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Most child care providers face the challenge of how to keep children entertained all day. It is always easy to cave and let them vegetate in front of a screen or to provide them with structured activities. Many diverse creative experiences will help foster development in children and make time in child care more enjoyable for both the child and the provider. Here are ten creative activities designed to keep kids engaged and stimulated while they are at child care.
Arts and crafts
Engage children in creative arts and crafts activities for self-expression. Find a place for art with paper, crayons, markers, glue, and other recyclable items, such as toilet paper rolls and egg cartons. Let them make their own creations, or engage them in simple projects like painting rocks, making paper plate masks, and collages out of magazine cutouts.
Storytelling and Reading
Reading aloud to children encourages language development, stimulates the imagination, and creates a love of books. Select a variety of age-appropriate books and daily take time to read to the children in your care. Encourage participation by asking questions about the story or inviting children to predict what will happen next. You can also put on storytelling shows using puppets or other props to engage the children more.
Outdoor Play
Outdoor play can enhance both physical and mental health in children. Make use of your outdoors by providing a running, jumping, climbing, and nature exploratory space. Create obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, or sensory stations filled with sand, water, or leaves. Being outdoors provides many learning opportunities pertaining to the natural world, whether this is examining an insect or planting a garden.
Sensory Play
Sensory play engages children’s senses and holds paths for cognitive, social, and emotional development. Make sensory bins filled with rice, beans, water beads, or shaving cream that they can dig their hands into. Offer messy play with finger painting, slime, or playdough. Such activities quiet children down and help them learn to keep themselves under control while emotions are raging.
Music and Dance
Music and dance activities link with movement, rhythm, and self-expression. Provide children with different musical instruments to play and experiment with, like drums, tambourines, or xylophones. Play some different types of music and see if the children will dance or move their bodies differently. You can also teach some simple songs or dances and ask children to participate.
Science Experiments
Hands-on science experiments teach simple scientific concepts and enforce critical thinking. Try simple experiments using household materials that kids love, like making slime, baking soda and vinegar fizz, or discovering magnetism with magnets. Encourage children to make predictions and observe changes, while asking questions about the surrounding world.
Cooking and Baking
Engage children in cooking and baking activities to teach them life skills such as preparing healthy food. Choose simple recipes in which children can participate by preparing fruit skewers, homemade pizzas, or no-bake energy balls. Let the children measure ingredients, mix, and decorate their creations. This also opens the door for some mathematics and following directions.
Imaginative Play
Imaginative play can provide children with opportunities to practice different roles, situations, and feelings within a safe and creative setting. Dramatic play should be offered in specific areas that are arranged with dress-up costumes and props, such as pretend toys like kitchen sets or tool benches. Encourage the children to use their imaginations to come up with stories and act them out. Ideas may be playing house, superheroes, or going on a pretend adventure.
Group Games and Challenges For Child Care
Group games and challenges develop cooperation, teamwork, social skills, and the resolution of conflicts. Activities chosen should be ones in which children work together toward a common purpose: block building for towers, solving a puzzle, playing parachute games. Emphasize taking turns, sharing, working well with others. The group games will also provide opportunities to learn problem-solving and conflict resolution.
Outdoor Exploration
It’s the big outdoors—use it as a playground for learning and exploration. Organize walks or nature hunts that help children learn about and appreciate the surrounding world. Collect natural materials like leaves, rocks, or pinecones for art projects or sensory play. Outdoor exploration fosters curiosity, promotes exercise, and hosts a million and one opportunities to learn hands-on.
Conclusion
Engaging children in child care means that the setting has to provide multiple creative activities answering their interests and needs at their age. Integrating arts and crafts, storytelling, outdoor play, sensory experiences, music and dance, science experiments, cooking, imaginary play, group games, and outdoor exploration into the daily routine—a child care provider gives children a rich and interesting setting to grow and thrive in.
FAQs
- How can I fit all of these activities into a daily child care routine?
Schedule times for different activities throughout the day. For instance, art time in the morning; outdoor play time in the afternoon and story time prior to nap time.
- What if I do not have a great deal of space and/or resources for these activities?
Be creative using materials you have at home and adapt activities according to your space. Many activities can be done with very basic materials found in most homes.
- How do I handle a child who won’t participate, especially with some activities?
Offer choices and alternatives as a way to involve children who are slow to join in. Be patient and encouraging, and let the children participate at their own pace.
- Will these activities work with all ages of child care?
Many of these can be adapted to work with child care of various ages or at different developmental stages. Keep the considerations for safety in mind and alter things accordingly.
- How do I include parents in activities like these?
Share with the parents information about what you are doing in child care and support its continuation at home. Provide resources like recommended books or simple recipes that will help the learning experience continue beyond the child care setting.