What to do with your child at home: a list of the best ideas

Being stuck at home isn't always the best option. Especially with a restless child. And after the recent lockdown, when everyone found themselves in isolation, the thought of an unexpectedly long period at home with bored children will send shivers down the spine of many parents. But you can also benefit from this, put gadgets aside, and spend time with your family. So what to do with children at home? In order not to constantly hear “I'm bored!”, parents should have a list of fun activities at hand. We offer to diversify it with our ideas on how to keep children occupied at home for children of different ages.

All classes are simple and do not require special preparation or expense. And everyday things that are found in everyone’s home will help you with this. And of course, the great thing about these ideas is that they don't require a phone or computer, and you won't have to worry about your child spending too much screen time.

What to do with a 1-2 year old child at home

Of course, it is difficult to occupy small children alone for more than 15 minutes. But you can still try to captivate the baby, the main thing is to show your imagination.

Magic jars

Fill any clear plastic containers you have around the house with little things: beads, buttons, nuts, colored pasta, beans—anything that might pique the interest of a young explorer. Carefully close, or better yet, seal the lids so that the baby does not get to the contents, and let him explore the colorful and noisy jars.

Sensory box

Collect items of different textures in a box or basket. Try to collect more natural materials:

cones;
shells;
fruit pits (for example, peach);
walnuts;
cotton balls;
bubble wrap;
rubber animal figures;
pieces of fabric (felt, velvet, corduroy).

Soft fluffy pom-poms and rubber hedgehog balls are popular with kids. It would also be a good idea to add items made from different materials: wood, metal, plastic and rubber.

IMPORTANT! Avoid small objects that your baby could swallow and items with sharp corners.

We suggest making several of these boxes with different themes: arranging items according to texture, smell, color or shape. To keep your baby interested in the boxes for a long time, it is recommended to alternate them every 2-3 days.

In addition to providing a fun time for your little one to explore all these treasures, the box will help develop sensory skills that are so important for stimulating the senses.

Sorting toys

Invite your child to sort colored toys or balls into different boxes or jars. And even though he may not immediately perform the exercise perfectly, it will help him spend his time not only having fun, but also usefully.

Kitchen Tricks

If the mother of a little fidget wants to eat while sitting at the table, and not on the run, you can distract the restless researcher by giving him kitchen utensils. Not a single drum can compare with my mother’s shiny saucepan and ladle. And measuring spoons, muffin tins and spatulas will keep your child occupied for a long time.

puppet show

All kids will appreciate this entertainment. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a doll for your hand. You can make a puppet yourself: sew button eyes onto a bright striped sock and the doll is ready. And then – have fun and improvise. You can create your own character that will delight your child.

What to do with a child aged 11 months to a year?

11-12 months is the time for many endeavors - speech, walking, independent eating and hygiene.

Teeth cleaning

As for hygiene, at this age your baby can already have his own toothbrush. There's no point in buying toothpaste yet - let's start by just learning how to brush your teeth
At first, brushing your teeth will take literally a couple of seconds - two movements in one direction and the other. But over time, the baby will imitate his parents and spend a long time scratching his teeth with a brush. Be sure to praise the baby for his desire for cleanliness
More and more children at 11-12 months are interested in moving around the apartment independently. If his movements are constrained in a walker, then there are no restrictions when walking without a walker.
Now he can calmly turn on and off the light, reach for the door handle and keys in the lock, the table and what is on the table. Therefore, during such a crucial period, parents should be very careful and prudent - they need to remove dangerous, breakable, cutting and piercing objects away.
Many mothers and fathers have to tie the handles of cabinets so that the baby does not open them. To avoid such actions, it is better to allocate one cabinet in the kitchen and in the room, where things will be safe, but at the same time interesting for the baby.
These can be multi-colored nylon lids folded in a cardboard box, colored plastic or metal bowls, mugs and spoons. Forks and knives, even plastic ones, should be kept away from the child

Baby box

As for the nylon lids, the baby can sit with them for a long time - he really likes to take them out of the box one by one, feel them and put them back in the box. The same can be done with plastic bottle caps. By the way, 11-12 months is the right age for the ability to twist and tighten bottle caps. Kids are trying very hard to learn this difficult task.
To develop speech, you need to continue to sing to the baby and recite rhymes with nursery rhymes. The baby will already be interested in colorful books with large images. When reading a book, it is better to place the child in your arms so that he can see both the picture and his mother’s mouth while pronouncing the words. This is how babies learn to speak - they need to understand how the tongue should be positioned between the teeth and what shape the lips take when pronouncing certain letters and syllables.
Closer to the year, you can start teaching your baby games with sorters. First, you need to show and voice to him several times what needs to be inserted where in order for the figurine to end up inside the toy. It is advisable to attach inappropriate figures to the opening of the sorter so that the baby understands that an object of this shape will not fit through the window. At the same time, you can shake your head negatively and say that this choice is wrong. Soon the baby himself will begin to navigate the shapes and colors suitable for certain holes
Children at this age really love puppet theaters performed by their beloved parents. Therefore, you can buy or sew a couple of dolls that fit on your hand and show your child performances. At the same time, it is not necessary to hide behind a screen - the baby will still look at the moving toy and perceive the words spoken by the mother as the speech of the animal
To make a toy for a puppet theater, you can use an old sock. You just need to sew or glue a nose, eyes and mouth to it. Everything else depends only on your imagination

What to do with a 3-4 year old child at home

House out of a box

There are a lot of coloring cardboard houses, but it is much more interesting to create a home yourself and decorate it to your taste. Furnish your new home with a rug and pillows, hang curtains on the window, and add lighting with string lights or LED candles. A housewarming party will distract your baby from other things for a long time.

