I have said it before, if I had my time again I would ban so many toys from entering our home. Most often, my girls favour non-toy play ideas, activities or experiences over things we’ve bought from a shop.
Previously, I spent a small fortune on toys only to find they end up in a corner after a few days. To further grieve my conscience, most toys are plastic and I don’t need to emphasise the damage plastic is doing to our beautiful earth.
So how then do you entertain your children without denting your wallet or further damaging the environment? Let me tell you how.
The following play ideas are stupidly simple, cheap and – in most cases – use stuff you already have at home.
Play idea #1 – RICE
It is prized as a staple food in Asia but in my household it is the sea, a pom-pom lake, a farmyard, cake mixture; anything the imagination fancies. When it comes to simple play ideas, it doesn’t get easier than this. We keep a large supply of rice in a container and I drag it out whenever I am at a loss with what to do with the girls.
Rainbow rice is a favourite but it can also be played with in it’s purest, uncooked form or dyed just one colour and scented with essential oils (peppermint and lavender have both been a hit). Grab a large container, dump in the rice, add a few cups, scoops and perhaps some animals, cars or buttons and watch as the imaginary play unfolds.
How to dye rice for sensory play
A ziplock bag
1 cup of rice
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
A few drops of food colouring
Simply pour the rice into the ziplock bag. Add the vinegar and food colouring. Seal the bag and squish the rice around until it is sufficiently coloured. Pour the rice onto a tray and spread in a thin layer to allow it to dry.
Play idea #2 – STICKS
Oh, primitive stick. How much do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Too many to express, in fact. There is not a moment of euphoria greater than when we head to the beach or the park for a play and my daughters happen upon a large stick. Is that a choir of angels I hear as I sit back and enjoy the next hour of peace from the sidelines of the “Stick Games”? I think it is. Seriously though, have you ever watched kids play with a stick? It’s quite unbelievable. They should all be employed by struggling tech companies who need a bit of a creative boost. Pure imaginative genius.
Play idea #3 – MIXING BOWLS AND CONTAINERS
One of my children likes to make a noise, another loves packing things and one likes to hide stuff from her sisters. Unbreakable kitchen vessels satisfy all these needs. With a wooden spoon they become a drum, they are houses for small dolls, they are used in the pretend kitchen and they even get dragged into the bath. I don’t necessarily get bowls out and say “Here, play with these”, but they are easily accessible in a kitchen cupboard and I estimate they are pulled out at least twice, maybe three times, a week.
Play idea #4 – PLAYDOUGH
I used to hover over the playdough activities like a drill sergeant. “No mixing!” “Ah! Don’t pile those on top of each other. They’ll squash together! No one wants brown playdough!” Why on earth did I care if the colours mixed? How much creativity and fun did I stifle with my silly perfectionism?
Have you ever made the stuff? It takes about five minutes and by involving the kids it is an activity in itself. The best recipe I have found is from Play at Home Mummy (she has hundreds of awesome play ideas!). Once made, it lasts in an airtight container for ages; I don’t know exactly how long because I usually toss it when it’s no longer a colour I can tolerate.
Playdough recipe (courtesy of Play at Home Mummy)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 tbsp cream of tartar
1 cup boiling water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Mix dry ingredients, then wet, then separate to colour. If it is a bit sticky, keep adding small amounts of flour until it is the right consistency.
Play idea #5 – RECYCLING
There is no way of making this look or sound glamorous. We have a cupboard in the kitchen which is piled high with…well…rubbish. It is nothing offensive, just cardboard boxes, bottle and pouch lids, pieces of string and other bits of interesting recycling. If the girls suddenly have a rush of creative inspiration they will run to the cupboard and pull out boxes of varying shapes and sizes to make boats, houses, coffee machines(!) and more. This ticks all the boxes – cheap, eco-friendly, open-ended, engages the imagination etc etc.
Play idea #6 – BAKING AND COOKING
I hear you…it would take ten minutes to whip up a cake or make a pasta salad on your own but at least half an hour when the littlies help. But you have entertained them for all that time and you have taught them a life skill. It is messy and annoying because they don’t listen and they fight about who gets to add which ingredient but my girls absolutely love helping in the kitchen.
I don’t ever recall doing this as a child and I only learned to cook after I got married at 25. I don’t want my kids to serve their boyfriends apple chutney pizza on a wholemeal base. Thankfully I found a “keeper” who loved me despite my inability to boil an egg. Letting kids help in the kitchen is such a good way to develop skills and have fun doing it.
Play idea #7 – TEA PARTIES AND PICNICS
Do your kids eat? Mine do…about 50 times a day! I’m not kidding. So, once in a while, why not make it an event? If it’s sunny, grab a picnic rug, pack their lunch and have it somewhere beautiful or even at the playground. If it’s miserable, make a pot of herbal tea (my girls love rooibos with milk) or just warm up some milk, put some biscuits on a plate and make the table look fancy. This is one of those play ideas which is thoroughly enjoyed by mum and kids alike!
Play idea #8 – DRESS UPS
Preschoolers and toddlers love, love, love pretend play. We have a rail of dress ups but most often the girls just go into my wardrobe, pull stuff out and parade around the house in my shoes, hats, scarves and bags. Anything that stimulates imaginative play is a winner. It can entertain them for ages and is just brilliant for developing social skills, language skills, nurturing and more. Next time you have a clear-out, why not hold onto a few items for this purpose or raid your local op shop?
Play idea #9 – BATHS
Some days things get so bad I am left with nothing else to do but stick the kids in the bath. The one-year-old is still a bit young to leave unattended but the others are more than happy to play for as long as the water is a tolerable temperature.
A standard bubble bath is sufficient for calming excess energy at “crazy hour” but I have recently discovered the power of the novelty bath. What is a novelty bath, you may ask? It is anything you can imagine (or Google). This week we have had a pom-pom bath, a rose petal bath and made our own bath paints. I add a couple of drops of food colouring to make it extra special. It is very diluted so it doesn’t stain their skin. All have been a great success and have got us over the finish line to bedtime without too many tears (usually my own).
You need to judge for yourself which of these play ideas and activities is age appropriate. My one year old still enjoys putting things in her mouth so for now she is excluded from certain activities like playdough and rice (much to her dismay).
We do have a number of favourite, open-ended toys (a post for another day) but the above are a few of our go-to’s when the girls need distraction, stimulation or are simply starting to climb the walls.
So, leave the toy shop, put your wallet back in your nappy bag and head home to raid your house for play items instead.