like. You will be placing them on a ribbon to hang as a banner, so the number of shapes depends on the length of your banner. Once the shapes are ready, have your children decorate them with markers, crayons, glitter glue, stickers, googly eyes, or whatever else they want to stick on there. Punch a hole in the top of each shape (you can stack them to do several at once) and string them along your ribbon. You can use string in a pinch, but a ribbon will hold the pieces in place while they're hanging more than a string will. Position them an equal distance apart and hang on a wall or in a door frame. As an alternative, you can cut your shapes from old greeting cards.
Play Dough Restaurant:
I came up with this one on a rainy day. There are only so many convincing animals I can make with play dough, so I went to the cupboard to find something unique. There was tons of stuff in there that goes well with play dough, so J and I started a pretend restaurant. We used old ice cube trays to make muffins, cookie cutters to make cookies (obviously), and other tuppy dishes to be molds for burgers and sandwiches. A dull butter knife or a ruler makes wonderful noodles after the dough is rolled out. I never understood why some people spend money on play dough "accessories," when things around the house work just as well and are free. Paper towel rolls, the flat bottom of dishes and shiny books can all be used to roll and shape the dough. We have also had a play dough library, bakery, movie store, pet shop and train station.
Tissue Paper Collage:
This is a fun and unique artsy project. You can buy tissue paper at any dollar store so go do that. Let your child rip it up as much as he wants, just be sure it all stays in a semblance of a neat pile so you can use it. Once you have amassed a collection of tissue bits, get a piece of paper. Any one will do, but the thicker it is the longer it will last. Get a paint brush and dip it in watered down craft glue (about 1/3 water, 2/3 glue). Have your child cover the paper with glue and start sticking. Eventually it will be mostly covered, but if there are blank areas water down the glue a bit more and dab it on them. Stick more pieces on until there is a finished masterpiece. If your child wants, you can wait until it's completely dry before dotting on more glue (watered or not) and attaching buttons or pom poms. There really is no point to this craft except to be crafty and pass time being creative, but consider it a version of modern and abstract art, and hang it with pride. You can also have your child do this on the front of greeting cards.
Sock Maze:
This is my nutty version of a homemade marble maze. Create a maze with books or toys on the floor. Then take turns rolling a balled up sock (I use clean ones but whatever floats your boat), trying to keep it inside the maze. Whoever completes the maze or gets the farthest wins.
Movie Madness:
I'm not a big fan of turning on the TV that much, so I try to convince my children that movies can be just as fun to sort as to watch. Okay, this is really only a cheater's way to finagle your kids into straightening the living room, but it's still fun and mentally stimulating. Open all your DVD cases and sort the empty ones into a pile. Close up the ones that have the correct movie in them and have one or two children stack them neatly in a place of your choosing. Then gather all your loose DVD's and race to see who can find the most matching ones. Everyone creates a separate pile of "found and filled" DVD cases, and can add them up at the end. Then have your kids stack those neatly too. Ten minutes, at least.
Popsicle Stick Furniture (or houses or cars or roads or...):
I bought a big box of craft sticks at the dollar store years ago and we still have 2/3 of the box, although we use them all the time. Get some glue and sticks and get thinking. Glue the sticks together to create 3D models, or break them into different sizes and glue them onto paper to form pictures. My boys are obsessed with cars so we tend to go a little crazy gluing sticks to stapled-together Bristol Board to make a town for the cars to drive through. Of course it's up to me to draw the stores and parks and all that, but it's fun. The only drawback is you can't fold it easily for storage......
Make Your Own Book:
Use pictures of your family and relatives or pictures from a magazine for this one. Get a bunch of construction paper and staple it together like a book. Then glue in pictures in a random order, and you or your child can write captions for the pictures. This can be a personal photo collection with captions or a funny story with random people.
Hand Print Stuff:
Get out the finger paint again. It's time to make some hand prints. Use whatever colours and paper you'd like, but let them dry fully. Then have your children make as many silly things as they can out of the prints, with stickers, markers, hole punches, buttons, pipe cleaner, whatever comes to mind. Some ideas, from obvious to less obvious: spider, octopus or squid, a face with crazy hair, a rooster (if that's the correct gender of the chicken with a neck waddle), a city with towers, a personalized glove (okay, that one's pretty obvious).
Old Clothes Recycling:
If outgrown clothes are too ratty too pass on to someone else, I won't ever throw them out. Cut some big shapes out and help your child sew them together for a personalized pillow on his bed. You'll be doing most of the work, it's true, but they will have fun stuffing it. Or keep it intact and stuff it to make a scarecrow or over sized doll. The softer stuff can be made into a fun pillow case or bag (a purse for girls), and if you don't want to get that crafty (or you're like me and can't sew to save your life) you can cut it into painting sponges. If all else fails, cut long strips out of all the clothes and have your child tie them together to make a long rope. This can be used to decorate a wall or a window, or can also be incorporated into a game for outside. I'm not sure of the game (this is a crafty idea post, not a physical activity post) but it might involve cowboys.....
I know these ideas aren't very conventional, but that's the point. I hope some of this stuff works for you, or you can tweak some of it to suit your own needs. Thanks for reading!
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