Linda Lou
I am now babysitting a 1st and 4th grader for a few hours after school. today was my first day and I had the 1st grader go down the slide head first smash into a wall and bleed everywhere decided a playground/swingset in the backyard is prlly better to just look at lol
any ideas that I can do with them?
Answer
tag.
hide and seek.
board games (*checkers,charades,tick tack toe,connect 4.)
Never leave the kids alone. They might draw on walls or get into something they shouldn't be in. Keep them occupied and bring lots of fun games.Don't ever leave the child alone. They will pour soap down the potty and make bubbles.
Make a Fun Bag. In the fun bag you could have candy (if they are allowed), movies, coloring pages, stickers, books, games, and crafts, as well as various things for you when the kids go to sleep. The things in the Fun bag should consider the age of the children you are babysitting, as very young children will appreciate different things to older children.
When the kids start to get fussy or antsy, ask them if they want to color / do a project / play a game. They say yes and, voila! Fun bag!
Play with the children. They won't like it if you don't play. So, take out the thing they want to do. If you are doing a project or coloring and you have messy toddlers, let them help put down newspaper or a plastic mat to protect floors and tables. Have fun and they will be able to tell and enjoy your presence more.
For projects; when making things if you can make it edible it's good. Some finger painting recipies are edible. (Vanilla yogurt with food coloring)
Little kids also love doing things for themselves. Let them pour or stir their own drinks, make their own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or help you make cookies. It helps pass the time while teaching them skills, and they will feel more involved and grown up instead of you taking over everything.
Put a chair by the sink for the kids to stand on, and let them help you wash the dishes. (Take out sharp objects like forks hiding in the suds so they don't get poked accidentally.) Being allowed to help you wash the dishes can be a reward for young children.
Be patient with the children if they start getting bored or miserable, show them the things they have brought and encourage them to play. If they don't want to do something in particular, find something else for them to do!
Take them outside! Ride bikes, go to the park, walk the dog, anything outdoors will run their energy out! Make sure to be very careful because the outdoors also has many hazards.
Play fun age appropriate games. Don't do something that is to old for the kids because you want parents to want you to come back. Also, when playing with the child, be sure to not be rough with them especially when you have a younger age group. This may turn them off and somebody could get hurt.
Make or buy play-dough. If you have a recipe that doesn't involve cooking on the stove, you can have the kids help make it. If you don't have the materials needed for play-dough, you can make something called Ooblek with simply water and cornstarch. This is especially good because it doesn't involve dangerous, hot ovens or sharp objects. Do this outside of course, as it is extremely messy, but that's the fun of it!
Pick a movie appropriate for the age group you're babysitting. Pop some popcorn and put the popcorn in individual bowls for each child (if they are young). Give each child a ticket awhile before the movie. Be the ticket-taker at the door to the room, and give each child a bowl of popcorn. Then turn off the lights and start the movie!
Make a tent! Use chairs and big blankets. Fill the inside with pillows and blankets. After it's made, you can tell (or read!) stories. If it's possible, make it over a TV, so the TV is inside, and you have a movie theater! If the children are 4 or older (and less likely to make a mess), pop some popcorn to get the great movie atmosphere!
Remember, toddlers love anything that keeps them active. If everyone's bored, take out some scarves, turn on the music, and dance! If you have a lot of children, play freeze tag, or a team game where EVERYONE needs to be involved.For most kids under the age of 5, hide and seek may have some hazards.
They might run and hide to far, not come out of their hiding spot and you may not be able to find them.
[edit] TipsMany things that adults think of as drudgery is fun for young children. Find ways to let them help you and make them feel important. Thank them for helping.
Play with the children. They'll like it when you get involved and will ask for you as their babysitter. Neither parents nor kids like lazy babysitters who stay on the phone all day.
Don't make a mess. Leave the house as clean or cleaner than you found it.
Always clean up after an activity. But don't do it alone. Have the kids help, too. You can sing this song: "Clean up, clean up. Everybody do their share. Clean up, clean up. Everybody, everywhere," You can make up your own melody.
Don't just sit down and watch a movie. Keep the kids active. If it is a nice day, go outside play with a ball or your dog or your trampoline.
If it is dark encourage NOT to go outside =)
Also try to play games that are educational but still fun
Clean up
tag.
hide and seek.
board games (*checkers,charades,tick tack toe,connect 4.)
