Jun. 10, 2008 - Quiet Activities
I have been trying to come up with a list of things for Noah (4) and Zoey (2) to be able to play with or do while I am reading or working on school with Chloe. I need for these things to be stuff they can do on their own without help from me.
This is the list I have come up with so far:
- Leapster (with headphones)
- Computer (with headphones)
- Puzzles
- Lacing Cards
- Coloring Books
- Magna Doodle
- Playdoh
- Matching Game
I don't really want the kids playing the same thing at the same time, cause I don't want them fighting over which color of playdoh, and or wanting the lacing card another child has...I think it would be better to set a timer and tell them they have to play with __________ for 15 minutes or 30 minutes or whatever. Then the other problem is I don't really want them using the computer and Leapster too much, I would like to get organized enough to be able to say only 30 minutes a day for leapster.
How long should I expect them to stick to a particular activity? Is 15 minutes just right, or is 30 minutes too long? The longer the period of time, the more I can get accomplished with another child. Also I would love to hear of other things that are quiet that I could have the kids doing.
Last night I was reading Ten Things to Do with Your Child Before Age Ten and it said that it was a good idea to let the child play or do something while having a Read A Loud time, so we tried that this morning, I put Chloe (5), Noah (4), and Zoey (2) on 3 small blankets, gave Noah - Lacing Cards, Chloe -Activity Workbook (dot-to-dots, and hidden pictures) and Zoey duplo blocks, we set the timer for 15 minutes and read "Little House in the Big Woods", it worked pretty good, but I am afraid they are going to get tired of doing the same stuff all the time. So I need more ideas.
| 
