Whether you’re a parent, a nanny, or a babysitter, there are some days that seem to just crawl by as you’re caring for kids. But if you’re able to find an activity for them that really takes a lot of their attention and engages them for longer periods of time, it can feel like those days go much quicker.
To help you find that thing for the kids you’re caring for, here are three things you should try to do with kids to help make time fly by.
Try Some Arts And Crafts
If you’re willing to let the kids you’re with get a little messy and can handle cleaning up any messes that might result from their play, consider letting the kids do some arts and crafts. Especially if the arts and crafts involve a lot of steps or a lot of creativity, kids can spend hours crafting and creating something that they’re proud of.
If you’re not sure what some of the best arts and crafts are for the kids you’re caring for, try looking online to find something. You can set them down to do online art classes, follow along with videos to create something with a teacher, or just give them a prompt for something they’re trying to create. Not only can this help pass a lot of time during the day, but it can help the kids be creative and grow personally in many ways as well.
Do Some Sensory Play
For young and elementary-aged kids, sensory play can be a great way to get them engaged in something while also helping them learn and develop. Depending on the ages of the kids you’re looking after, the type of sensory play you’ll want to try will vary.
Some of the sensory play ideas that you might want to try could include materials like shaving cream and water that they can play with in the bath, using scissors to cut a toy out of something like a cup with tape over it, small items to sort using tweezers, or a bin filled with rice or beans that they can play with their toys in.
Give Them A Solo Challenge
If the kids that you’re caring for are a bit older, something that you can try with them is to give them a challenge that they need to meet. Tell them that they have everything they need to get the challenge done and then set them off to figure it out on their own. The challenge could include creating a game that you’ll play together later, building something large like a fort or a shelter, creating a scavenger hunt for other kids, and more.
If you want your kids to spend a bigger portion of the day playing by themselves and keeping themselves occupied, consider implementing some of the tips mentioned above.