Occupying kids

when I had young kids I had to have an alternative occupation available every 20 mins. Fortunately we had a sand pit in the garden, a guinea pig in a hutch and a pond to fish in. they had wellington boots so they could splash in puddles. Indoors we had a box full of cartons for making blue peter style models, they liked Plasticine and play dough made of flour etc. then of course we had the kitchen in which they could help bake etc and cut raw potatoes to make prints on paper etc.

There are some ideas on this site

www.goodtoknow.co.uk/family/holiday-ideas-40-ways-to-entertain-your-kids-66855

Just returned from taking DDiL and DGC back home after a 5 day stay with us. It took an hour to tidy the house after them and worth every second.

How anyone can agree to look after children for the day if they are not prepared to countenance a mess, passes my imagination.

Did they never let their own children make a mess when they little?

A lovely, busy day today (we went out) until we got home, one climbed on to the table, the other one pushed her gently off (That's NOT ALLOWED!!) and the little one then shoved the older one hard. Crocodile tears from one and a sulky face from the other one. Back with mummy now.

Ours are a bit younger, but our latest day went like this:
Teaching them to knit (2 minutes till they got bored), watching a dvd (20 minutes of the latest Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - we all hated it), playdough (45 minutes, about the same as it took me to clean up afterwards ). Going on a bus (always a winner, 3 hours, taking the longest route into town and the double decker back, a run round the park at our destination and fish and chips. A lovely lady in the cafe came over to say how beautifully behaved they were - she'd obviously missed the noisy ruck when we had to physically separate them and sit them at opposite sides of the table). Making gingerbread people (1 hour - dead easy and involving lots of messy kneading, cutting, decorating). Going down the allotment with Grandad - hurrah, 20 minutes peace and quiet for me. Add on 3 hours of reading, rolling round, magic tricks, Lego, Hallowe'en bingo, looking through family photos, doing the games on last year's online Advent calendar.... Easy peasy. Though I was glad it was my gin night.

Oh my, what a wonderful thread this is. I don’t have my DGC to look after since we moved to live on the other side of the country to them, but I used to have my DD’s eldest DS when he was small, up til he was getting on for 3 and we used to do all of the things mentioned here. Collecting fir cones was a challenge sometimes, he’d insist on packing his pushchair with them and they’d keep falling off, but he loved them so we did it. We’d get a bus into town once a week as a treat - a novelty for him - and go to the library so he could choose his books for mum and me to read to him. I loved it - and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Thank you all for bringing such happy memories back xx

For anyone looking for Xmas gift ideas, this large craft jar which is sometimes reduced to £14 from Ocado is suitable for 5+. Has loads of interesting bits and bobs and lasts for ages.

Galt Giant Art Jar

I get everything out of the recycling bin Paper clips string glue & see what we can make

Re: Unruly boys....

Public transportation allowing, could you take them to a local museum, or perhaps the cinema and then maybe pizza afterwards?

Stores can be interesting even if it's perusing the local pet shop or a sports equipment store. Not sure if it's the same in the UK, but our US shopping centers often have 'game centers' and electronic game consoles. The "multiplex" cinemas are usually adjacent to food courts and all manner of kid friendly 'junk' food.

Although I don't consider some of these (bad weather) activities to be optimal (except perhaps the museum or cinema) one may have to resort to extreme measures when faced with a severe case of school age boredom

My dgd are aged 11 and 8 girl and boy. We do all sorts. They love ludo and the four of us (including granda) can spend up to an hour for a game.

We also bake easy stuff. I have a great recipe for a fat free egg sponge that almost floats away and they have it off to a tee. We make one for teatime and one for the freezer. Also shortbread is so easy. Jam tarts with shop bought frozen pastry.
They also do a chore in the garden for about a half hour, brushing the patio, sweeping up leaves. And if course they do the setting of the table and clearing it afterwards. Sometimes there's a squabble that one had to lift more than the other.... But if I say 5...4..3...2 etc they know they don't want me to reach 0.

I have to say it's quite sad to read that you don't want a mess? I have my little people aged 1 and 2 every week and we make a whole load of mess and what fun we have!!
They are a bit little for crafting but we go for walks and jump in puddles, have picnics on a blanket in the living room, Get plastic bowls and wooden spoons from the kitchen and make a racket with them, we cook on the toy kitchen and Dress up their dolls, we sing endless rounds of Wheels on the bus and Row your boat complete with actions! ?

They have my undivided attention for the day and are happy and worn out by the time they go home, they are small for such a short time please indulge them and enjoy this time, they won't always want to play with you ?

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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

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.

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!