Playing with peers is so important for children. The amount of peer learning that takes place is amazing as is learning an understanding of self within a group and the best ways to deal with and cooperate with others.
Here I'm sharing some activity and food ideas for a play date that was set up for 4, three year olds (3 boys and 1 girl. Obviously the food and activities could be used with children of varying ages.
Invitations to play
(Activity ideas)
Water Beads, cups, bowls, spoons, containers
Playdough, popsicle sticks and wooden farm animals
Imaginative play. Dress Ups. Doctors
Home made playset. Blue glass beads, rocks, sticks, twigs, felt, leaves, flowers etc
Baby Play
Let's Play and Learn Together
The boys exploring the water beads for the first time. Quite the sensory experience
What are you doing with the play dough? Learning new ideas from one another
Collaborative imaginative play
(t's pretty funny for everyone when the "sick patient" has a "sore butt" and therefore needs a butt injection.
Burning off a bit of energy
(Three year-olds certainly have A LOT to spare!)
Fun for baby too!
The Food
Exploring Apples.
Tasting plate. Apples 4 ways. Back- 3 types of apples. Granny Smith, Pink Lady and Golden Delicious. Which is your favourite? Bottom Left- puréed apple, Middle- Apple chips, Bottom right- apple cinnamon crumble mini muffins.
Nutrition for busy, growing kids
They dug right in!
Who knew that Pirates ate Purée?
This was the only time our fabulous 4 were quiet!
Want more food and activity ideas for a playdate? Check out some of our other ideas here.
Handy Tips:
- A little bit of planning and thought before your house is descended upon will help make your playdate run more smoothly
- Depending on the age of children, modify the snacks and activities accordingly
- I buy my Water Beads off ebay (love shopping from home!) but they are also available at flower shops, markets and more and more variety shops. I recommend waiting for a good day to do this outside if it's the children's first experience with them.
- I buy my Water Beads off ebay (love shopping from home!) but they are also available at flower shops, markets and more and more variety shops. I recommend waiting for a good day to do this outside if it's the children's first experience with them.
- Don't be upset if the children are more interested in everything else in your house than the activities you've set out. Just being in a new environment is a learning experience for children and they will get to your activities eventually
- To contain mess, try setting out individual activities on their own blanket/mat. This can help the children see and recognise boundaries and can keep toys with lots of parts (eg Lego) all together and a breeze to clean up at the end.
***- Water Beads should not be ingested so parental supervision with children who might be tempted to eat them is required***
Happy playing,- To contain mess, try setting out individual activities on their own blanket/mat. This can help the children see and recognise boundaries and can keep toys with lots of parts (eg Lego) all together and a breeze to clean up at the end.
***- Water Beads should not be ingested so parental supervision with children who might be tempted to eat them is required***
Debs :)
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