What to do when babysitting?

Baking is a great idea- I bake gingerbread cookies with 2 boys I care for who are at similar ages. The 2 yea old can be trusted with the stirring (you may need to give him a hand), and the older one can help to measure ingredients. Then everyone has loads of fun using cookie cutters to make different shapes, and after they’re baked you can decorate them with raisins, sprinkles, and icing.

I also sometimes make mini pizzas with them if I’m staying around a meal time- that means they get to do hands on stuff with preparing the meal, and if they made it, they’re more likely to eat it.

Here’s some other ideas that I do with the kids I care for:

-Yoga Pretzels: Yoga cards for kids that are pretty easy, and a lot of fun. You can find them at loads of bookshops or online.

-Make puppets- sock puppets, finger puppets, shapes on the end of popsicle sticks… then play out some stories with them.

-Make playdough- it’s easy enough, and it keeps them busy for ages.

-Have an art box: fll of paper, glue, stickers, old magazines, wools, beads, feathers, colourful chocolate wrappers, jiggly eyes… there’s lots of things you can get for cheap or free that kids can use to make art projects or pictures. Just put down a tablecloth and have everything done on that. That way, when you’re done, you pack up the unused stuff, and shake the rubbish into the bin- no mess!

-Make your own storybook- get them to tell you a story they make up on the spot. Write down a few sentences on paper and get them to draw pictures to go with it. Or, if you trust them, get them to use a digital camera to take pictures to go with the story.

There’s a few ideas to get you going. All the best!