Detailed video on how to make such a house with your own hands:

Home raincoat tent

Another idea for arranging a secluded place for a child. Probably all of us in childhood built a tent from available materials: chairs, a table and a sheet. Modern children of any age will appreciate their own den. Some will camp for the night during a hike, others will bask in a yurt in the snow - give free rein to your children's imagination. Don't forget to provide the tent owner with a flashlight and a sleeping bag.

Soft plasticine or play dough

Soft play dough is perhaps the favorite of all children and parents. Comfortable and safe material can keep little ones entertained for hours. You can make anything from dough: a dinosaur, an elephant, a car or a castle - the possibilities of the material are endless. The most important thing is that parents don't have to worry about the bright colors of the dough mixing together. If you don't have soft dough, prepare it yourself.

You will need:

2 cups of flour;
1 glass of salt;
1 tablespoon oil;
½-1 cup cold water;
2 drops liquid food coloring.

Progress:

Mix flour and salt.
Add water, oil and food coloring.
Knead the mixture, adding more flour if the consistency is too wet.

Instructions:

Pirate treasure

What child doesn’t love exciting stories about fearless pirates? But few people know that pirate treasures can be found right at home. Hide anything as a treasure - for example, candy, chocolate eggs (or toys made from them), a collection of shells or souvenir banknotes. But if you want something special, wrap a large block, such as a cube, in foil, and you will get a precious ingot. Chocolate “gold” coins in a box-chest are also suitable as treasures.

After the treasure is hidden, the child can be offered a map with a hint where to look for the cache. Equip the aspiring pirate with a telescope (a toilet paper or paper towel roll will do), a flashlight, and a treasure bag.

Combine fun play with learning. Instead of gold and silver, hide notes with letters or words. From the findings, invite your child to make up a word or sentence.

Domino buildings

You can play dominoes not only according to the rules provided by the game. Build a multi-story house out of dominoes with your kids and come up with a story about who lives there. This exercise perfectly trains the dexterity of little hands. Or create unusual shapes and watch how one domino after another falls. The most colorful and spectacular moments can be filmed, rewatched with friends, or shown off on the Internet.

How to entertain or keep your child occupied at home? (25 fun games)

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When there is bad weather outside, or for health reasons your baby needs to stay at home, the child gets bored, capricious, or just sits in front of the TV. To prevent your child from getting bored, give him attention, play with him, and enjoy the time spent together.

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Read on for a selection of 25 fun games to keep your little one entertained and occupied at home.

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For two to three hours, dip the colored chalk in a solution of three parts water and one part sugar. Sugar makes the chalk denser and, when dry, it crumbles less. Then let the child draw something on thick paper (preferably black) or on a slate board, and he will see how deep and beautiful the color of the drawing becomes.

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Let the child try to walk around the room in his mother’s high-heeled shoes (even boys get great pleasure from this) or in his father’s huge shoes, putting insoles in them; and it’s also interesting to mysteriously wrap yourself in a shawl or put on a “Cowboy” hat with an important air; It is very pleasant to dance in a cape made from a skirt, sheet or towel. Girls love to try on their mother’s jewelry, paint their nails and use a little of their mother’s cosmetics.

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Invite your child to portray some funny character by choosing the appropriate costume. Advise him to appear as a Superman in a raincoat, a cowboy in a colorful silk scarf and boots, an old woman with a stick, or an alien in a helmet from another planet. The child will play a role, and you will guess who it is in front of you.

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Excellent theatrical props can be purchased in the store. A tall cardboard hat, a walking stick and cheap white gloves can turn your little one into a sparkling dandy. A clown nose, huge shoes, a plastic bow tie or a wig will bring children a lot of joy and fun.

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Imagine that together with your child you invented a new Olympic sport - balancing with a book. Let the baby walk around the room, trying to hold it on his head and not drop it. He should not touch the book with his hands. Very soon the child will understand how important it is to move carefully, holding his head high. Choose books of different formats so that he can understand which ones are easy to hold on his head and which ones are difficult.

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You can give the game the form of a competition between several children. One person plays the role of judge, while the others try to hold the books on their heads. All children walk around the room at the same time, and the one who holds the book the longest without touching it wins. The winner becomes a judge and assigns a new format and weight of the book to the game participants.

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Invite your child to choose any color, for example red. Give him red clothes, find red foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner and decorate the table with them. Red drawings, toys and even frequent use of the word “Red” should accompany the child throughout the day. Look for pictures with the color red in magazines, count all the red objects in the house. For the next day, help your son or daughter come up with a new color.

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Organize an orchestra using homemade musical instruments. They can be made from what you have at home.

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By placing small pebbles, buttons or glass balls in a metal tea can, you will get a musical instrument.

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The metallic sound is already there, now you need to look for small pieces of wood or wooden objects (for example, a wooden spoon, a cheese board, wooden molds or clothespins. By hitting two wooden objects together, slowly or quickly, hard or gently, you produce sounds , suitable for dance music.

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By turning on a record or cassette, the child can maintain the rhythm of the melody while playing his instruments. If the noise produced by the orchestra becomes too loud, ask the musician to play in a quieter key.

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Even small children love this traditional game. Take ten popsicle sticks or plastic straws. The child holds them in his hand, then lets go, and they fall on the table. The baby must carefully collect them one at a time so as not to move those lying next to them. If he moves at least one, the game ends.

