Hello, and welcome to a practical idea post. As part of the Titus2 ministry, I often interact with homeschool moms. During a recent conversation, one mom asked for ideas for what little ones could do to be occupied during a short span of time when Mom is helping another child. For example, maybe you need to go over an older child’s school assignments for the day, and you need something to occupy a little for 15-30 minutes.
Here are some ideas from my sisters-in-law, Anna Marie and Melanie.
Andrew, 3, has several favorite sets of toys he plays with. His top favorite is actually an awesome fire engine my parents gave him for Christmas. When I was over taking pictures for this post, I agree. It’s pretty neat.
Andrew also loves Legos/Duplos. Legos encourage creativity in building and play. Playmobil 1.2.3 sets are another favorite of his.
Then, for some educational and learning activities, Anna Marie’s little girls love these items (the links below are Titus2’s Amazon Affiliate links. See our Privacy Policy.):
- Haba Farm Threading (great with teaching eye-hand coordination)
- Day and Night (another good coordination tool along with following instructions)
- First Orchard by Haba
- Preschool activity books (Rod & Staff Preschool Activity Books)
I hope these ideas bless you as you look to creatively occupy young children!
Love,
Sarah
“Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD
with my whole heart, in the assembly of
the upright, and in the congregation.”
Psalm 111:1
Thank you for the tips and the gorgeous photographs. We have the Orchard game ( larger game set) which we love- young ones, teens and adults !
Blessings to you and your family
Heidi x
I’m glad they were helpful! I know photos add a personal touch. 🙂
Do you know if the fire truck is available online? Thanks!
It is! I asked Mom, and she bought it from ToysRUs. It was on sale at Christmas.
Great suggestions and ideas! I love seeing the new posts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They are an encouragement to me!
🙂 My goal is for posts on those days, although occasionally it’s Mon/Thurs/Sat! So glad you’ve been blessed.
Where might I find the Day and Night Puzzle game?
It’s available on Amazon, or you can do a Google search to find other sellers. The Amazon link is Titus2’s affiliate link.
Those are great ideas! We have several Haba toys and really enjoy them. When I need to work in the kitchen I often fill the sink for my two year old and give her a baby doll to wash. Keeps her busy for a long time!
Love the baby doll bath idea! 🙂
Love this post and the pictures! I must admit, though, that it brought tears to my eyes as I fondly remembered by children being preschool age and enjoying activities like that. 🙂
Awww. Those are sweet days!
I needed this post today. I have been feeling overwhelmed lately and my little ones seem less engaged. It has been more chaotic than normal. I love the links. This has inspired me to not be overwhelmed in the good works I am called to do each day as a homeschool mom. May the Lord bless you for all the help you have given me.
I’m very happy with the timing of this post. The Lord knows! Keep up the amazing work! You are sowing eternal fruit in your little ones.
Wonderful ideas, thank you! I’m definitely going to look into some of them since my 14 month old is needing more distractions during school time! 😉
So happy it helped!
My mom has a play yard and Joshua (4) and Abigail (almost 2) play toys in there. It keeps them in one spot spot so they’re not running all around the house. 🙂 Joshua would think that fire engine is cool!!
When I was doing daycare I had a couple kids that got off the bus here. While they did their homework, the younger kids colored, did puzzles, played with special toys that only came out during “school” time. Any child big enough to sit in a high chair or booster seat at the table was included. Actually the small babies were often in a bouncy seat or carseat nearby too. The key to harmony was
they were all well rested,
the activities were reserved especially for this time so they weren’t tired or bored from them,
And they felt important to have “school” time with the older kids.
Some of our family favorites were
Dry erase board books with alphabet & numbers
Puzzles
Boggle Jr
Magnetic tins that have a picture of a person inside that you can dress with magnet clothes or a face that you can pick out the eyes, nose, hair, etc.
Mr potato head
Monkey math
Those are some of the things I remember off the top of my head. Oh and empty spice bottles and small boxes. I can remember taking the lid off and putting it back on could entertain for almost an hour for many kids. Plastic containers that whipped cream, sour cream, etc come in would probably work well too. Especially if you could put smaller ones inside bigger ones to be discovered when opened.
Awesome ideas! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for this post! We live in Australia and wanted to purchase the day and night game but when we followed your link it wouldn’t ship to Australia, my son was quite disappointed the Lord saw fit for us to find it today when we stopped in a tiny town that had an education store! He hasn’t stopped playing the game since 🙂 thank you for your ministry these posts and juggling homeschooling and housework are so relevant to my season in life! I pray that the Lord continues to lead you and your family in your ministry
Molly,
Thank you for sharing! What an amazing story of finding that game. So happy to hear that! Thanks for your encouragement on the blog! 🙂