Hi! We're here to share with you our family's L.I.F.E. thoughts, tips, and stories about raising boys and girls (and that includes me and my husband.) May what you find here be a blessing to you today.
Love,
Carmen Gutierrez 💜
50+ Indoor Play Ideas For Little Kids
Hi, dakilang inay!
A blessed mother's day to us on May 10!
I hope you and I would have a wonderful, intimate time at home appreciating our true greatest treasure/s given to mothers--our child/ren. Smile at the kalat! 💞
STILL on quarantine so here's my pahabol sharing with you about some of what we play in our home. “Some” because there’s really a loooot we parents can play with our kids and I'd love to hear your ideas, too! I know that you and I sometimes just need a little inspiration to spark ideas in our bright minds. 💡WHY??? Because you know what, na-realize ko the kids don't need motivations to be playful... they're ALWAYSSS playful!!! 🤪Maybe just except when they're not feeling well 1) physically, 2) emotionally (a.k.a. may toyo hehe, a term my mom always used on me), and 3) when they're hungry. But when they're happy, our kids are like idea-generating machines! Tingin ko TAYO na mga Nanay talaga ang kelangan ng inspiration 'cos we are often the boring adults or too busy on other things. Kaya tayong moms let's stir up each other to be an exciting playmate!
Btw, most of these photos are NOT the instagramable shots I wish for them to be 😅 but mostly just snaps of our actual fun whenever I find good moments to remember while trying not to disrupt the kids’ focus on what they’re doing. Kaya blurred yung iba. Naisip ko, kaka-intay ko na maging IG-worthy yung shots baka malaki na mga anak ko at anak mo, wala pa din ako nashe-share HAHA kaya eto na nilagay ko na lang sa blog para mas clean-looking. 😋I also put in some Tips for you at the bottom that I hope you'd focus on more than anything here. Okay?
Magkakaiba ng trip ang mga anak natin and that’s beautiful! My boy loves languages, math, and music. My girl loves animals and food. These things change pa as they grow. Ikaw, ano hilig ng mga bagets mo? 🙂 May this list encourage you to do either the same OR to have your very own tweaks for your unique kids!
Okay, game!
Part 1 - activities with zero materials or pick-your-own materials needed
(Minsan talaga, ang masayang partisipasyon mo lamang ay sapat na! 😉)
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Toy Race (improvise a racecourse with any toy, e.g. we made paper caterpillars and set them off to race by blowing them with our breath!)
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Piko! (Hopscotch) (use chalk or even masking tapes to do line markings on the floor)
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Sari-sari Store with Play Money (put price tags on their toys and sell them; make a diy play money if you don't have yet)
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Shoot the coins (or any shoot-this-into-that kind of game)
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Cooking! (Let them cook or let them help to prep at least)
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Antonyms and Homonyms (My son loves to do word games especially during meal times...kaya ang bagal kumain 😩😂 but it's okay, ika nga, precious are these times!)
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Memory Games (choose photos/flash cards/puzzles to put front face down then try to remember which is which, one item at a time, take turns and do scoring)
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Paper Dance (stop-dance with body balancing while stepping on a piece of paper that gets folded into a smaller piece after every dance round; the one who falls loses)
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I-Spy (guessing game of what you see around the house; use a real or improvised magnifying glass or binoculars)
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Bing Me (according to color or things starting with the letter ___ )
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Car wash or Bike wash
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Manual clothes washing or dishwashing (isali natin sila minsan; yes it will all still be dirty! 😉)
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Sing Nursery Rhymes with Pretend Play (house favorite! e.g. London bridge, Wheels on the bus, 5 little monkeys)
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What time is it? (Play clock using body parts / draw on cardboard)
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Tic Tac Toe (use a paper/board/floor/tablet to write on it and do scoring)
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Bubble Games (make bubbles with soap and water and play who can make the biggest, longest stay before popping, blow it away, etc. )
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Slingshot (use toys as targets, shooting them down with rubber bands from your vegetables and folded paper as bullets)
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Stuffed toy pretend play (Olivia's favorite! taking care of the animals, like eating, napping, pooping, etc)
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Climb windows 🤪 (just pull your sofa/bed underneath; pickler alternative hehe; I prefer they don't do this but for some reason, that google can give you, kids are like monkeys who like to climb at you, your gate and everything else so just bagok-proof them! 😂)
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Hide and seek
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21. Bato-bato-pik! (we use that, or rock-paper-scissors, or popcorn-icecream-chocolate, whatever words my son wants haha)
22. Jump on the bed and Pillow fight (Yuel's favorite!)
23. Table server pretend play (kesa nagiintay lang sa pagkain, utusan mag hain! 😆)
24. Clean up toys (establish a cleanup habit; do "who's the best cleaner?" / sing the "clean up" song)
25. Write down your ___ (fave basketball teams, favorite fruits, words that rhyme, etc)
27. Copywriting (e.g. we write down our short verse of the day)
28. Treasure Hunt (make a list of toys you hid around the house and they'll have to find them)
29. Abstract Painting (e.g. we reused brown grocery bags for a huge wall canvas)
30. Puppet Show (use fun socks for your hand and stuffed toys)
31. Toys in water (water play with any toy/s that is/are good for floating/sinking/Dripping/Flowing will be a sure hit!)
32. Basketball (real ball or improvised; if improv, you can use laundry clothes shoot in hampers, scratch paper rolled as ball, blocks used as balls shoot on a basket placed on a cushion or sofa to avoid breakage)
31. Soccer / Football (real ball or improvised; if improv, you can use scratch paper rolled as ball, plastic cups, plastic bottles or tissue rolls)
32. Bowling Ball & Pins set (real or improvised with plastic bottles or tissue rolls)
33. Watch Videos! 🙂 Yup! Our kids play gadgets in our home! They're not evil for us. It’s our meaningful tool, NOT OUR MASTER. Our focus is discipline and value-aligned substance but we also watch stuff that makes us all just laugh. Not deprivation nor dependence on the gadget. So they have days when they can watch vids or play phone games. A longer post for another day! I’ll share tips and recos! 😉
Part 2 - activities with specific materials needed
Some items from this list include objects / educational toy suggestions (maybe "save for later" when stores reopen?)
