What to do with a child at home up to 6 years old: 15 interesting ideas

The coronavirus has brought significant changes to our lives. Including the lives of our children. During the quarantine period, when the entire class or the entire kindergarten group goes to isolation, parents have to think about what to do with a small child.

In our article you will find 15 interesting activities with which you can not only diversify the everyday life of the baby, but also teach him something new. Let's go!

Interests of children of different agesChildren develop very quickly, change literally before our eyes.

Accordingly, approaches to the organization of educational and gaming activities should keep up with them. What is interesting to a two-year-old will leave a 5-year-old child indifferent, etc. Therefore, to begin with, let's consider the features of the three age groups in order to more carefully approach the choice of the type of activity. 

1-2 yearsThe second year of the baby's life is a time to get acquainted with the possibilities of his body.

He already knows how to walk, climb on all fours on an inclined surface, climb over obstacles. Outdoor games are useful for kids, during which they will improve coordination of movements. 

Two-year-olds actively master the skill of imitation: they try to walk like bears, dance like an aunt from the TV. If you show them a couple of simple movements, they will happily repeat after an adult. Therefore, when thinking about what to do with a 2-year-old child at home, do not forget about dancing.

Plot toys acquire a new meaning. You can not just feel or move the colorful cubes, but put them together into a structure. The doll can not just be held in your hands, but rocked, as mom does. 

Kids up to 2 years old already repeat the sounds of the animal world well, say simple words, can sing a song they like. Therefore, when choosing games, it is worth considering the speech aspect — to accompany the fun with nursery rhymes and nursery rhymes, which the kid will be able to remember and repeat later. 

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The early preschool period is marked by the active development of cognitive function.

Literally all the child's sensors are tuned to the perception of the surrounding world. Parents may notice that the baby remembers the sequence of actions much better, made a breakthrough in speech development, gives the first conclusions — all this is the result of active cognitive activity. 

It is worth starting to get acquainted with the characteristics of objects: color, size, texture, smell, taste. Games should be not only entertaining, but also informative. For example, divide the mosaic segments by colors or separate soft toys from plastic ones. 

Children in 3-4 years actively develop imagination. They can already imagine a character from their favorite book and even describe its basic properties. Role—playing games will keep the attention of a three-year-old for a long time, the main thing is the presence of an appropriate entourage and a developed imagination of the players. Also, in the piggy bank of ideas, what to do with the child at home, feel free to add costumed performances: even at the age of 4, kids are able to cope with a small role, and how much joy they will get!Also read: Musical development of children: how and why to introduce a child to music5-6 years old

At the senior preschool age, the child's intelligence and personality, his sexual identification and the image of his own "I" begin to form.

The leading role is played by the need for communication and creative realization. There is an interest in collective games: a 5-year-old child may find group educational classes (even at home) more interesting than individual ones.

The playful interaction of five- to six-year-olds is accompanied by active speech, emotional reactions, and rivalry. Therefore, it is useful for children of this age to hold contests, quizzes, competitions. They can be of different directions: sports, creative, intellectual. 

Cognitive functions of the brain at the peak of activity: thinking, memory, imagination and attention are tuned to receive and process a huge amount of information. The optimal time for the beginning of the educational process is coming. Mathematics (counting up to 10, simple calculations), writing (learning the alphabet, sounds and letters), logic (identifying patterns) will be of interest to preschoolers, especially if the tasks are submitted in a game or competitive format. 

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What you can do for children at home: 15 ideas 

Down with boring sitting behind cartoons or gadgets!

Even at home, you can organize a useful and fun leisure for your child. 

Kids"Saucepans".

• Assemble small pots or plastic bowls on the table. Together with the baby, choose the appropriate lids for each container. Turn the saucepans upside down, take Japanese chopsticks and tap them like drums. Fold small saucepans into large ones.
• "Cinderella". Mix the nuts and beans together. Invite your child to sort them.
• "Fishing". Fill a large basin with water. Make several balls out of foil or paper. Give the baby a strainer, let him "catch" each ball. 
• "Vacuum cleaner". Scatter bread crumbs or grits on the table. Let the kid collect each one with his fingers. You can pour some water and give a sponge to collect all the drops with it. 
• "Performance". Buy toys for the finger theater or make them yourself with the help of bright socks, beads, ribbons. Arrange a home performance based on fairy tales. 

Younger preschoolers "Monkey."

• Ask your child to repeat after you everything you do and say. Perform both ordinary actions (get up, walk around the room, say a few words) and something non-trivial (jump on one leg, portray a sinister laugh, sing opera vocals). 
• "Disco". You can just dance to rhythmic music or introduce your child to different genres of dance. Turn on the video and try to repeat after the dancers: tango, ballet, hip-hop, etc.
• "Traffic light". Cut out circles from colored cardboard — red, green, yellow. Game condition: Each color is assigned a specific action. For example, red — to stand, green — to run, yellow — to sit down. Show the child different signals and make sure that the responses are correct.
• "Cold-hot." Hide the toy /yummy and ask the child to find it, guided by your tips. Hot — when the child approached the hiding place. It's cold when I'm distant. Expand the range of tips: very cold, warmer, hot. 
• "Arts". Finger paints, drawings on clothes (T—shirts), modeling from multicolored dough or special clay, plasticine - create artistic masterpieces every day.

Senior preschoolers"Letters".

• Take turns with the child to name the words for a given letter. Complicate the game by selecting certain letters. For example, the words for "m" come to mind more than for "sch". The next step is to name a word in which there is a hidden letter. 
• "Nastolki". Board games, quests, logic tasks — choose games not only according to age criteria, but also according to the tastes of the child. Board games can captivate several children at once, as well as make them an element of the festive program.
• "Forfeits". Write on pieces of paper the names of objects, characters, phenomena. Invite your child to portray this without using words. Play with the whole family or in a children's team. The more players, the more interesting.
• "Stuff." Making jewelry from beads, rubber bands or beads will be interesting for both boys and girls. The main thing is to choose the right material and technique, as well as the colors of the future product. The lesson is useful not only for the development of imagination, but also improves the motor skills of the hands.
• "Cooks". Cook simple dishes, sweets, pastries with your child. Attract not only to the decoration of dishes, but also to the main stages: beat eggs with a mixer, roll out the dough on a board, etc. The next step is for the child to prepare the chosen dish himself (under the control of the parents). 

Organizational aspects→ Games and educational activities at home require full attention from parents.

First you need to buy the necessary accessories, then familiarize the child with the rules of the game / lesson, check the correctness of the execution and safety, and also help if something does not work out. Plan your schedule in advance. 

→ Children are more active in the morning, so spend outdoor games at this time. And leave the evening for quiet studies.

→ Do not worry yourself and do not scold the baby if something does not work out for him. So you will discourage the desire to do anything, undermine the child's self-esteem, cause stress. Show patience and understanding: the baby is still learning, and this process is impossible without trial and error.

→ Do the cleaning of the room after the game together. Even a three-year-old toddler can help you as much as possible: put the cubes in the basket or put dirty things in the washing machine.

→ Make a success calendar in which you will record the achievements of the child for each of the activities. And then you can evaluate the results together. 

*****

A little imagination and free time, and your child's quarantine routine will turn into an exciting marathon consisting of games, development and fun. Believe me, these couple of hours of full attention that you will pay to the child will be the highlight of his day, will fill with emotions and will bring great benefits.