How do you entertain a three year old?

Question

I am home all day w/ my 3 yr old and 8 month old daughters. I'm out of ideas for entertaining my 3 yr old. Games, tv, sandbox-it's all old news. We're both bored to death and she is getting out of control. Any ideas?

Answer 1

A pet?

Answer 2

i have basically made a career out of babysitting. Kids love it when you turn music on and dance like an idiot. They can do it for hours and then they sleep forever, plus it's good excersize for the both of you.

Put on little plays, and video tape them.

decide to have a makeover day, and then do a photo shoot (its always hilarious)

Make an ABC book. Do a letter a day, discuss the way they sound. (Turn the paper so it is horizontal, Make a capital A and a lowercase a in the right hand corner about an inch high Then make a HUGE "A" and HUGE "a" in the center of the paper. Then find a material together around the house that starts with A, so aluminum foil. Cut it out into little strips and have the child paste the pieces over the big letters, so they are traced with the material.)

Need more,? feel free to contact me.

Answer 3

It's summer, so get outside. Blow bubbles, draw on the side walk with sidewalk chalk, pick flowers or leaves and make a collage, catch bugs, turn on the sprinkler and let her run through it, get a kid's pool, walk to the local park, and go on a stroller walk.

You can also look up local playgroups in your area to get her involved with some kids her ages. Do a search on line. Plus, look up a local spray park or other attractions, such as the zoo or children's museum.

For inside rainy days, color pictures, build a block tower, have her help clean the house, make a race car track by putting things under rugs to make hills and race, have a tea party and invite all her stuffed animals, have her help make lunch and let her pick what you're having, teach her a computer game, let her teach your younger daughter something like crawling.

Subscibe to family fun magazine... it has some cute fun ideas for families to do, like crafts and stuff. Or do an online search.

Answer 4

Well I am totally living the same life. I have a daughter about to turn three in like a week and I am home with her all day everyday.

They do get bored quick. I've found that taking paper and cutting it up and pretending its money is a hit with mine. She has a little cash register and she likes to take the pieces of paper and pretend she's buying things and checking out with the cash register.

She also LOVES to write on things. I let her write on pieces of paper with ink pens. She got bored with the crayons. Of course I have to be right beside her, but hey it entertains her.

Something else at this age, they do like their time to explore alone. I find that she likes to go into her own room and play with things and doesn't want me in there with her.

Good Luck !!!

Answer 5

Children at a young age need to learn organized play and work. There are things that a three year old can learn that is much harder to learn if it is taught later in school. Like you can teach the child to write his name, make his bed, say the alphabet, how to recognize letter and numbers and say them as they see them. take an orange out and pill it break it into pieces and teach him simple math. He will love it and school will be a lot easier for him. If all parents should start teaching there children at an early age, then this country wouldn't have such low test scores.

Answer 6

puppet shows, make puppets from old socks and use markers to decorate them and then make a theatre from two chairs and a blanket, read to them, color, finger paint, hide and seek, sing songs, making cookies, blowing bubbles,playdough
house made out of refrigerator box.

Here is a recipe for chalk that I use frequently,

CHALK
1/3 c. plaster
4T. water
food coloring
Stir until thick like toothpaste. Pour into cookie cutters (placed on waxed paper) or into toilet paper tubes, etc. Dries in 20 mins. and is dustless!


Here is one more idea:
PEANUT BUTTER DOUGH

1 c. peanut butter
1 c. dried milk
1/2 T. honey
Knead together well. Good dough for small children as it's good to eat too! Store airtight.


Edible Peanutbutter Claydough


18 oz. of Peanut butter
6 tbsp. honey (*** DON'T USE HONEY FOR CHILDREN UNDER 1 YEAR!!***)
Carob or cocoa to taste (optional)
Add Milk and flour until the right consistency.

Shape, decorate with raisins, then eat! Store in airtight containers or plastic bags.

Koolaid Claydough

1 package Koolaid (the kind where you add the sugar yourself)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup (yes, CUP) salt
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp alum/cream of tartar
1/2 cup hot water

You can get the hot water by boiling a kettle or by running
your hot tap very hot, which is what I do. Dissolve everything
except the flour in the water. It has to be good and hot to
dissolve all that salt. Then add the flour, mix, and knead.
Resist the temptation to add a little more flour because it's
too sticky just keep kneading.

Answer 7

get some magazines. Look through them and point at objects, say what's this? what color is it? how many are there?? Make up stories about the pictures. They will look at these for hours. Even the eight month old can look at them. I try to find a magazine with pets and vibrant colors in them. When they get worn out, you can go to the store and have her pick one out.

Go for a walk in the neighborhood. You might find a new playmate!

Take chairs and put a sheet over it so she can go camping in the living room. Pack her a lunch so she can go for a picnic. Bake cookies and let her help decorate them for family. Have fun

Answer 8

My 2 and 3 year old enjoy making cookies together, Get a paper plate decorate a lion or something add string and he could be a lion for about an hour. Take a bath together and splash all you want, ha ha

Answer 9

I don't think parents are there to "entertain" the kids, but mostly to keep them out of trouble. Let her figure out things to do when she's bored or else she'll be relying on you to keep her from getting bored.
Books, playdough, healthy snacks, coloring and scribling, dolls, music (like learning songs and poetry, not just listening to stuff)... the list goes on.
My wife is at home with 3 (1 yr old, 3 yr old and 5 yr old). She homeschools the oldest one using the dvd program from Abeka. They all love to sit and listen to the teacher and memorize rhymes, Bible verses and songs. They have learned so much it's amazing.

Answer 10

You are both on the right track but that's the cycle of child activity.Let her help you in the kitchen.My first son who just turned 4 years old loves making tagliatele ,peel the carrot and pizza dough.He also enjoys pouring water from bottle to glass.When she is out of control,she might be tired ,hungry or loves to be cuddled.This trick always helped me with our little boy.My husband and I tried to discover every possible way and the only answer is tiredness. We let him go to bed,listen to classical music(he can name which is Bach or mozart ,etc...)and hallelujah! It's miracle for us,we always have a quiet evening.
Anyway,I remember when he attended in the playgroup ,he is always happy and contented .Why?I just noticed that they changed activity every 15 to 25 minutes or so.....Goodluck !

Answer 11

Play make believe. Children around three love it! Go outside and get some fresh air! While you are out there blow bubbles. They will both love it. Get a bat and ball. Or have some friends over. Go to the park.