Never leave the kids alone. They might draw on walls or get into something they shouldn't be in. Keep them occupied and bring lots of fun games.Don't ever leave the child alone. They will pour soap down the potty and make bubbles.
Make a Fun Bag. In the fun bag you could have candy (if they are allowed), movies, coloring pages, stickers, books, games, and crafts, as well as various things for you when the kids go to sleep. The things in the Fun bag should consider the age of the children you are babysitting, as very young children will appreciate different things to older children.
When the kids start to get fussy or antsy, ask them if they want to color / do a project / play a game. They say yes and, voila! Fun bag!
Play with the children. They won't like it if you don't play. So, take out the thing they want to do. If you are doing a project or coloring and you have messy toddlers, let them help put down newspaper or a plastic mat to protect floors and tables. Have fun and they will be able to tell and enjoy your presence more.
For projects; when making things if you can make it edible it's good. Some finger painting recipies are edible. (Vanilla yogurt with food coloring)
Little kids also love doing things for themselves. Let them pour or stir their own drinks, make their own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or help you make cookies. It helps pass the time while teaching them skills, and they will feel more involved and grown up instead of you taking over everything.
Put a chair by the sink for the kids to stand on, and let them help you wash the dishes. (Take out sharp objects like forks hiding in the suds so they don't get poked accidentally.) Being allowed to help you wash the dishes can be a reward for young children.
Be patient with the children if they start getting bored or miserable, show them the things they have brought and encourage them to play. If they don't want to do something in particular, find something else for them to do!
Take them outside! Ride bikes, go to the park, walk the dog, anything outdoors will run their energy out! Make sure to be very careful because the outdoors also has many hazards.
Play fun age appropriate games. Don't do something that is to old for the kids because you want parents to want you to come back. Also, when playing with the child, be sure to not be rough with them especially when you have a younger age group. This may turn them off and somebody could get hurt.
Make or buy play-dough. If you have a recipe that doesn't involve cooking on the stove, you can have the kids help make it. If you don't have the materials needed for play-dough, you can make something called Ooblek with simply water and cornstarch. This is especially good because it doesn't involve dangerous, hot ovens or sharp objects. Do this outside of course, as it is extremely messy, but that's the fun of it!
Pick a movie appropriate for the age group you're babysitting. Pop some popcorn and put the popcorn in individual bowls for each child (if they are young). Give each child a ticket awhile before the movie. Be the ticket-taker at the door to the room, and give each child a bowl of popcorn. Then turn off the lights and start the movie!
Make a tent! Use chairs and big blankets. Fill the inside with pillows and blankets. After it's made, you can tell (or read!) stories. If it's possible, make it over a TV, so the TV is inside, and you have a movie theater! If the children are 4 or older (and less likely to make a mess), pop some popcorn to get the great movie atmosphere!
Remember, toddlers love anything that keeps them active. If everyone's bored, take out some scarves, turn on the music, and dance! If you have a lot of children, play freeze tag, or a team game where EVERYONE needs to be involved.For most kids under the age of 5, hide and seek may have some hazards.
They might run and hide to far, not come out of their hiding spot and you may not be able to find them.
[edit] TipsMany things that adults think of as drudgery is fun for young children. Find ways to let them help you and make them feel important. Thank them for helping.
Play with the children. They'll like it when you get involved and will ask for you as their babysitter. Neither parents nor kids like lazy babysitters who stay on the phone all day.
Don't make a mess. Leave the house as clean or cleaner than you found it.
Always clean up after an activity. But don't do it alone. Have the kids help, too. You can sing this song: "Clean up, clean up. Everybody do their share. Clean up, clean up. Everybody, everywhere," You can make up your own melody.
Don't just sit down and watch a movie. Keep the kids active. If it is a nice day, go outside play with a ball or your dog or your trampoline.
If it is dark encourage NOT to go outside =)
Also try to play games that are educational but still fun
Clean up
Any good babysitting crafts? Games? Just things that kids would like to do?
K
Answer
Always bring activities for them to play. It's fun to have new toys! Now that I've babysat for most of my clients at least 3 or 4 times, the kids recognize the tigerstriped backpack I bring babysitting and saunter over to it and check out what games I brought while I'm talking to the parents!
