Occupying kids

How's about getting a roll of wall paper liner and getting each child to lie on it and the other draw round it and colour in different occupations eg farmer, hairdresser, postal worker, dancer, singer etc etc and then make up a story about them? Not messy but could be fun - and time consuming!!!!???

Cooking is a winner as is crafts frankly! And maybe a home cinema early afternoon - bag of popcorn; children's film (if you have Netflix) all watch together and chat about story! Lion King is a good one!

Treasure hunt
Scavenger hunt
Google Cheap things to do with kids on a rainy day

Mess here, school holidays and this week I have just let DGS play to his hearts content, not even the usual pick everything up before you go upstairs.
We have the train set and roads etc at one end of the room, a marble game at the other, the coffee table covered in paper and pencils.
We have made pizzas, sausage rolls, and broccoli soup(his favourite)
He will be back at school on Monday and plenty of time to clear up then. The pleasure I have had from watching his imagination at play has been wonderful.

Sometimes letting your children get messy is the best thing you can do. Do you have an old duvet cover or bedding that is past its best that you can keep especially for the children to do messy paintings or crafts. Spread this over the floor beneath the table, another to cover the table and your,e all set. Old shirts worn back to front to protect their clothing and when it's all finished you can do a quick wash of these things in the machine ready for the next time. My children and now my grandchildren all had hours of fun with salt dough. This time of year they could be making little decorations for putting on the Christmas tree for nearer the time. If you Google Saltdough there are loads of ideas, alternatively your library will probably have books on this, starting with the simplest of things for children to advanced ideas for adults. It becomes quite compulsive and therapeutic once you start it. So cheap too. Bag of flour,salt, ( food colouring optional) or acrilic paints from hobby shops or pound shops and your away. You will probably enjoy doing it yourself as well ...so easy ...hours of fun. PS before painting these have to dry out ...either naturally or in a very low heat in the oven. Good luck, and lots of fun.

1st November today, so I suggest you go for a walk and find pine cones, twigs, branches etc. that can be made into Christmas decorations, or start them off making Christmas presents for their parents.

Let them get messy. It's part of childhood.
If it is any compensation my 2 sons used to fight non stop at that age. They are now best of friends & very close. Mind you they did bond over playing football in garden-non stop & what ever the weather. I think it is the most boring game ever but they loved & still love it.
Wish they'd played rugby-love rugby!!

JennyLH

What a good idea, they look very pretty.
The treat of warm home-made scones afterwards. Yummy.

I work on a 2 hour basis. I change the environment. So we might go out for a walk or to get something from the shops. If you can do one thing in the day like go to a museum. But don't stay for too long .

On rainy days, my cousin and I would go 'camping' in our living room. Two good armchairs and a large bed sheet made a splendid tent. As soon as the dolls, books and games were comfortably settled in, our grandma would invariably bring us sandwiches or biscuits and a glass of milk. We could eat and play Parcheesi in there for an entire afternoon.

Nothing wrong with a basic playground, dress up warm and pass a bit of time there. At home lots of paper, or wallpaper lining paper and you could have crayons or pencils. Willa happy memories of making camps. Baking, a cake or small cakes most of which can go home with them. Not much use for tomorrow but I keep a box of Lego and a box of old fashioned bricks which our 7 year old gets very creative with. Maybe a bit of TV later in the day. Just think at least they aren't on their phones all the time!

It sounds as if the children are bored and you seem bereft of ideas to keep them occupied so they whinge and fight. The answer lies with you - stop being so negative and take advantage of the suggestions you've been given. If they don't want to engage then separate rooms are the answer until they realise that is even more boring.
Good luck.

Sofa fort and an indoor picnic under blankets were always popular with mine.

get them to put on a show! I have done this where you can make use of floor to ceiling curtains if you have them or just erect a sheet in a door way so they can go on stage through the sheet. They can write a story, act it out, use props, dress up, make a list of rules for the grown ups who watch (no going on your phones - my 6 year old gd wrote). and they could even make food for a break in the middle!

Make some popcorn stars. Heat up some caramel and mix in popcorn. Push warm popcorn into star shaped Christmas cutters. When cool push put. Dip all tips of stars in melted chocolate. Quick, simple but delicious to eat and not much mess. To make into Xmas decorations make hole in one tip and thread through red ribbon. You could let them make some Xmas cards. Just let them have lots of glitter and pinking shears. I let my great niece who is 9 cut up old Xmas cards I save and stick on to card and add glitter to make new ones. I keep a box of craft bits and bobs they can use to play when they come over.

If you can find fir cones spray them with gild and silver spray to make a nice festive display.

Puppet shows - sometimes the £1 shop or similar has puppet kits which are easy for little fingers to sew, then they can write/compose a show between them. The puppets pop up from behind the sofa!

Alternatively, you can make puppets out of old socks.

Mine, who are similar ages to yours, loved playing Beetle. I printed the templates off the internet and we played that for ages. Another favourite is the card game Newmarket, especially as it involves winning money, pennies only of course. Love the baubles JennyLH I'm going to bear that one in mind.

UNO is a good card game for children - it helps them with numbers and colours as well as being fun.

Oh how I wish I could have my granddaughters to stay for a day or over night, let alone a school holiday.
They live in Australia and my 2 adult ones live in the U.S, having emigrated when they were 3 and 6 years old. So I have never really been a hands on grandma, only when I visit.
So enjoy your time with them, as it is so precious.

It's too late for today, obviously, but if you have them again soon, how about a treasure hunt?
Write a list of things that they might find outside in your area, such as an acorn, feather etc., then get them out for a walk to search for them. You could even start the day by asking them to help compile the list.

And I do sympathise - my own dgc are similar ages, and can be a nightmare!

Somesort of outside activity to burn up energy, scooters, bikes or even roller skates followed by a craft session and hang the mess, it can be cleared later. The could even help clear up the mess.

My now grown up grandsons have always lived too far away for me to have the chance to look after them. I would have loved the opportunity. Make the most of yours while you can Watermeadow.

The could even help clear up the mess.
and wash up after baking!