It is that time of the year when my son is home from school for the summer. The heat here is 450 C on an average day. So unless we want to be baked and cooked, the idea of outdoor play is suspended till later in the evening.
So what do I do? Not only do I need my child to be indoors but also quiet as we have a little baby in the house and she is on her own clock. The unsaid : I need some quiet to finish my work. So the big question that I danced with is “How do I keep my child quietly occupied?” You see, kids are very busy people. They have issues sitting still, being with one thing for a long time and they absolutely need to channelize their active energies. Alternately they will find some activity (I certainly can credit my son for this), the end result of which will make us cringe!
On this blog, I have shared some kid activities (ideal for 2 to 5 year old kids) which I have seen, work for me. These allow me to engage myself in my work while my son quietly and constructively occupies himself in these fun activities. Occasional supervision is all I need. How long a child will be engaged in any of these activities given below will be influenced by his age, development, and interest in the activity and how used to the idea he is of having ‘quiet time’ or playing independently. It certainly takes some getting used to, but in the interest of the child, quiet play is imperative for their growth and mommy’s mental stability!
5 Quiet Children Activities For 2 To 5 Year Olds
- Sorting
An activity highly recommended in the Maria Montessori methodology of schooling and fiercely advocated by my son’s school, I find it works very well for all kids. Since mine is 5 and can handle a more challenging version of the same, I ask him to use a pincer. This has enhanced his motor skills. I recommend the use of edible things like Cheerios, puff bites, peanuts, etc. in case your child has a keen liking towards chomping things.
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- Collage – This is one popular activity with my son. He loves making collages and the only end to it is his imagination. Something he loves in particular is making felt faces. You could keep a few pre-cut patterns, hand over these with art paper, a glue stick, and let your toddler come up with his own unique collage. Mine loves to experiment with the cut-outs and create funny variations of faces. I encourage it for its quiet virtue and creative expression.
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- Clay-Play – This one is a sure sanity saver. It is non-messy. It invites physical manipulation and even the simplest of physical actions – squeezing, patting, poking, or piling it up – produces an immediate and satisfying change to its shape and form. This may be a great creative art expression for kids who are not inclined towards painting and drawing.
My kid’s version of Captain Cook’s Pirate Island, an obvious smiley and a gas station in the making
4. Quiet reading– Sure I love to snuggle in bed with my son and read aloud stories. Put there’s also a quieter reading routine that I am trying to inculcate in him. This may take time to develop as a habit, but it’s one worth working on. After days of attempting, and taking off with mere minutes, today my son can sit for a longer stretch of time. The key is to seek and find books, textured books, and books with lush detailed illustrations, simple picture reading books that are age appropriate and your child might enjoy.
Multitasking in progress: an eye on the baby and an eye in the book.
- Building blocks: During my reading I came across this great idea to cut up some basic sponge into Jenga-like pieces and leave them with my ‘I believe I am an engineer’ boy. Ruhaan (my son) was lost for the next couple of hours to say the least! Lego or any other building blocks would occupy the child just the same but would amplify the noise aspect of the play.
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Food For Mommy’s Thought- Take time for your child to be ‘quiet.’ It is quintessential to make imagination function.
Great ideas for the children to enjoy while staying at home. Aside from playing Ipads or phones, this is one of the alternatives other parents can do to make their kids busy.
Basically, when they want their deserved quiet time off, parents should not force their kids to stay quiet and punish them if they cannot deliver. The best way to secure that the child will gain something while playing in silence is to present them with brain-stimulating activities in a cheerful manner to spike their interests.