2Nd Time posted....PLEASE Give Feedback....

I know it may sound horrible, but buy them a Wii. That will keep them occupied for a long time. Even the youngest can have fun with it as they have games/activities for children learning coordination. I started my son on "The Blob". It's easy for little ones and it teaches them colors (what happens when you mix colors).

Preschooler - matchbox cars, stencils, washable markers, paper

Toddler - matchbox cars (we love them), doodle pro pads

School-age - books, card making supplies, colored pencils, lined and blank paper, card games

Not sure exactly what you are asking for but I hope this helps!

As a mom, I agree with all the posts below (I even learned new suggestions for keeping toddlers busy-thanks!)

As a teacher, I know we spend hundreds of our own money on school supplies that students and schools do not provide. I teach elementary K-5, and we run out of washable markers, construction paper, notebook paper, pencils, pencils, and more pencils!, gluesticks, gluesticks, and more gluesticks!, dry-erase markers (large whiteboard ones and small ones for student use), liquid school glue, large gum erasers, plain white copier paper (no, not all schools provide this!), printer ink, pocket folders, inkpads. I can't think of anything else off hand...

As far as support for your family I would encourage you to look into a church daycare or join a church/mom's group like MOPS. You may be able to find cheap or even free childcare especially for short amounts of time, even just to give yourself time to work on this endeavor or time to take a break. Good luck!

Sometimes so many people post that they get lost on the bottom.
In our church bag are pipe cleaners, markers, crayons, paper and small books. I used these for the kids when they were toddlers until just recently, I think my youngest was 7 or so.
My girls love things with sequins. Maybe styrofoam shapes with different colored sequins and pins to make fruit and animals.
My girls also like those keychains they make out of beads. They can somehow thread the beads into different animal shapes.
The girls are now 12 and 14 and 16.
Hope this is what you were looking for. Good luck.

First, I am sorry for all the misfortune your family is facing right now. It's tough. A suggestion for daycare is to look into childcare that is provided by the city or subsidized by the state - if you cannot afford daycare you probably qualify, at least for the ones that charge on a sliding scale.
As for the other...I surf the net for ideas and I'm sure alot of moms do also. www.betterbudgeting.com has alot of craft ideas. I know Denton ISD teachers (elem.) are required to buy nametag stickers. And those obviously go fast. Maybe pkgs of dry materials to just mix with water to have non toxic all natural playdoh, cornstarch "goop", cinnamon dough, safe sewing kits w/dull large needles....these are a few ideas. I hope they help. Good luck!

Marma, I'm sad to hear about your husband. I know this is a very, very difficult time. I have no suggestions for products. But.....I do suggest that you can possibly get financial assistance from the government. In Oregon, DHS, sometimes pays for babysitting. There are some requirements to be met and it's been too long for me to remember them. You could probably get food stamps too. Or be trained for a job, during which you would also receive a financial stipend.

There are also scholarships available at some child care centers. The YMCA is one that provides scholarships.

I also wonder why you wouldn't be able to pay for child care if you had a job in your field. Perhaps it's your choice to stay home. My daughter does not have a degree or experience at the time she started working in a clerical field 3 years ago. I think she earned 12.95/hour and she had 2 children in child care. She did live in affordable housing, which is a government subsidized program. This did make a difference in how much she had available for child care.

When I was working social service/vocational rehab paid much more than what she was earning. I suspect jobs are more difficult to find now.

I know that you did not ask about this. I am sending it because most of us who have been able to support ourselves over the years aren't aware of how to get help when we need it. And we may also be hampered by pride.

Also, there are ways to get the bill collectors off your case. There is a law that states that they cannot continue to call. I don't know the specifics. It also frequently works for one to call each company, tell them the circumstances and arrange a more reasonable payment plan based on current circumstances. My father was in business for himself and he allowed people to make nominal monthly payments with a promise to continue paying until bill was paid. I know it's not as easy to negotiate with big business but it is possible. They would rather get some money than no money at all.

A comment on your stress level. Now would be a good time to ask your doctor for some anti-anxiety medication. It may seem that you don't have money for it but in the long run you'll be better off. Without feeling so much stress you will be more productive. Starting an on-line business requires much from you and I do believe that an anti-anxiety medication would be of help. There are some that are not so expensive.

I wish you the very best. You are a brave strong woman, tho you probably don't feel that way. Just hang in there.

My kids are 4 and 5. Both love playdoh! It keeps them busy for hours. They have little shape cutters, knives, molds, etc that they create with.

Last year the Easter Bunny brought them each a kit that contained fancy pens and pencils, a pencil sharpener, scissors, a compass, a protractor, a fun-shaped hole punch (like for scrapbooking), and some stampers. These kits also occupied their time for long periods. Though they obviously didn't know how to use the compass or protractor, they had fun with them and now know how to use them.