Always bring books with you to read to them at night. Even if they can read themselves, all the boys I've ever babysat for have anticipated the books I bring to read to them. Sometimes, if the kids are 8 or 9, I encourage them to read the book to their younger sibling instead of me reading it to them. Be careful not to encourage competitions (who can run the fastest, etc.). It always ends up with one boy crying that he lost. Always bring stickers, too. You'll never know what they'll come in handy for. With school age boys, they really like things that involve creativity but also have rules. Have a "theme" day. It's really fun and keeps them interested the whole time. Here are some really fun themes to choose:
Baseball
-Make a jersey or wrist band that says their name and name of team they want to "play for"
-Play a 3 inning game of baseball
-Make hotdogs
-Watch "Everyone's Hero" (a cute cartoon movie about a boy and his talking baseball bat)
-Eat popcorn or peanuts
Bugs!
-Catch butterflies/fire flies
-Make "Ants on a Log" (celery topped with peanut butter and raisins/chocolate chips) or "Worms in the Dirt" (chocolate pudding, gummy worms, and crushed oreos)
-Watch "A Bug's Life"
Art (some boys like it and some don't... I'd babysat for this 5-year-old boy for about 3 months and he never seemed to be enjoying all of the sports games and movies I was bringing. Then I had an art themed night and that was really his niche!)
- Make and write a book (one kid can write the story, one can draw the pictures, etc.). Don't influence what they write and draw... I had one kid write a book all about a movie he'd seen and another wrote about playing his gameboy.
- Bring coloring and activity books. (Dot-to-dots and things like that).
- Make cookies and decorate with colored icing
Here are some random games to play:
Volleyball- lay a string on the floor to use as the center dividing line and blow up a balloon to use as the volleyball. You can play too or be the reff.
Go "camping" in the living room- make a tent in their bedroom or livingroom and get a flashlight to use as a bonfire. Tell scary stories and encourage them to make up stories too. Eat marshmellows (pretend to roast them) and, if you can, put some glow in the dark stars on the cieling and turn the lights off.
Always bring activities for them to play. It's fun to have new toys! Now that I've babysat for most of my clients at least 3 or 4 times, the kids recognize the tigerstriped backpack I bring babysitting and saunter over to it and check out what games I brought while I'm talking to the parents!
Always bring books with you to read to them at night. Even if they can read themselves, all the boys I've ever babysat for have anticipated the books I bring to read to them. Sometimes, if the kids are 8 or 9, I encourage them to read the book to their younger sibling instead of me reading it to them. Be careful not to encourage competitions (who can run the fastest, etc.). It always ends up with one boy crying that he lost. Always bring stickers, too. You'll never know what they'll come in handy for. With school age boys, they really like things that involve creativity but also have rules. Have a "theme" day. It's really fun and keeps them interested the whole time. Here are some really fun themes to choose:
Baseball
-Make a jersey or wrist band that says their name and name of team they want to "play for"
-Play a 3 inning game of baseball
-Make hotdogs
-Watch "Everyone's Hero" (a cute cartoon movie about a boy and his talking baseball bat)
-Eat popcorn or peanuts
Bugs!
-Catch butterflies/fire flies
-Make "Ants on a Log" (celery topped with peanut butter and raisins/chocolate chips) or "Worms in the Dirt" (chocolate pudding, gummy worms, and crushed oreos)
-Watch "A Bug's Life"
Art (some boys like it and some don't... I'd babysat for this 5-year-old boy for about 3 months and he never seemed to be enjoying all of the sports games and movies I was bringing. Then I had an art themed night and that was really his niche!)
- Make and write a book (one kid can write the story, one can draw the pictures, etc.). Don't influence what they write and draw... I had one kid write a book all about a movie he'd seen and another wrote about playing his gameboy.
- Bring coloring and activity books. (Dot-to-dots and things like that).
- Make cookies and decorate with colored icing
Here are some random games to play:
Volleyball- lay a string on the floor to use as the center dividing line and blow up a balloon to use as the volleyball. You can play too or be the reff.
Go "camping" in the living room- make a tent in their bedroom or livingroom and get a flashlight to use as a bonfire. Tell scary stories and encourage them to make up stories too. Eat marshmellows (pretend to roast them) and, if you can, put some glow in the dark stars on the cieling and turn the lights off.
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