*RETRIEVE THE ITEM 

Sometimes you just cannot move from your seat. You’re feeding baby who needs your eye contact, the poor little mite hasn’t had a cuddle all morning with her siblings winning all your attention. Big sis needs you to be near as she paints her masterpiece, she’s going to describe every brush stroke to you today and she’s decided you’re going to respond with enthusiasm. And all that little brother wants is your attention while he burns off his unspent energy. That’s what you get for bringing him grocery shopping, I mean really, what were you thinking? 😉

Don’t worry, you can give each of them what they need with this activity. ‘Retrieve the Item’ requires you to place a group of of 8/10 items in the hall or another room. This group of items should not be too close so that there’s a bit of a journey to get to them. Make sure that halls and rooms are clear of obstacles that could trip up the child and don’t use the stairs during this game.

Place the group of items down before you join your little ladies. That’s you seated, no moving for half an hour, and longer if you’re very lucky!

Ask your little guy to go to the group of stuff and bring back one item, chosen by you. Big praise and excitement when he brings it. Now ask him to swap it for another item chosen by you. To make it more exciting, name two or three items. Another challenge could be to ask him to name the items that are left behind. This will get his brain working as he energetically moves around, a perfect combination for a little boy’s brain development.

Baby gets a cuddle, big sis gets to show off her talents and little brother is running around the house while getting positive attention from you. Happy Days!!

*STACKS OF BOXES

Tempting as it may be, don’t squish or throw out those boxes that come into the house containing shoes, bath sets, perfumes etc. Better still, ask your friends to hold onto theirs so that you’ll end up with a large collection that won’t take so much time to gather.

This ‘game’ is simple in both set up and play. Provide lots of sturdy boxes of various sizes and invite your little guy (or gal) to build whatever they think should be built. You’ll probably find that the traditional tower will be the chosen piece of architecture for the younger child. At first you may need to help them with this so that their tower (or whatever structure they chose to create) is a pretty solid. This can be achieved by doubling the width of the wall etc. Next comes the best bit… invite the child to knock it down with their legs or fists or whatever body part they think would make a fun mallet! I’ve said “invite them” but, to be honest, I’ve never needed to. Any child (especially boys) I’ve seen with empty boxes seems to have the intention of knocking down their tower without any suggestion from me!

Make sure you provide sturdy boxes because if your kids are as destructive as some boys in my house, the flimsy ones won’t last and the fun would be whooshed out of the game.

TIP: If, after a considerable length of time listening to cardboard boxes being smashed to the ground, you’d like to calm down the atmosphere in the house, you could whip out the crayons/paints/markers and suggest the boxes be decorated. This is a nice activity for you to join in on!

*WOOL MAZE

This is an activity that is great fun, but you really need to be keeping a close eye on things the whole time!!

All you need is a large ball of wool and furniture (we all have some of that!)

Simply tie the end of the wool around the leg of a chair (or any piece of furniture you choose) and continue to wrap the wool around various furniture pieces to make a maze of wool all around your kitchen or house (I know, cringe!). Invite your child through the wool maze, encouraging them to go over and under, backwards and sideways. The challenge of getting around the wool obstacles will force them to use various parts of their body. Try it yourself, it’s a mini workout!

TIP: Please stay with the children at all times, it can be tricky and a trip hazard!

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