I'm baby-sitting a four-year old boy for a while, and I needed a place to keep handy for a bit. Hes restless!

Hey I babysit for 4 year old twin girls and i like to keep them busy while im there rather than just sittin infront of the tv. some of the things i do with them are;

* make up a treasure map and hide some things around the garden. the girls have great fun running about trying to find the gifts iv hidden. X

* we recently went out for a walk and picked up some nice colourful leaves and when we got back in stuck them down and made pictures out of them. X

* I picked up a few leaflets from my local vet and cut out the pictures of animals and i got the girls to stick down the animals to make pictures.

* The girls really enjoyed it when i once took over a cupcake baking kit and they got to bake and decorate theie own cakes.

having cream finger painting. Planting seeds and looking after them- try beans and alfalfa sprouts for quick results. Bubble blowing- use baby shampoo. Music - singing songs, making instruments ( rice in plastic bottles, saucepans and wooden spoons etc) Looking in magazines to find the letters of her name - help her cut them out and glue them on to make her name. Have a letter hunt- eg Find all the a's on the page of the magazine/ newspaper , cut them out and paste them on a blank page. Get a packet of cheap shoelaces- great for threading- try Fruit Loops or Nutri Grain for a tasty necklace. Cut up some coloured straws to thread on.Colour some pasta tubes with food colouring and water and dry out to use for threading - talk about colour patterns Join the local library - often they have a children's story morning - if not, just go along and borrow some books! Find a playground close by - half an hour on the play equipment and a little morning tea picnic is lots of fun! Go for a walk along the beach - make a sandcastle, collect shells etc. Dice games such as snakes and ladders are great as they teach children to recognise numbers or count the dots ( try varying the dice) also turn taking which is a great concept! Card games such as Snap, Go fish, Old Maid are games that four year olds can comprehend as the rules are not too complicated. X


try having a treasure hunt. All kids seem to love treasure (in my experience, anyway lol) You could make a list of things that your child has to find and when the list is completed they can receive a treasure which could be a treat of some kind. It could be outdoors, and you need to find things like "a brown leaf", "a red letterbox", "the number 4", "a green car". X

It could be as simple as just spotting them and putting a sticker next to the item on the list, or if you have a camera you are comfortable with your child using, they could take a photo of the item. My son loved taking photos when he was younger and he always took them from such interesting viewpoints! : )

And while you are out looking for the items your child is being active (walking, skipping) and it gives you a chance to talk and ask each other questions and tell jokes etc. And it gives the child a sense of accomplishment to complete the list and get a reward too. : ) X

Ok so there is reading, and then there is READING!!!! Try dress-up where you become the characters in the book1! How about a baking cookies, treasure hunts, plays, a museum, tea parties ( oh do you have a boy or a girl?) gardening, cards, board games. Just try to remember what you liked when you were a kid take some time a think then tell your child this is what mommy played! Add skipping, kick a ball around outside, draw chalk drawings on the sidewalk. X


We have just had 4 days stuck inside with the rain we've been having! We have made pikelets and All Bran muffins, made playdough from scratch, and I have taught her how to tie a shoelace! My daughter is 3 years and 5 months old. She has been enjoying this idea of staying with mum as usually she is in daycare and I'm at work, but with this rain we've been flooded in and I was unable to go to work so I kept my daughter home even though her centre was close to home. I moved the coffee table to the corner of the lounge room and made an obstacle course with chairs and sheets in the lounge room then played follow the leader with her through it. X

1. Make a board game, and then play it! Rather than reaching for the same old board games, have fun creating your own game. Use construction paper, poster board, a piece of cardboard, or anything else available and let your child help you invent a board game. Decorate and cut out game pieces, and then enjoy some quality time while you play your game.

2. Have a scavenger hunt. Hide some items around your house, and have your four-year-old find them. Most children this age love a good mystery, and a day spent indoors is the perfect time to create a mystery for your preschooler to solve. X

3. Have a photo shoot. Using either a digital camera (if you trust your four-year-old with your camera), or a one-time use camera, let your child play photographer. Let your child pose stuffed animals, or family members, and photograph them.

4. Watch family videos. You have hours of video footage from your child's baby years, so why not make good use of it? A child this age will probably get a big kick out of seeing himself as a baby. This is a great way to pass the time on a lazy day spent indoors, and you get to bond with your child in the process.

5. Make a playlist. Go through your CDs and find kid-friendly songs that your four-year-old might enjoy. Listen to them, dance to them, and make your child their very own playlist on the computer with their favorite songs. X

6. Write a book. Imaginative play is lots of fun at four, and kids can come up with good stories at this age. Let your four-year-old make up a story as you write it down. Let your child go back and illustrate the pages, and then bind the book with ribbon or string. X

7. Cook something. Most kids love helping in the kitchen at this age. For an entertaining indoor activity, decide on a recipe and let your four-year-old help with the kid-safe parts of the job.


8. Make a tent or fort. Few of us went through childhood without making a fort or tent with our bed sheets. Grab all of the sheets that you can find, and start making your own little hideouts. Add a couple of flashlights, and you and your child can have plenty of indoor fun. X