The only one i can think of is a multiple containers a tub of water and a measuring cup and she can chart which object holds more water. Got any other ideas, that don't take much parent involvement I don't feel good and want to occupy her in a fn way without the tv without having to play since I feel like poo=)
denise no i havent what do you do?
i did the cornstarch trick when she was little/like 2 that was fun for M. too!
shes been helping cook since 1yo buttt as we all know its extra fun and work to have them help and i feel like poo so i want things to keep her busy and at a distance so i'm not grumpy while sick for today...does tha sound mean...all i really want to do is sleep but i cant do that
You could have her make instant pudding. J. add cold milk and stir. She would be making desert for the family and it should be fun for her too.
Have you ever let her pour vinegar into baking soda? Fun!
It will erupt like a volcano!
cornstarch and a little bit of water is fun too.
make her some slime
http://chemistry.about.com/od/letsmakeslime/tp/slimerecip...
freeze little objects in a small container of water. give her a spoon, and a little water of dropper to 'dig' out the hidden treasures
let her mix food coloring into water ice cube trays. break Popsicle sticks in half and put a stick in each cube. when they are frozen, she now can water paint.
She can build a structure with raw spaghetti noodles and marshmallows! Challenge her to make it as tall as she can!
She could play with barbies in the sink and pretend it's their swimming pool.
How about let her cook. My 5 year old loves to measure (liquids and dry ingredients), mix, whisk, etc. He is starting to use a real knife (with supervision). Sure it takes longer to cook, but it occupies him and he is learning to love food and cooking which will be invaluable when he is older.
Art projects. If you can afford to, it's really an initial investment and then you'll only have to replace things as needed. Take a trip to a craft store or craft aisle at WalMart, and buy things like...
pom poms, pipe cleaners, feathers, yarn, beads, etc
construction paper, fancy paper, etc
googly eyes, foam shapes, etc
markers, crayons, paints, glue, glitter, etc
scissors, compass, anything like that, etc
We have a nice box in the kitchen full of this type of stuff and I let my oldest dig in to it and make what she wants. I also have a stack of old magazines to cut from, etc, plus a ton of scotch tape, white paper, and about anything else we feel like throwing in. From ages 2-6 she was NUTS over crafts and I seriously had to start finding creative ways to store all the things she has made over the years. Thankfully she's stopped making SO much and now tries to make complicated crafts that take longer.
We also enjoy mixing water with oil, food coloring, etc. :)
Another experiment is to test for acids and bases. Use purple grape juice, blueberry juice, or purple cabbage. Vinegar makes it turn red, baking soda turns it green.
Add raisins to club soda- they will collect bubbles and rise to the top, then the bubbles pop and it sinks again.
We had a tub of dried beans our son used to love to scoop and pour etc. He was about 3-4 at the time though. At 5 she might like doing some real cooking/helping. Will she set the table for you? Can she follow directions and make some easy bisquit dough? She can then roll it out herself and cut the bisquits herself. If she can read you can buy her a child's cookbook and maybe she can make something out of it herself to add to the dinner.
The one my son likes is dropping mintoes in a 2 liter of diet soad. He loves it. But if you do it once you drop them in run!!!!!!! :O)
The baking soda and vinegar is fun, but it can get messy. It scared my two year old a bit. :)
J. put a small continer with a bit of baking soda inside a larger continer (to catch the mess) Then I put a drop or two of food coloring, but that is optional, and add a bit of vinegar and it will bubble like crazy.
We put on music and dance, like dd color, paint, glue, cut, tape.
Can she be your 'helper'? She could get you all the things you need to cook and then put them away once you have used them. She could set the table- or at least get them to the table.
I also used to have my daughter make up a dance routine to a song that she would entertain us with before dinner. It kept her occupied and then was fun for us as well!
I also love vinegar and baking soda and watch it fizzzzzz.
Does she still color?
Could she 'read' to you a book that she's memorized?
Or - since you're feeling like pooooooo - could ya'll go out and let someone pamper you??????
Have a good night :-)
When I feel awful, I let them watch tv. If you don't want to do that maybe try having her play with playdoh. Or if not that then watercoloring. Or if not that, then have her make a collage. Give her an old magazine, a scissor and some glue, and a big piece of paper and have her cut out pictures of different things and glue them. You could even give an assignment like cut out anything you see orange or cut out anything with the letter M in it or something. Hey I'm inspiring myself, I'm going to try this with my kids tomorrow! Hee hee....
Sink or float test - get a bunch of items and chart sink or float
blindfold and hold objects, guess what they are
books on tape you can listen to together are nice
watching gas bubbles form from glass of plain water (control), glass of water mixed with yeast, glass of water with baking powder, glass of water with yeast and sugar - which forms fastest
have fun!
i always let my 5 year old help M. cook. he loves cooking, he loves helping M. and i am almost 100% certain he will actually eat what he has helped cook! i'm not sure why you feel bad, but most of the time i have bad days at work and J. want to go home and read a book. but i find that having him help M. and doing stuff together always makes M. feel better.
At five I let them help M. cook. Science you can eat. :)
No knives mind you, that one really disappointed my youngest.
