Start a big art project
Let your children lead the way with this one. Sit down with them and talk about what they’d like to make. The first stage of the project could involve drawing up a series of ideas, until they decide upon the creation of their choice. Next, get them involved in collecting up all the materials: spend an afternoon trawling the art stores or your neighbours’ for yoghurt pots, bottle tops and the like. Then have ‘art project’ sessions twice a week on afternoons when nothing else is planned.
Plan a play date tea party
Play dates are always fun, but if you get your little one involved in planning a slightly special one, they will be delighted to ‘help’. Kids love to get their toys involved too, so think about the theme and consider either a teddy bear or dolls’ supper – or even a pirate picnic! Get them involved in designing and sending out invitations, and planning the party menu. A few traditional organised games will liven up the afternoon. Activities like musical bumps, hide and seek and ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’ are great options that require little preparation.
Stick to a routine
We don’t mean you have to be totally regimented about it, but breaking up the day (and the week) with a series of organised activities will help prevent the usual boredom-induced bickering from creeping in. Get the kids up, out of bed, breakfasted and dressed within a loose but regular time frame. Then have two to three activities to hand to break up the day. An activity before lunch and one after lunch, combined with an hour or two of free play, will help you all get through the day.
Have an active storytelling session
Nurturing your child’s love of literature, and feeding their imaginations, can be easily achieved through an active storytelling session. Select a few tales they’ve never heard before, collect up a few props and settle them down for a lively tale or two. To help keep little ones seated, organise a ‘story corner’, with cushions they can sit on and some music to begin and end your session. Then get on with the fun. Be as wacky as possible, putting on accents, and handing out the props, so that little ’uns can hold them at key moments in the story. Active storytelling works best when you have a group of three children or more to entertain. The little ones will tend to behave better if there are a couple of older kids in the group they look up to.
Make a costume
You don’t have to be Jane Asher to put together a half decent dress-up costume. Materials that can help you be a bit more creative are easy to get your hands on. Foil and a cardboard box can be transformed into crowns, swords, shields and even some pretty impressive armor, while different coloured sugar paper (available cheaply in big pads) and craft card can be used to fashion almost anything from gun holsters to Bo Peep bonnets. All it takes is a little imagination (and some internet research). For example, if you have a pair of red wellies, draw web designs on them with a thick black pen and voila – you have Spider-Man’s super boots! If you aren’t so hot at drawing, that doesn’t matter either, as most images can be found online, printed and cut out. For more inspiration, visit www.coolest-homemade-costumes.com.
Have a family movie afternoon
If you’re all enjoying a film together, that can only be a relaxing and bonding experience. There are loads of fab titles to choose from, and if ‘movie afternoon’ becomes a regular in your calendar, why not let your children take turns in deciding on which film to watch? The only stipulation might be that you all watch something nobody in the family has seen before.