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Count how many sticks he can collect at one time and how many attempts he must make to finally collect all the sticks. Watch his progress as he gains experience in the game. Now it's your turn to play.

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Children always enjoy hiding and searching, so play hide-and-seek or treasure hunt with your little one using toys or household items. It is useful to include educational elements in the game.

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If your child is learning the alphabet, write a letter on several pieces of paper. Let the baby leave the room while you hide them (just don't try to hide them too far away so as not to disappoint him.

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Call the child back and solemnly announce: “Six Letters T are kept in Secrets in This Room.” We'll see if you can find them quickly." Only if it is difficult for the baby, prompt him by saying “Hot” when he approaches the hidden object, and “cold” when he moves away.

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For an older child, write on paper the letters that make up his name or a new word and cut them out, like for a rebus. Once your child has found the letters, they must assemble them into one word (with your help if necessary) and let this become part of the game.

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The oldest children can search for six objects that have two vowels in their names (book, soap, bag, brush, lamp, glasses), ten objects starting with the letter “T,” or look for things from a list you made.

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Try to make sure that the names of items are repeated in different versions of the game.

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Do you want to exercise without going outside? Balloons are what you need. They are small, lightweight and 92 percent guaranteed against any damage.

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Let your child have fun throwing the balls up with one or two hands alternately. By stretching a rope between the backs of two chairs located at some distance from each other, start a game of volleyball. Several children at the same time can happily toss the ball back and forth.

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Place five objects on the tray, for example: a key, a ball, a spoon, a cube and a crayon. Let the child look carefully at these objects and name each of them.

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Then he closes his eyes, and at this time you hide one of the items in your pocket. Looking at the tray again, the baby must determine what is missing. To make it more interesting, gradually add new things to the tray, and when the child masters the game, start removing immediately. several items. Usually all family members take part in this activity with pleasure.

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For a change, you can blindfold your baby so that he can feel and determine what is on the tray and what is missing.

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Hide the item you took from the tray somewhere in the room and play “hot and cold” (saying “hot” when the child approaches the object and “cold” when moving away); continue the game until he finds it.

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Blindfold your child with a scarf or handkerchief. Explain that you need to move around the room carefully, with your arms extended forward. Having touched an object, he must name it and describe it. Then it's your turn to do the same. Compare your impressions and find out what your child likes more - looking for objects or watching how you do it.

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Of course, you first need to make sure that there are no dangerous objects or expensive Chinese vases in the room. Try to stay close to the child the whole time the child's eyes are closed.

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On those days when the child is not allowed to go outside, it will be a great pleasure for him to climb into a “cave” made of large cardboard boxes (and the larger the boxes, the better), or into a “tent”, into which a table, laid bedspreads or sheets. You build the scenery and the child fills it with imaginary characters.

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Let young children paint or paint the boxes, and older ones use scissors to cut out windows so they can look out from the tents.

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Build an obstacle course on the path leading to Wonderland. Throw a bridge across them using a bench and two chairs, or simply place two thick ropes on the floor, which can indicate a crossing.

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Behind the bridge there must also be obstacles that must be overcome in any way: jump over, climb over or go around.

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You can pass a couch by sneaking from behind, crawl under a chair, and step over a stool; you can jump on a bag of pillows, or sit in a plastic basket with laundry.

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Cardboard boxes, footstools and baskets can be used as additional obstacles.

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Now dream up a little. Tell your child that this bridge leads to a beautiful fairyland. Let your child make up a story about where he went and what he saw there. Having crossed the bridge, he can enter a fairy-tale world, return back and begin the journey again. He will take a walk in a wonderful park and ride a rocket (standing on a stool) or swim in a lake (lying on a blanket and floundering).

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He might want to go into space. or to the Wizard of Oz, or to Disneyland and Mickey Mouse. He will be curious to wander around the haunted house, he will enjoy the circus and want to spend the whole rainy day with Peter Pan.

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This wonderful game can be played with friends. Just don’t be surprised if suddenly the preparations for it take much longer than the journey itself.

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Invite your child to think of some animal to himself and use gestures to depict its habits. By the way he moves, try to understand who it is. The baby should help you do this as quickly as possible.

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Then it’s your turn to make a wish.

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After you both have completed this task, talk about animals, birds, and fish. Make a list of animals that your child already knows and try to find pictures of them. Divide them into three groups: wild, domestic and indoor animals.

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Try to find out more about the ones you portrayed and see if you can do it better now. Consider also a trip to the zoo, although it's best to go there on a sunny day.

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Such exercises will enrich your child's vocabulary and his understanding of the world around him.

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If your active child has a lot of energy, here's the best way to release it without leaving the house. Use duct tape to mark “classroom” squares on the floor. A large corridor or a closed veranda is most suitable for this activity, as well as free space in the kitchen or room.

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You probably remember how the game starts. You need to throw a small bat at the drawn squares so that it hits the square without touching the lines.

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First you throw it into the first “class”, then into the second, etc. As soon as it is in the desired square, you must approach it, jumping on one leg through all the “classes” in order.

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Then you need to pick up the bat, turn around and come back, keeping your balance and not stepping on the line. (You can stand on both feet if only the squares are next to each other or if you turn back in the last "class".)

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The game continues until you step on the line or lose your balance; then it is the other player's turn. The winner is the one who is the first to perform all the actions correctly and go from the first “grade” to the eighth.

