June Practical Parenting

I have an article in 'Practical Parenting' this month, so check it out if you get a chance. It includes some 'Rainy Day Play Ideas' for both babies and toddlers.

It can be tricky trying to find play ideas that suit a wide variety of age groups. I had my own dilemma last week when I had Em home with a cold, Ed, of course, and my 15 month old god daughter to look after.

I got them busy doing a group drawing. I put a large sheet of cardboard onto the ground to provide a firm backing for the paper. Then I spread out a large sheet of paper so that there was plenty of room for everybody. I grabbed Em's texta bucket to share and left them all to it. They were just in the dining room while I was in the kitchen, so I was close by if I was needed.



They all had a really great time and there were no dramas. Em helped my god-daughter with the texta lids and also talked a lot about colours and what everyone was drawing. Ed helped out too.

It was a great activity to keep them busy and help practice drawing skills, but it also provided a great opportunity to build on language skills and encouraged social skills like peer-teaching, considering others and sharing.