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i was trying to think of some creative things to give my 3 yo to do while i am doing school with her 5 yo sister. i will be doing LHTH with the 3 yo during her own "school time", but while i'm working on phonics and math with my oldest, i need my 3 yo to be occupied with something. i need something that she can do completely by herself with no help from me and that keeps her busy for a solid 15 min. any great ideas??

Here's some posts that address this exact issue!
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3814&start=0&st=0&s ... ivity+bags
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3178&p=23556&hilit= ... ags#p23556

HTH!

thanks! i actually bought the preschol activity bag e-book a year or so ago...i wonder if i still have it...

file folder games, play dough, a small box with scissors and old greeting cards to cut up, I like to give my 4 yo a wet washcloth and tell him to wash walls- he loves it, lol. He also likes to dust so a feather duster is another good one. Also if you have a pet (or even a stuffed animal) that she could play teacher and "read" to while you are doing school with the older maybe?

oh, scissors and greeting card is a good one! thanks!

A friend gave me a suggestion that I think is pretty cool. She uses "day boxes" for her boys. (I'm assuming they're plastic containers but I didn't ask.) There is one for every day of the week and inside each are toys that are only to be played with on that day. For instance Monday's can be filled with crayons, a coloring book, some paper, stickers, a couple books and maybe a small puzzle. Tuesdays can have legos, playdough, more books, a small doll set etc. Each box is different and can only be played with on that particular day for around 45 minutes. She also has them sitting "on a rug in the living room" so that she can keep an eye on them but still help the other with whatever is needed.

I have the Preschool activity bags and those are nice but just make sure that the game is something that your dc will enjoy. I've made four or five and my ds only took to one!

Hope that helps!

busybee4 wrote:A friend gave me a suggestion that I think is pretty cool. She uses "day boxes" for her boys. (I'm assuming they're plastic containers but I didn't ask.) There is one for every day of the week and inside each are toys that are only to be played with on that day. For instance Monday's can be filled with crayons, a coloring book, some paper, stickers, a couple books and maybe a small puzzle. Tuesdays can have legos, playdough, more books, a small doll set etc. Each box is different and can only be played with on that particular day for around 45 minutes. She also has them sitting "on a rug in the living room" so that she can keep an eye on them but still help the other with whatever is needed.

I have the Preschool activity bags and those are nice but just make sure that the game is something that your dc will enjoy. I've made four or five and my ds only took to one!

Hope that helps!

what a great idea! i have implemented a "project box" kind of deal where i have a box that i put things in and i *try* to change it out every week (ask me if i've done it recently ), but they get bored by the 3rd day...one for every day means they won't get bored and i never have to change it out! i can make one for my 5 year old, too, to avoid the ever present, "what can i do now??"

mommyofgirls,

I'm not sure if someone already posted a link to this past thread or not, but you can scroll down to my post to see how we handle this at our house: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2406

The thread I linked above is also filled with great tips from other moms on the board.

Blessings,
Carrie