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For limited space there is a simpler version of the game. Draw the “classes” with two strips of adhesive tape one hundred and sixty centimeters long, placing them parallel to each other at a distance of forty centimeters. Then, also using tape, label each “class” with a number from zero to five.

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Now say a number from zero to five. The child must jump into the named square number and jump there several times, counting his jumps.

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If you want to teach your child to recognize numbers, use cards with numbers from zero to five written on them. The child should also be in the “class” indicated on the card and make several jumps there, counting them. Or he himself chooses the “class” number, jumps into the desired square and names it. Ask your child to move forward or back a grade or two, or give him a simple math problem. “What is three plus two? What is four minus three?

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Introduce your child to sign language. Describe how people share information with each other in this way. Think of signs that could be used as a special language in your family.

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If your child is interested, check out a book about sign language from the library. Learn a few simple movements and try saying “I love you”, “Good night”, “Sweet dreams” and “What are we having for lunch” in this language?

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If your house loves cars made from matchboxes or other scrap materials, organize a rally, preferably in a counterclockwise direction. Use duct tape or string to mark a route on the floor.

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Make sure there is a start and finish line. Children can then race around the track and use a kitchen timer or stopwatch to see who can get the fastest time.

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In case there is a danger that the car, making a sharp turn, may hit a wall or furniture, place bolsters or pillows for safety.

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In our age of high technology, e-mail and computer games, reading books continues to be an important element of culture. On a rainy day, wear rubber shoes, go to the library and look for something interesting there.

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Before you go, ask your little one what book he would like to receive - about dinosaurs, about Little Mook, or a book about trains and planes.

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As your child gets older, try to teach him how to use the catalog. See if there are authors in the catalog who are your namesakes and what they write about. Pick a topic and find out if there are books on it and take one home.

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Most parents will like this game. Take drawing paper and paints - tempera, watercolor or gouache. Let your child collect small objects of different shapes and qualities - a piece of sponge, a bottle cap, a sea shell, a margarine package cap, and a few erasers are a good place to start. Now you need to dip something in paint, and then use it as a stamp, leaving imprints on the paper. Let the child do this with different objects on one sheet of paper several times.

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After he has tried each of them for this purpose, take new ones. By attaching a painted half of a potato with holes and grooves cut into it to the paper, you can see an interesting pattern. Improve this method of obtaining prints using the tools at hand.

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Helpful Tip: Once your child gets good at making prints, have them make them on smooth white paper or plain paper for notes. And then he will be happy to write notes on it or give it as a gift to family members.

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This simple board game, suitable for children of any age, requires only a piece of paper, a pen, and a few pebbles or small coins.

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You know the game where someone puts both hands behind their back, holding an object in one of them, then puts them forward, and the other has to guess which hand is holding the object. This old Indian guessing game allows you to evaluate your intuition.

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Take a fairly large piece of paper and draw a circle in the middle, with a star in the center. To the left and right of it, draw four small circles so that they do not touch each other. At the end of each row of circles, draw a square.

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Write your initials on one of them and your child's initials on the other. Place a pebble in the center of the large circle. Then have the child hold a pebble in one hand so that you can’t see it and ask you to guess which one. If you determine correctly, you can move the pebble lying on the table towards your square. If you make a mistake, then move it towards the child’s square. The game ends when the pebble reaches someone else's square. Then you can start the game again, switching roles.

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If you want to develop the quality of organization in your child (and this can continue for oh so long, right up to adulthood), the most convenient way to start your efforts on a rainy day is by making a washable calendar.

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Take a piece of cardboard. Place it horizontally. Draw a line, far enough back from the top edge, where you need to indicate the year and month. Let the child draw out the cardboard so that it turns out to be a grid of six squares vertically and seven horizontally.

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The only thing that the child should write directly on the cardboard (except for the grid itself) is the names of the days of the week, placing them in the first row. Then wrap the cardboard in plastic.

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Now, using a washable marker, the child can write down the month and year, and then, looking at a real calendar, write each day of the month in the appropriate square.

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Once your work is completed, you and your child should decide what to mark on the calendar—upcoming school events, family visits, sports games, or holidays.

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You should also agree on when the baby will do his household chores - cleaning the room or watering the flowers. At the end of the month, erase the old entries and make new ones.

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A calm and interesting activity for a child who cannot move much is playing puppet theater. Ask him to prepare a short performance after lunch or afternoon tea. Choose several characters (dolls or other toys). Some children have no difficulty writing stories; others need some guidance to get started. Either way, have your child come up with a play, rehearse it, and perform it. If you have time, choose your heroes and try to come up with a fairy tale together. You might want to show it to the rest of the family during dinner.

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Pick up several small objects of different colors and shapes. For example: a yellow feather, a red heart, a black checker and a brown crayon. Let the child study them carefully. Place the items in the box and blindfold him. Putting his hands into the box, he must touch the objects one by one, remember what color they are and then pull them out. Remove the blindfold and let the child see if he remembers the items correctly.

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Let the child cut out many, many circles, rectangles and triangles of different sizes from thick paper. Now you can put them in the form of some figures and come up with a story about them. For example, you can fold a long train by gluing circles (wheels) under rectangles (cars) and connecting them with small black stripes. This way you can make robots, boats and ice cream tubes, as well as any other items that the child wants.

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First, invite your child to cut out pictures with animals and other objects from magazines. When he glues them onto several pieces of paper, start a game of riddles. Take pieces of paper of the same size and make small holes in them. Choose one of the pictures and cover it with a piece of paper. Let the child try to recognize the object that he sees through the hole.