34. Swimming!
35. Tangram (a Chinese geometric puzzle consisting of a square cut into seven pieces that can be arranged to make various other shapes. This one of great quality is from @toytinkr, see in photos)
36. Books and Book Activities (I’ll have a separate blog about this. Too many things to say just on this topic! 😊)
37. Philippine Map Puzzle (JoyToy brand from NBS)
38. All other kids of puzzles! (select larger, thicker, good quality pieces so they don't peel off easily)
39. Shape sorters
40. Stackers (like Jenga)
41. Dominoes (house favorite! Found a large wooden type in my happy place—Divisoria! ♥️)
42. Kinetic Sand and molds (put in a clear durabox to contain kalat)
43. Carpentry Set
44. Molding clay (or play doh; but molding clay lasts longer, they don't dry easily)
Alphabet blocks used here for multiplication
Pool fun
Number jengga used as dominoes
Alphabet blocks used here for multiplication
45. Science Project Sets (e.g. Solar System)
46. Blocks as Counters (manipulatives)
47. Flashcards (alphabets, numbers, colors, animals; for Olivia I use the cards as in, teaching one word per card; for Yuel, I use it for word groupings and sentence constructions)
48. Legos (another house favorite in our home, a great tool for pretend play like making a faucet and wash hands for 20 seconds)
49. Keep the Balloon Up! (compete by keeping on tossing while taking turns and don't let it fall to the ground)
50. Pop the Ballon! (inflate with water or put cut out water as confetti)
51. Dartboard (suction version, or bow and arrow)
52. Copy Coloring or Coloring by Number (so many choices from NBS)
53. Board games (we have only tried snakes and ladders so far. My kids are too little pa for other board games but this is something we'll definitely have as part of our family play culture :) )
54. Word Factory (Toy Kingdom; can be used for any wordplay; we even use it for joke cooking)
The Tips I promised...
Tip # 1 Think about at least 1 thing to achieve.
Every night, think about AT LEAST 1 THING you’ll do TOMORROW with your kids. Plan one (or 2, or 3) chosen activity/ies in which you’ll give your full heart, energy and attention...no distractions, no fb/ig on the side. FULL ATTENTION. You lead them with sheer excitement and fun. That activity is gonna be a super hit! ✨
Tip # 2 Pick the best time for it.
For our family, it’s usually after breakfast. GAME NA. That’s the time when my kids are mega energetic, easiest to engage into an activity, and feels prioritized over chores or personal desires. Another important time for us is after lunch. Playtime together again so I just often re-do one of these activities, the favorites!
Tip # 3 Keywords are "together" and "undivided attention".
Do it together happily till they reach a point when their love banks are full cos of the dedicated attention you’ve given. I usually allot at least 1 hour in the AM & 1 hour in the PM with fully engaged attention. Later on you’d see they’d already be secured enough to just play by themselves. Makakapag hugas ka na nun ng pinggan! 😌🧊🥣🍽
Tip # 4 Their idea is better!
If they have their own idea or own tweaking of the plan... SCRAP your own plan and GO FOR THEIRS! 💡 Hay I’m so guilty of this! 🙈 The real plan should be to spend quality time with them and to spark ideas in them that they’d love LEARNING through PLAY. Not to push for your perfect set up. Basta’t hindi deadly (gaya ng mga gusto ng boy ko 🤪), consider THEIR OWN IDEA AS THE BEST! ✨
Tip # 5 Ask God for everything!
My favorite tip: You pray. We need this. The best ideas will come from the Lord. He will never run out and He is generous to you. I know there are days when we’re all moody or bored or maybe even tired of our kids endless needs and demands. But get recharged in the best way!“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5 ESV
There they are... But wait... One last thing. I want to tell you this:
After reading the Part 2 section, you might have felt a bit down (baka lang po... ako kasi ganun ako when I see thing on social media sometimes, or maybe most of the time. Instead of getting inspired, I get envious or insecure, I sometimes feel like what we have is not enough. That's the enemy's work in our hearts.) . . . that you don't have those items I mentioned, and having them is a MUST just so to enjoy! That's the biggest lie of the day! Please know that most of these items are gifts to us on birthdays or Christmas by friends and relatives. Yes they add fun and they are added tools for learning but the truly essential things in spending time and teaching our kids are things money cannot buy--your time, energy, attention, playful attitude, your selflessness to put aside what you want to do because they're asking to play again, your humility to value their ideas as better, your willingness to learn a skill just to be the worthy opponent, your patience, comfort and goodness when they get frustrated... I wish I can just buy those because I lack them on some days. This should be our daily focus. And we should draw strength and ability from the True Source and that is our Heavenly Father. His Holy Spirit is our enabler. Just ask for supermom powers every single day. Just ask Him. Remember this: "7/11"
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" - Matthew 7:11 🙂
A promise we can daily obey and claim in Jesus. ♥️Have a wonderful time playing! ✨
