Let your children shake their sillies out!
Silly activities to do this summer…whatever the weather!
It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring… So what to do to help put a sunny smile on your little ones’ faces this holiday?
Fortunately, Silly Star is on hand to help with some fun things to do this summer..
Silly Star’s 6 tips for a Silly summer…
Silly Star’s tip No.1
Children love to dress up – but do you know what’s even more fun? To dress up as Mummy and Daddy! Little girls love to wear their Mummy’s shoes and dresses and little boys do too. Please don’t get too hung up on your little lad wanting to be Mummy or a princess for the day!
If your little lad is 25 and asking for your Prada off the shoulder number, well, that’s another blog there!
Silly Star’s tip No.2
Let’s get messy! When I was child minding, the children would ask for all the things I dreaded…
- Glitter.
- Sand.
- Rice.
- Cooked spaghetti.
- Gloop.
I know – having OCD as a childminder is not useful?
But children adore using the above to unleash their creativity and once I’d got into unleashing my own creativity I enjoyed it too!
Glitter glue pens are ideal for little hands – I love these from Baker Ross, so much more economical than the old stuff that would still be shining at you from the carpet a year later!
Play sand is clean and safe and ideal for an afternoon of fun indoors or outdoors. I love this from Amazon.
You can pick up a bag of cheap rice from any supermarket or corner shop and colour it in different vibrant colours with food colouring.
This is great for pouring and tipping and gluing to paper or card – such a great sensory activity.
Another sensory activity is cooked spaghetti! You can colour this too. Pour it into a large bowl or a washing up bowl and add some water or it becomes too sticky to play with.
Gloop! My favourite! Mix cornflour and water together, and pour into large plate or shallow bowl. Add some food colouring and let the children explore this wonderful dry, crunchy, wet and gloopy gloop!
Silly Star’s tip No.3
Children love water don’t they? With all the rain we’ve been having there is almost a daily opportunity to go out splashing in puddles!
Let them throw balls or stones into the puddles and encourage them to find sticks to use to splash – this is all fantastic brain fodder that enhances children’s cognitive development and it’s loads of fun – especially if you join in too!
Silly Star’s tip No.4
D.I.S.C.O…D.I.S.C.O “She is S Oh so Silly!”
Discos are super fun and can allow your children to shake their sillies out in dance!
You can set up your disco in any room of the house. A bedroom where they can jump on the bed is perfect!
If you have Alexa or similar, ask for some 80’s disco music or find some on your phone.
Don’t go rushing out to buy disco lights, the furthest you need to go is to the loft to retrieve your Christmas tree lights – job done!
Let the children be a silly as they want – within reason. Dance can be very therapeutic by improving physical, emotional, and mental well-being and improving self confidence.
Silly Star’s tip No.5
Children love the sense of the ridiculous! It actually helps them make sense of their world. Bizarre, crazy and silly things can make children roar with laughter or collapse into fits of giggles!
So here is a silly game that children love to play and it helps develop balance and body awareness.
Find a random object for your child to place on his/her head. the sillier the better. A banana, a packet of sausages, a spoon, a cushion a soft toy…let them choose!
Then challenge your child to walk a few steps without the object falling!
Don’t forget to join in too – there’s nothing funnier to a child than seeing Mummy walk across the kitchen with a box of Cornflakes on her head!
Silly Star’s tip No.6
Story time is a lovely time for you to cuddle up with your child and spend some time together. We know that children appreciate the putting on of voices to bring characters to life and make our youngsters laugh.
Here is something that all my children and minded kids loved – they choose a book but all the words starting with C become “Cabbage” and all the words starting with S become “Sausage” (I have a thing about sausages today!)
“Maisy ran down the sausages to sausage who it was…It was Tallulah. Hello Tallulah, Maisy cabbage play right now, cabbage back in the morning!”
Older children love reading this way – and it’s good reading practice!
You can change the letters and the words to appeal to your own children’s sense of humour!
My Mood Stars are a highly effective emotion resource for Early years children.
My Mood Stars are an emotion resource with a difference. They are soft, sensory toy Stars depicting different moods and expressions that children find really easy to relate to and talk to.
The My Mood Stars work book is also available to help children who have difficulty verbalising their emotions. With a Mood Stars on each page and a space to write or draw, this work book is perfect for children who would rather relay their thoughts through writing or art.
A fun emotion work book ideal for non verbal children
I hope these tips have been useful – enjoy your children’s company this holiday.
Click here for the whole My Mood Stars range