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You can make one, two, or, if you need to see more details to recognize it, three small holes in different parts of a piece of paper, or simply move it along the surface of the picture.

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Children of all ages really like to make “jewelry” - beads, bracelets, brooches. Little ones can string pasta onto a thread using a large needle to create “real jewels.”

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Squares of colored paper and buttons can easily pass for semi-precious stones. After making the decoration, the child can paint the bracelets and necklaces in their favorite colors. For older children, you can buy beads.

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Source: S. Feldcher, S. Lieberman. “400 ways to occupy a child from 2 to 8 years old.”
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What to do with a 5-6 year old child

Rainbow in the window

For cloudy days and long periods of rain, encourage the children to make their own rainbow for the window. Even passers-by are guaranteed a good mood.

You will need:

colored paper;
scissors;
stapler;
Super glue;
needle with thread;
cotton wool

Detailed master class at the link:

Classics

If for some reason you can’t go outside, you can even play hopscotch at home. To do this, you will need adhesive tape, with which you need to “draw” the well-known path of squares on the floor.

Hot potato

This game will make everyone laugh. Children sit on the floor in a circle. Play some tunes and ask participants to pass a “hot potato” (a bag of beans or a soft ball) around the circle as quickly as possible. When the music stops, the player holding the "potato" leaves the circle. Continue until there is only one winner left.

Drawing shadows

All you need for this is the sun and paper. Although even the sun in this case can be replaced with a lamp.

Position the shapes you want to draw so that they cast a shadow on the paper. These can be animals, trees, pyramids, cars - everything that is dear to the heart of a young artist. The shadows need to be outlined with a pencil and then painted. After organizing such leisure time, parents will be able to find time for their own affairs.

Minions from kinder

Of course, most children have a box at home with a huge number of yellow Kinder Surprise eggs. This is the basis for hundreds of crafts. We suggest making perky minions.

You will need:

Kinder Surprise eggs;
acrylic paints (permanent markers or even nail polish);
in addition to paints, you can also use plasticine or pieces of fabric;
eyes for children's crafts (if you don't have them, you can make them yourself from a backing for tablets and black fabric (for the pupils) or draw the pupils with a marker). You can also make eyes from plasticine.

Progress:

Draw the details: a blank for the eyes, hairstyle and mouth.
Secure the eyes with superglue or PVA.
Make a blue jumpsuit for the egg from the available material.
Draw handles or mold them from plasticine.

If you have a lot of eggs, you can make a whole “army” of minions. The flight of imagination is not limited: each cartoon can have its own emotion, and their overalls can be decorated with sequins and other decor.

Example in the master class:

Creation

The simplest thing you can do while staying at home with your children is drawing or coloring. The materials can be found in any home where there are children, and ideas will come as the lesson progresses. However, if this type of entertainment has outlived its usefulness, the pencils have been sharpened, and all your favorite characters have been painted, we suggest doing one of the following types of creativity.

Unusual crafts

To bring a little creativity into everyday life, you can make an applique, painting or figurine of your favorite fairy-tale character from scrap materials. Invite your child to use his imagination. Anything can be used: cotton swabs, cotton pads, colored napkins, small cereals, colored cardboard.

Scrapbooking

This is an entire artistic direction associated with the production of paper products: postcards, notepads, photo albums. Beginner scrapers will not be able to handle serious work, but a simple postcard or small notebook will do just fine. You can order materials for creativity in the online store, and then go discover a fascinating paper world not only for your child, but also for yourself.

Quilling

Another artistic direction associated with paper products. To work, you will need a set of narrow colored strips and a special tool with which they are twisted into small parts. Ideas can be found on the Internet and implemented over many evenings.

Construction

What boy hasn't assembled a car from a construction set? Any set of parts purchased in a store will be used: plastic, wooden, metal or magnetic. And during the design process, you can use unnecessary shoe boxes and build from them not only a vehicle, but also a miracle robot, for example, by painting it with markers or decorating it with stickers. An entire evening of entertainment for the whole family!

House or garage?

Shoe boxes are a universal material. Even if your daughter already has a fashionable house for dolls, and your son has a multi-level toy parking lot, creating something similar on your own will be much more interesting.

Insert the boxes into each other, forming a corner, fasten them with tape or glue, cover the inside with the remains of wallpaper, cut out the windows and decorate them with curtains, and your general imagination will tell you the further plan of action.

The same manipulations, placing boxes on top of each other and cutting them in the right places, need to be done to create a miracle parking lot or garage. Draw road markings, build signs and plan a route. Such toys have a much greater chance of becoming the most beloved than their expensive counterparts.

Sewing, knitting, embroidery

If you have skills in at least one of these types of needlework, it's time to pass on the knowledge to your child. And if you have long dreamed of trying to figure out how to hold knitting needles or a crochet hook in your hands, then you are on an equal footing, and starting together is always more fun.

It’s okay if the first flaps are sewn crookedly and the loops do not immediately form an even pattern. Patience and a lot of training videos on the Internet will definitely give excellent results.

Clothes for toys

From small pieces of fabric, beads and buttons you can create a whole collection of unusual clothes for dolls. Boys shouldn't be left behind either. Using available materials, you can build a Superman cape, a magic mask, or a special backpack for your favorite toy soldiers.

What to do with a 7-9 year old child

House of cards

You can while away more than one evening building such a house. It's not a fact that you will achieve the skill of artist Brian Berg, who devoted his entire life to this, but the activity will definitely keep the children occupied for several hours. Moreover, entire diagrams and master classes on buildings from maps are available on the Internet. Here is one of them:

All that remains is to choose where to start.