My daughter loves to cut and glue paper. She makes cards and holiday decorations and she leaves little notes around the house for us. If she has markers, stickers or little items to glue onto them she is in her glory.

Both kids love stickers. They put them on shaped paper to make ornaments and decorations, cards, etc. Foamy stickers (with the peel off backing) are particulary fun for them.

Both kids enjoy having their own notebooks to write and draw in. They "write" letters and grocery lists, "transcribe" my phone conversations, practice writing their names.

My son likes activity books, especially dot-to-dot, mazes and find-a-word.

Best wishes to you!

My son is almost two and still puts things in his mouth! So my "craft" would have things that he canNOT fit into his mouth. Anything washable (paint, marker) is most preferable too.

I once made an "in your lap learning" for a friend of mine. I got the metal stove covers and turned it so it was like a bowl/plate with an edge to it. I put a magnetic 'dress up doll' and magnetic letters on it. Was a great little 'package' for my friend's daughter. Great for the car, as pieces are likely to stick to the magnetic stove cover. Just an idea.

When I was a teacher, I always had to spend my own money on:
- good stickers (for when I taught 2nd, but 3rd & 5th graders liked them too)
- colored cardstock (all grades)
- DRY ERASE MARKERS! My school always gave you black (boring!) and wouldn't give you the 4 you requested, but only 1 or 2 at a time. I wanted blue, green, purple, red, orange .... It made the board more organized and I could categorize homework/subjects in different colors. (all grades)
- colored pony beads (I used these a lot to teach science concepts. 5th grade. Message me for the "Water Cycle" story as told by making a colored pony bead bracelet if you want it. I needed specific colors for the bracelet. School didn't have them so I bought beads at Walmart)
- index cards (5th graders needed a lot. School didn't give me enough)

Good luck. Hang in there, Glue!

UPDATE:
As I teacher, I also bought my own GLITTER and had to borrow a YARD STICK and METER STICK from the teacher down the hall. When I taught in a very low-socio-economic area, I bought the children's school supplies as well - folders, crayons, scissors, everything. In 5th grade, i wanted the kids to have a big ring to hold their science words together. Had to buy those big 1" rings with my own money. Those brass brads aren't needed but for a couple projects here and there, but had to buy those with my own money as well.

my oldest sons hobbies were writing and building anything out of wood. my youngest so far is horses and cowboys. my littlest who is 2 also likes to hammer and pound. and putting things into shoes or anything he can come up with he has a fascination of putting things in things like shape sorters. He also like to put thing on things ex. horse on the door horse on the tv cowboy on the horse horse on the elephant. maybe a sticky thing that they can rearrange. he loves to throw but needs soft things to throw. He loves putting baseball hats on everyones head and gets mad if you dont have a hat on. He has a thing with putting shoes on everyone too.
I had one 14 yr old guess you would call him my step son who loved to fix things. especially wood stuff. his brother loved to cook alot. another i thought of is putting things together and pull them apart locking beads if you could come up with a wood cowboy and wood horse put a dow on the horse make a small hole on cowboy so he can snap together and take apart and not get mad at his cowboys for not playing right and falling off the horse. make them non breakable he breaks everything or a velcro horse and cowboy. if you do let me know and i will buy alot of them. hope this helps
Just remebered my 9yr old nephew cars balls and crosswords and suduku my 2 yr old nephew trucks. My oldest also like trading cards pokeman there were others but I can't remeber the names. these were also games not just cards. pokeman and the other ones had battles one was stronger than another. both of my brothers liked cars when we were growing up I liked baseball and football playing not watching. all boys love to play fight. my 2 yr old has a plastic penguin he beats up constantly. he literally wears himself out doing it. You can hear him huffing and puffing while doing it and its the perfect size for him and what cordination he does have.

preschoolers/toddlers-- small animals to play with (I keep some in my purse and car for anytime we need to wait somewhere), and small books where you have to look for things like I Spy

my older kids also loved sticker books when they were younger

for elementary kids, small games with magnets like checkers or a game they can play by themselves

I've never used this with my kids, but I read years ago in a parenting magazine to throw a small length of rope in your purse or diaper bag and when you are stuck somewhere like on line at the grocery store to tie knots that your preschooler can untie

i think that some of the best "crafty" things are foam sheets/shapes, glue, pipe cleaners, sequins, and beads. and all of these things can be bought in bulk and broken down for resale, or especially for you to sell as little kits for birthday parties/classes, etc. im sure you already know, but oriental trading does this, and whether or not you are buying from them, they do have lots of good ideas. i wish you all the very best, really....

My Mom was the best in crafts etc and my fav thing was a pnsil and a pipecleaner acting as a catapillar and pomppms bit of glue my friens loved them they were the best nened help holla ____@____.com kids love the original oncil for school!!