To avoid the boredom (and consequent misbehavior), I usually bring along a backpack of activities, usually for my son while we wait for Chelsea in therapy. He is one of the highest-energy kids I have ever met, so it is a handful to keep him occupied wherever we go!
I won't go into the activities that everyone already does because yall ROCK at parenting- books, little action figures/ toys, and coloring books.
1. Puzzles
Our favorite puzzles to bring are big floor puzzles, because we don't have a good spot for them at home, but the hard floors at doctor/ therapy places are perfect! We also have brought pieces for little puzzles in baggies and work on those.
2. Math Games
This is our favorite! For the first game "Dice Rolls", we use a big squishy die, and we take turns throwing it across the room. We then add the number to our score. Super easy, and lots of energy is burned by throwing the dice and catching it.
Similar to Dice Rolls is "Pass the Pigs", an actual game that I bought (okay, at a yard sale because I am cheap), but SO MUCH FUN!!! Instead of rolling dice, you roll these two tiny piggies, and how they land determines your score. We play a somewhat simplified version to accommodate kindergarten math skills.
3. Stilts/ Stairs
Remember how my son is super high energy? Sitting still in a waiting room is not a fun thing for him. So we will sometimes find stairs to climb, or bring a pair of little stilts so he can walk on around the waiting room, or even better, outside the therapy center! Pretty much any idea we can do to keep him from exploding from his zest for life. These stilts aren't the ones we use for the waiting room, but you get the idea.
4. Whatever Your Kid Loves!
One of the most popular things that I see in waiting rooms is cars. Other kids love zooming them around on the hard floors! Little man is totally indifferent to cars though. His car nut daddy may or may not be disappointed.
I've also brought playdough (and folded up wax paper because I get anxious about making a mess). But a couple little jars of playdough and a bag full of letter cookie cutters, and we practice spelling words in a fun, kinetically-learning way!
Right now, my little nerd wants to learn chess, so we play chess.
5. Mental Agility Games
My son loves to think of something and then give clues "What is a sport where girls wear leotards and flip on bars?" or "What state do we live in?" and calls the game "Guess What I'm Thinking"
We also play I spy, or hide and seek with a small toy, or one of my favorites that he is still learning- Mental Tic Tac Toe! This is a game where you both have to imagine a game and person X says, "X in middle" followed by the next "O in top left corner"
6. Building materials
I never knew how very "hands-on" boys were until I had my little man! He loves bringing his building balancing men, and legos, and magna tiles to work with. He is ever calling "Mommy, look at THIS!!! Will you remember it? Take a picture quick!"
7. Write and Illustrate A Book
We have some blank pages stapled together, and will bring one of those and some markers, and write a book and give it drawings! One of the most recent creations was all about his "Texas Grandma", and all the things he loves about her. Kinda hard to see, but this is the picture he drew for the cover:
8. Busy Bags
We have a big box full of these, and it is super easy to grab a few and toss them into the backpack on the way out the door. Some of our favorites are family name matching, Velcro craft stick building, and Build a Pizza. I blogged about different busy bag ideas HERE and HERE.
9. Magnetic Games and Water Wow
These are some products that I felt were absolutely worth the money! Chelsea's favorites are the dress up Disney princesses with all the different outfits. She has several and LOVES them!
My son really likes the Melissa and Doug Water Wow books. They come with a little paintbrush you put water into, and then they paint a scene using just water, then dries so you can use it again!
10. Lacing Boards
I'm always looking for ways to improve fine motor, and lacing boards are perfect! I often find them at local kid resale shops for a fraction of the price new, and in great condition!
11. Puppets for a show
Puppets are easy to squish into a backpack, and fun to get out and put on a play with! My son always ends up having one puppet kill all the other ones. I'm convinced it is an inherent guy thing. I never taught him that, he watches zero violent TV, and still is obsessed with fighting, even when it is adorable little animals. Go, testosterone, go!
12. Stickers (re-useable or in baggie with paper)
One of the busy bags I use a lot is super easy to stock up- just stickers and pieces of paper. I also have Melissa and Doug reusable stickers that are fun too. My little guy loves the pirate one!
13. Portable Guess Who
Just started teaching this one to my little guy and he likes it! It used to be one of my favorites when I was younger, so it is fun to share something from my childhood with him.
A Few Tips:
- Use a backpack! Forget bags! I hated bringing bags because I was always being asked to fill out papers and my bag would always slip down my arm and annoy me. But I am easily annoyed, so maybe that is just me
- Yes, there were times when I am so exhausted from parenting that I will take along the iPad and have my son play some games on it while I took a 20 minute cat nap curled up in a chair. But I try and avoid screen time as much as possible- it gives Chelsea seizures and makes may little guy cranky
- When I am trying to figure out fun portable ideas, I usually get onto pinterest and tap the minds of truly creative people. I am just a copy cat is all.
- My mentality is that this is time for just my son, since Chelsea takes up so much time and energy at home. I usually follow his lead as to what he would like to do. He almost ALWAYS chooses Pass the Pigs
No comments:
Post a Comment