Bowling

Empty water bottles and a rubber ball are all you need to turn your family room into a bowling alley, without the awkward funny shoes. 6 bottles are enough for skittles, and to make them heavier, fill them with a little water. Don't forget to keep score of the game and reward the winner with something tasty.

Crepe paper obstacle course

One of the favorite children's games. Stretch thin strips of crepe paper in a crisscross pattern from one wall to the other, leaving small gaps for children to climb over. The winner is the one who can walk the entire room without tearing the paper. The whole family will probably join in on this kind of entertainment, because everyone has dreamed of feeling like a superhero at least once. Forget about age and enjoy the game with your children.

Home science experiments

Simple chemical and physical experiments will not only keep your child busy for a long time, but will also teach him the basics of how the world around him works. Combine business with pleasure by choosing a suitable science experiment from our list, and your child will definitely never be bored!

Running out of ideas on what to do with your child at home? Pingo app! to help you. In it you will find a huge list of exciting activities for primary schoolchildren - from various games and experiments, to educational and intellectual tasks!

Pebbles

In European countries, pebble art has recently become commonplace: people decorate stones and leave them in parks and squares for beauty. It is best to use acrylic paints. It is up to the young artist to decide what to depict on the stone – a cheerful face or a fancy ornament.

Disco without leaving home

Sometimes it’s nice to have a disco at home: dim the lights in the room, give your child a flashlight (and if you have a disco ball, turn it on), a scarf or handkerchief that you can twirl while dancing. Play your favorite songs and hit the dance floor with the whole family.

Theater arts

It happens that cultural life, for one reason or another, has finally come to naught, but the child’s creative potential just begs to come out. So why not give vent to your emotions, abilities and imagination right at home? Put on a real show with an audience (you can even have grandparents via video link) and a buffet at intermission. The question “What to do with the children in the evening?” will disappear by itself.

Puppet show

Favorite toys will come to life and become actors, and the back of the chair will become an unusual stage. Let the script be based on the simplest fairy tale, and several characters can be controlled by one person. Show children how to speak in different voices, changing characters, and choose suitable decorations. If you like the activity, over time you can take the fairy tale into a more complex one, and improve the stage with a curtain.

By the way, home puppet theater can be of several types: magnetic theater (characters on a magnet are placed on a special surface and move along it), finger theater (mini toys are put on the fingers) and hand theater, where the toy is put completely on the hand, and the fingers of the player become the character's hands or paws.

Shadow play

Everyone knows that if you turn your palm edge down and move your little finger, a shadow will appear on the wall, very similar to a barking dog. Spend five minutes searching for ideas on the Internet and another five on selecting available tools and turning on a flashlight - you are guaranteed an activity for at least an hour. Fantasy will work very quickly, and soon you simply won’t be able to keep up with the fancy figures from your child’s fingers, which will come to life every now and then on the wall.

Karaoke

It doesn’t matter at all whether children have hearing or can sing. The main thing is to think about your neighbors and don’t hold a concert too late. If you have a microphone, great, you can turn on your favorite melody with words and arrange a real concert performance. If there is no microphone, a laptop will be enough to gather a singing family around you.

New dance

A great idea is to come up with your own dance to your favorite melody, learn it and demonstrate it to the whole family, say, to coincide with a holiday. If suitable movements do not come to mind, turn on any dance video and learn it with your children. It is better to transfer this type of activity to the daytime, especially if you live in an apartment building.

What to do with a 10-11 year old child

Scary stories in the dark

Who among us has not hid in the dark under a blanket, listening to black, black cats hiding in a black, black room? If your child is already ready for such stories, go ahead and remember the most terrible stories from childhood. Who knows, maybe your child, in turn, will tell you modern horror stories. Such gatherings will not only help pass the free time, but also unite.

Board games

In a world where you can play football online for a long time, you shouldn’t forget regular games. Offer the children a game of hangman or tic-tac-toe and arrange real competitions. Or bring out your favorite board games and sit around the table with the whole family.

Babies at 3-4 months

At this age, babies already know how to hold up their heads, pick up toys, wave them, and roll over. Children's horizons expand significantly; they can see at a distance of a meter. During this period, parents need to talk to the baby as much as possible, read books to him, sing songs, and tell nursery rhymes.

An excellent option would be to hang toys above the crib. The baby will try to reach them. Having placed the baby on his tummy, place his favorite rattle 20-30 centimeters from him, this will encourage the baby to crawl.

Children really enjoy playing hide and seek, so don’t deprive your little one of this fun. Mom can cover her face with her hands, and then open them with the words: “Ku-ku.” As a rule, this causes the kids to burst into laughter and mince their legs.

What to do with a child over 12 years old

Constructor in a minute

Toothpicks will make an excellent construction item that will captivate your child for a long time. All you need is a pack of toothpicks and small plasticine balls to connect the wooden sticks together. Start construction with simple geometric shapes, and then a series of experiments: three-dimensional models of houses, bridges, zodiac signs and much more.

You can get inspired by ideas here:

Picnic at home

If tearing your family away from gadgets and getting them to sit at the table for lunch has become problematic, you can have a picnic on the living room floor. Spread a blanket on the floor. Stock up on a cozy grocery basket to create the ambience. Think about a light menu in advance: drinks, snacks, sandwiches, or what your family loves most. This will definitely make everyone put down their joystick or phone and join the picnic. Who knows, maybe this will become your family tradition.

