Please add any 'fun and free' activities, home made games/toys/ideas etc. please

[vix84]

Hi everyone, I was hoping to get some inspiration for activities/ideas/toys that are free or very cheap, or just good use of recycling and imagination. (I seem to be lacking my imagination recently )

Some of my ideas are:
Recycling plastic containers/pots etc. for water play
Recycling things for sticking and modelling activities
Raiding cupboards for things to explore - jelly, cornflour, rice etc.
Going for a walk and collecting stones/leaves etc.
Treasure basket of anything (household items/all red things/all blue things/wooden things/all soft things/scented things etc.)
Going out for a walk in the rain to jump in puddles in wellies - I did this the other day with mindee and he loved it! We did have to dry off after but was well worth it!
Trips to libary/park/discovery centre etc.
Emptying cupboards and playing with pots and pans etc.

Anyone else got any ideas?

[crazybones]

Visit charity shops for cheap stuff.

planting seeds and digging in the garden - cheap too.

You can get cat litter trays for £1 and use them for lots of stuff eg sand and water play, throw loads of ice cubes in for children to play with while they melt etc

making collages of stuff found out and about - leaves, twigs etc

Cant think at the moment - too much wine and very tired. I am sure someone will come along with loads of ideas

[vix84]

Thats a great idea about the cat litter tray, I was trying to think of something the other day to put cornflour etc. in.

I dont have much room for any more toys, so am looking at using all resources in cupboards etc.!

[sarah707]

I have just tidied up all my collage stuff into clear plastic Chinese food boxes

I use crushed dried herbs for collages

Make a bit extra pasta / rice etc at tea and use it in the messy tray the next day

Painting the walls with big brushes and water is always fun

Save some seeds and plant them... you never know what will come up

Go on a listening walk - the child who hears the most sounds gets a prize (usually a little rubber)

[tulip0803]

I also put this on your other post but thought of a few more -

cornflour gloop is addictive - I love it

Sensory experiences using rice, pasta, oats, dried pulses. I had a little girl who just stood for 30 mins letting porridge oats run through her hands.

Painting with mud. mix earth and water and paint on the path (washes away easily). I did this and they loved it but then asked for paper and painted mud on paper.

Home made play dough.

Glue made from flour and water.

Using washing up liquid bottles to squirt concrete/walls

Give the children an area of the garden to dig/make mud pies

use an old piece of guttering/drainpipe as a ramp for cars/balls

As a child we had one of those wooden picnic tables in the garden which was a house one way and a boat when upside down. We also used a windbreak and parasol to make a playhouse or a sheet hung over a rope to make a tent.

large cardboard boxes - dens/cars/ trains.

Tie the shallow fruit/tomato boxes together with string put toys in and you have a pull along train.

Sometimes the libraries have story-telling sessions for pre-schoolers.

using guttering/drainpipes to make a water run.

Free entry museums - many have activites for children even little ones.

bird/animal survey when out for a walk

Making sandwiches/cooking activities

Make a bird feeder (birdseeds and fat in an old yoghurt pot)

If I think of anything else I will post them

[miffy]

Some lovely ideas thank you

I use plastic dog bowls (from wilko's) to put paint in for sponge painting with the little ones

If you have a scrapstore near you they have lots of free or low cost stuff for collages

My mindees like window painting - a pack of pens costs about £2.99 and they wipe off easily with a damp cloth - keeps them happy for ages

miffy xx

[crazybones]

Just thought of another - chalks on the concrete outside

Using the cat lit trays again you can make different scenes eg we have a dinosaur garden at the moment with a few dinosaurs, stones, leaves etc but there are loads of things you could use.

[vix84]

Thanks for all the great ideas, Ive done my planning for this week but dont have time to fit them all in!
We are going to do cornflour one day, collecting sticks and leaves etc. on a country walk and then putting in a tray with farm animals for free play, libary one day - they could just look at the books for an hour!, and also going to collect and do a treasure basket for them.
I then have my EYFS course Saturday, so Im sure the following week will be well planned for too!!
I think while Im on maternity leave, I will take the opportunity to put together my planning folder so when I return all the planning/ideas are done for a few months, so I wont be rushing too much!

[lesley]

If you have a deep freezer , put small buckets/bowl of water and place in items like dinosaur and get them out once frozen for them to play with, to add more variety at food colouring too. A friend tried a rubber glove full of ice and that was good.


Lesley

[miffy]

If you have a deep freezer , put small buckets/bowl of water and place in items like dinosaur and get them out once frozen for them to play with, to add more variety at food colouring too. A friend tried a rubber glove full of ice and that was good.


Lesley

I once made jelly in a rubber glove for a Halloween party - it was really effective and the children loved it!

Sorry your post just reminded me

miffy xx

[avril]

On the ice theme I put glitter in the water and when melted they had fun swishing it in the water and watching it sparkle in sun light.

[miffy]

Thanks Avril - I like that idea

miffy xx

[Rach30]

oooooo i'm gonna make an ice hand !! It will look like i've chopped a body up and put in the deep freeze !

Yesterday my son made a "drum kit" out of pots and pans , buckets , boxes and chop sticks for sticks ....it was brilliant . At the min i've got oats and rainbow rice outside for digging. Love the idea of cat litter trys too .

[avril]

Cheap tin of shaving foam, the kids love to draw in it and feel the texture
Pure soap flakes add water and leave over night they go sticky and stretchy, add food colouring the water for different colours

But check children allergies as soap can be a common allergy!!