How do you stay busy?

[younglove316]

I want to start limiting screen time because I think DD1 is starting to get too dependent on it. I'm not opposed to it, I just want to find some other new stuff to do as well.

I'm always looking for new activities or projects we can work on, educational ones are a plus but not a necessity.

Right now with it being summer I know a lotto us are out and about more but what do you do during downtime or rainy days?

[namastebiotches]

I'm on mobile. Remind me how old LO is?

[penguin129]

younglove316 I let DD play on her own a lot. She loves play doh, blocks, her kitchen and dollhouse, coloring, painting with water colors, etc. I'll be adding activities to the Stay at Home Preschool Page on Facebook in two weeks or so. I'm pretty sure I'm not copying and pasting them here this time because it gets to be a lot.

[mrsmuq]

Jul 28, 2016 7:52:57 GMT -5 penguin129 said:

younglove316 I let DD play on her own a lot. She loves play doh, blocks, her kitchen and dollhouse, coloring, painting with water colors, etc. I'll be adding activities to the Stay at Home Preschool Page on Facebook in two weeks or so. I'm pretty sure I'm not copying and pasting them here this time because it gets to be a lot.

What is this SAHM preschool page?

[mrsmuq]

Jul 28, 2016 6:34:23 GMT -5 namastebiotches said:

I'm on mobile. Remind me how old LO is?

I think her DD1 is about 2.5yo.

[mrsmuq]

younglove316 - we have different "centers" or boxes in our house, and different areas where DS1 can play. He has a table in his bedroom with a cup of crayons and paper/coloring books to color on his own. Any additional arts/crafts requires him to ask/me to offer. We have trains, dinosaurs, cars/trucks, and Legos upstairs. Our basement play area has books and a reading nook, indoor trampoline, play kitchen/cash register/store set up, superhero toys, Megablocks, an easel. We also have pop up tents/tunnels. For outside, bubbles and sidewalk chalk, pool, swing set, water table, fairy garden (with shovels and buckets). I generally will do an elaborate craft with him in 1-2x a week (sometimes it's planned, other times it's just here's a magazine and construction paper, glue sticks, stickers, jewels, pom poms... have fun!).

[penguin129]

mrsmuq The Stay at Home Preschool page is a page I took over for another mom in my town. It is a local group, but we add people who would like to have a weekly lesson plan/theme to do with their kids at home. You have to be friends in Facebook with me to join. Some other mom's here have already joined. It follows the school year here so I took a break on posting over the summer.

[sanibel21]

Our DDs are the same age. I in some way or another let her help me put away dishes, switch and fold laundry, give her paper towels to clean while I'm hoping down tables countertops windows etc.
We play ALOT of blocks, doll house, and with baby dolls-chanig diapers, wrapping,rewrapping in blankets. Puzzles are big right now. Train set. I have a big box of uncooked pasta with measuring cups and spoons etc.
Outside we do the pool, water the flowers and veggies, push baby in stroller, have snacks at the picnic table, sand box play.
We go to he beach, go to the splash pad, go to swim classes, go to play groups during he school year, little open gym thing during the school year, shopping. Playdates with moms I've met through those various things.
Despite all this, I still feel like there's. Lot of downtime so we snuggle and watch TV. Or I have her watch TV while I prep meals. Especially dinner.

[Deleted]

DD really loves to play with her play kitchen and little people play sets. Bubbles and sidewalk chalk are also big hits. She also really likes making music... I have a bunch of different instruments that she likes to play with (recorder, triangle, children pianos, etc).

[brachysira]

We are really busy. I am always trying to balance activities with downtime. My kids--ages 2 and 3.5, will go to preschool on different mornings. With the kid who is at home, we'll do board games, reading books and reading activities (big one is learning to read, little one is learning letters), and work on other goals (big one is working on getting dressed herself and writing her name, little one is starting to potty train and get more into crafts). Activities we have enjoyed include free--library storytime, state-funded playgroup and outdoor playgroup, moms' group park and home playdates. There are drop-in art. and sensory/messy classes and drop-in movement class, and community centers open their gyms in the fall-winter-spring for drop in tot play and have out trikes, etc. for $1. We have paid for classes in tot tennis, baby music, French, swimming, and gymnastics. YMCAs offer lots of classes like "all sports" that we would like to try and my daughter is begging to do ballet, which several places start at 2.5. We belong to an indoor play place and our science museum. We visit zoos, museums in other cities, nature centers, etc. Playgrounds, swimming, bounce arenas, climbing places.

When it is less crazy, we host things like "math playdates" where I set up some preschool math activities like using a scale to put fall produce in order from heaviest to lightest or measuring the length of snakes using mellowcreme pumpkins.

[younglove316]

Jul 28, 2016 6:34:23 GMT -5 namastebiotches said:

I'm on mobile. Remind me how old LO is?

Sorry for the post and run. She is almost 2.5

[brachysira]

I also have to note that the moms' group I'm in is full of children who are 2...it's like when kids turn 3, moms quit coming. I suspect that if you only have a 3 year-old, you may start working or you may just be doing drop-off activities and lots of preschool, but also that 3 year-old can just do so much more with you that you no longer need a group so much... There is not the constant pressure to show them new things and get out of the house because finally at 3, many kids can play games, listen longer, build with blocks...whereas at 2, they often just empty containers, go from one toy to the next in seconds, and still are cabinet wrecking children who who you know just need somewhere to run and climb. So if you're bored now, by winter I think it will be easier.