Time capsule

Invite the children to make a time capsule. Let everyone write parting words for themselves in the future. In addition to a letter, you can put things dear to your heart into the capsule, which, many years later, may also evoke warm memories in you. The main thing is not to forget the capsule if you are going to move. Agree to open the capsule after at least 10 years and hide it in a secluded corner. And one day your children and their children will create the same time capsule, remembering how they once did this with you.

Spa

With your growing daughter, you can set up a spa at home. Make masks or wraps with her - this activity will definitely bring you closer to your “difficult” teenager. And if you trust your daughter to do her own manicure, she will be convinced that you treat her like an adult. Of course, at this age it’s nice. In addition, your daughter probably already knows better than you which nail art techniques are currently at the peak of fashion.

Home film studio

Feel like participants in a real movie set. Have fun or cook dinner together and film everything on video. Don't do multiple takes: relax and let everyone be themselves.

Particularly creative families can complicate the task and distribute roles among the household: someone will be a director, someone will be an actor, and someone will be a cameraman. It is quite possible that during filming you will discover that a real screen star is growing up in your family. In addition, in addition to the fun time spent, you will have an invaluable video as a souvenir that you can use to please relatives living far away.

Interesting activities for children from 1 to 3 years old

Toddlers develop cognitive abilities at a rapid pace. Their cognition—or the skill of thinking—becomes steadily more complex. Children ages 1 to 3 develop language, social skills, and reasoning. Encourage their cognitive development with simple activities like the ones below. Observe, listen and interact with your little ones during play for the greatest learning effect.

Sorting

Object sorting tasks require children to demonstrate the ability to separate objects by grouping them according to a certain characteristic. You can offer a game in which the child will have to separate objects according to various criteria, such as color, size, texture or physical properties.

Encourage your child to sort blocks, crayons, toy cars, stuffed animals, and even silverware with you. Let your child sort the laundry with you sometimes, asking where you should put this or that item. Also discuss what brings these items together into one group.

Body parts

Activities like these help children learn to identify body parts and develop language skills. Place a couple of sheets of whatman paper or a piece of unnecessary wallpaper on the floor. Ask your baby to lie on the paper with his back. Trace it with a pencil on paper along the contour of the body. Then ask them to stand up and join in identifying body parts. You can even complete the resulting silhouette together by first drawing and then coloring parts of the face and clothing.

Point to the body part in the picture and ask your child what it is. If he doesn't know, tell him and make sure he repeats after you. Then point to the same body part on his own body and repeat the word again.

Count

Counting activities for children help introduce them to the basics of mathematics. Find a few small items that will fit into a paper bag in your baby's hand. Items should not be too small and provide good tactile stimulation, such as cotton balls, rubber balls or plastic fishing worms.

Explain to your child that they need to take things out of the bag and put them on the floor one by one. While he is laying out the items, help him count them out loud by placing them in a row. Count them again after they are all laid out.

Usually kids get pleasure from finding unknown objects in a bag. Tactile sensations help them better understand and remember numbers and sequences.

Play dough

To make your own play dough, mix 3 cups of flour, a cup of salt, 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and a cup of water. To make the material multi-colored, add a few drops of food coloring or instant drink.

To make playing with play dough more fun, you should have cookie cutters, different sized lids, a rolling pin, and wooden stacks on hand.

Water games

Children love different activities related to water, they really like to pour it into different containers and pour it back out. Fill a bucket or bathtub with water and add bubble bath to create bubbles on the surface of the water.

To play with water you will need spoons, measuring cups, toy boats and other toys. Spreading a film or large towels on the floor will help protect the floor from splashes.

Finger paint

Children find joy in being able to create something with their own hands. Buy finger paints and give your child a large sheet of paper to draw on.

Instead of dyes, you can use shaving foam mixed with a few drops of food coloring. Also, your child will probably enjoy drawing with chalk on the asphalt.

We tear the paper

Give your child some scrap paper, such as wrapping paper, and let him tear it into pieces. Then help him stick them onto the cardboard to create a collage.

Let's jump

Place a mattress, mats and cushions on the floor and let your baby jump on them to his heart's content. Such a pastime will help him release energy and contribute to the development of some physical qualities.

Let's dance

Play a children's song or educational video for the appropriate age. The child will certainly try to repeat the movements after you or the hero on the screen.

Educational activities and active games with children 1-3 years old do not have to be difficult. The child must understand the purpose of the game or task. In addition, the exercises should be changed frequently, since it is still difficult for the child to concentrate on one thing for a long time.

Tips for parents

A couple more ideas for all times.

Movie time

Organize a jar filled with notes with movie titles. Even if it’s just a list of special films in a notebook: the main thing is to use them at special moments to lift your spirits. For example, during quarantine or when a trip that you had been dreaming about for a long time was canceled due to bad weather. In addition, it’s a good idea to have an emergency supply of popcorn, sweets and other “forbidden” items in the kitchen, which in moments of sadness will be legally destroyed by those at home in front of the TV.

Practice tongue twisters

Improve your speaking technique and have fun at the same time. The main thing is to choose tongue twisters according to age.

For babies

Little Zina's bunny sleeps in a basket
The hedgehog has a hedgehog, and the grass snake has a hedgehog.
White sheep beat drums.

For primary and secondary schoolchildren

Arkhip shouted, Arkhip became hoarse. Arkhip doesn’t need to scream until he is hoarse.
The train rushes along, grinding: “Where-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha!”
The little cuckoo bought a hood, put the little cuckoo's hood on, Like a little cuckoo looks funny in a hood.

