The home is the perfect place for your child to learn basic skills and begin to explore the world around them. Of course, fitting in everyday household chores and finding the space for fun and accessible kids’ activities is not always easy. But with some simple DIY and a bit of rearrangement, you can adapt your home so that it offers your child a wide range of fun and educational play.
This article will show you how a variety of different kids’ activities can fit into the rooms in your home, with some pointers as to how to support play in each area.
The Bathroom: Messy Play
When kids are busy being creative, the last thing they’ll be thinking about is keeping clean and tidy – and you want to be able to watch them paint, draw, and experiment without dreading all the clearing up you’ll have to do later! So, what better place for messy play than the bathroom, where you can easily wash stains from wipe-clean surfaces? If you don’t already have one, try adding a tiled splashback behind your bath so that children can paint or draw with wipe-clean markers, directly onto the wall as they bathe. Even better, you could add a mirrored section so your child can turn their own reflection into a masterpiece – they could paint themselves a funny hat, or turn the bathroom into a zoo or an aquarium. It’ll provide endless fun, and best of all, they’ll be clean and ready for bed straight after!
The Living Room: Quiet Play
We all need a little time to ourselves each day, and it’s nice for your kids to be able to share that with you, so encourage them to try some quiet activities of their own. They’ll feel grown up joining you as you curl up on the sofa with a good book or a newspaper – but as they don’t yet have your attention span, they might need a few special arrangements to start finding quiet time fun.
Find a suitable space or corner in your living room and put up a special bookshelf for them, so they can enjoy picking out a book just like mum or dad. It doesn’t have to be difficult or take up much space – a wall-mounted pinboard in the same area is a good idea, so kids can take breaks from reading with some drawing and craft activities if they get fidgety.
The Kitchen: Constructive Play
The kitchen is full of fun and educational kids’ activities – and each one comes with a very tasty reward! Here, kids can imitate the chores adults do and learn basic food knowledge and cooking skills. A few extra bits of kit are needed to make it safe and accessible, though. Buy some child-friendly tools – some safety scissors, plastic cookie cutters, etc. – and encourage them to copy what you do. Why not try covering an A3 sheet of paper with a few simple recipes and having it laminated, so your child can learn as they cook?
There are lots more kids’ play activities you could try. Soon, every room in your house will be full of their achievements: painted pebbles and tile drawings in the bathroom, cupcakes, and cookies in the kitchen, and drawings pinned up in the living room. Enjoy exploring your home with your child, and finding your own creative ways to support their play and learning wherever they go!