For high school students, more complicated options:

On Thursday the fourth at four and a quarter o'clock the Ligurian traffic controller was regulating in Liguria
The pharaonic favorite was replaced by sapphire and jade.
Our head has out-headed your head, out-headed.

Bakery

From cupcakes to homemade brownies, there's no end to the sweet creations you can make with your kids. Kids can be tasked with making a bun out of dough, decorating cookies and gingerbread with sprinkles, and older children can try to cook something more complicated on their own, staging a real cooking show.

We offer a recipe for a delicacy that children of all ages will appreciate. However, not only children. So, cake pops on a stick.

You will need:

For the biscuit:

eggs – 5 pcs.;
sugar – 200 gr.;
flour – 250 gr.;
salt - on the tip of the knife.

For cream:

butter – 200 gr.;
1 can of condensed milk;
vanilla to taste.

For the glaze:

chocolate;
vegetable oil – 1/2 tsp.

Detailed recipe at the link:

An endless source of interesting and useful activities for children

If you have tried all the above ideas, but your child’s free time at home still doesn’t end, don’t rack your brains, coming up with new and new activities. Child psychologists, educators, teachers and animators have already done this for you. For the convenience of the parent, the most exciting and useful tasks are collected in one place: on creativity, development, memory, communication and sports training. In addition, with their help you can involve your child in helping around the house or doing homework. We are talking about the children's app Pingo!

The parent can choose an activity from a constantly updated list, come up with it themselves, or give the child a choice. As you progress, “stars”—points—are accumulated. An adult will be able to check and track the number of completed tasks from their Where are My Kids app on a separate screen, as well as set a price for the goal that the child is saving for. Make good use of your child's time and motivate him to put his smartphone aside right now!

The Kids Tasks feature is now available with the latest update to the Pingo: Chat with Parents and Where Are My Kids apps. You can download them from the AppStore and GooglePlay stores.

As you can see, all activities are simple and easy to implement. And even though we have recently begun to spend more time at home, this does not mean that you will be bored. The list of ideas can be printed out and hung on the refrigerator - it's a great way to instantly come up with ways to entertain the kids when things get boring!

Exercises at home

If the temperature outside is too low or unpleasant weather conditions do not allow you to spend much time outside, you have to entertain the child at home. Don’t be discouraged, you can come up with a lot of interesting and exciting games in your apartment.

What to do with children at home? Parents, consider the following recommendations:

Reading books;
drawing;
games with cereals;
creative activities;
dancing;
toys;
assembling puzzles;
watching cartoons, etc.

We will try to talk in more detail about exciting and educational activities for children, depending on the age of the kids.

Children at 5-6 months

At this age, it is necessary to focus on the development of the child’s fine motor skills. Kids who already know how to sit can play with cereals, touching various grains and moving them from bowl to bowl. But such games must take place under the strict supervision of an adult.

Give your child a piece of paper. Children love to crush it and tear it into pieces. This is not only very interesting, but also useful for development.

Do not forget about the formation of the child’s passive vocabulary and the development of spoken language. Continue to read books to your child as often as possible, recite rhymes, sing songs, comment on all your actions and the objects around you.

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Buy several educational and musical toys for your baby. The baby will be interested in pressing all kinds of levers, buttons, pulling strings, and sorting out the abacus.

Create! 5 family projects during quarantine

Boldino autumn is a solitary period in Pushkin’s life, which became the most fruitful in terms of creativity. We, too, can successfully create both personal and family projects during the quarantine period.

Children will be delighted with such family projects as:

shared reading (for example, we are now enthusiastically reading Tom Sawyer);
singing karaoke together (we love war songs that remind us of our grandfather. He sang them instead of lullabies);
dancing together (usually watching cartoons smoothly flows into a disco);
cooking together (I still fondly remember how, as a child, our whole family made dumplings and pies. I would like to give the children such an experience at least during the quarantine period);
joint games (Memorina, Crocodile, Fanta, Blind Scissors are our favorite games. And in Cities, Forbidden Words, Guess the Word, Broken Skype, Deaf Phone - we manage to play at our large round table at dinner).

Pay attention to your personal projects as well. After all, the mood of the entire crew depends on the condition of the adult captains. If in the morning, getting up before everyone else, I work on my articles and trainings, take steps towards my goals, then the family will be guaranteed a good mother for the whole day.

Interesting ideas for activities with your child

The authors of the ideas from this collection can definitely look at things from an unexpected angle! For example, draw like this with markers attached to a typewriter. Or drink from apples. Or arrange a cable car. More details >

Simple crafts to keep your child busy

We hang mobile phones, glue whales and even sew covers for headphones. This is what it means to “spend time usefully” Read more >

Babies 7-11 months

Activities aimed at developing fine motor skills remain relevant. Play with cereals with your child, make a “sensory box” for him. Offer your child several jars in which you can put various objects and then take them out.

There are a lot of educational toys for kids of this age: these can be musical walkers, “dry” pools filled with balls, educational books, pyramids, gurneys, cubes, etc. At this age, it is very easy to lure a baby with a new toy for a long time.

A “busy board” would be a great idea. It’s not for nothing that this board has gained immense popularity. Every dad can make it, and it’s as easy as shelling pears to entice a child. Kids will certainly enjoy opening doors, locks, turning faucets, throwing a ball into a tube, tying shoelaces, and pressing buttons.