Ideas for play

Cornflake cakes with lots of toppings are an easy option, as are buying pizza bases and making their own pizzas. I agree that making forts with blankets and pegs on a rainy day is always a winner. Giant chalks in the garden if weather permits, or a tea party with a tea set, and tiny sandwiches and mini rolls sliced up. My little grandkids love having a handful of small things - such as a marble, rubber duck, toy car, and taking turns to hide them around the house then we all have a find them. Magic painting books with water are also mess free!

An old fashioned game of Hunt the Thimble ( object of your choice) went down well with ours. Added excitement by say if they’re hot or cold.

I found an old recipe for play dough the other day. I'll copy it out here for you when I get back to it.

My 5-year-old DGS was kept happy with a bucket of clothes pegs, but he didn't have any siblings bothering him and he really is great at amusing himself quietly for 20-30 mins.

A game we were shown when my kids were in playgroup was with a pack of cards - cardboard coasters like you get in pubs are ideal - about 15 should be enough Each card depicts a stem of a flower with leaves out at the side and 4 of 5 of them have a flower on the stem. The children take turns in turning over, or just one can do it like playing patience. You line up the cards in a row as you turn them over to make the flower taller and when you get a flower card you start the next flower. Variations are endless; as a co-operative game or competitive.

There are also lots of lovely hoard games for that age group.

If you have old magazines or catalogues lying about they can cut pictures out and make a scrap book or a story book.

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There are plenty of 'scientific experiments' on line, usually involving vinegar and bicarb. You can make rockets, volcanoes and erupting foam. Also balloon powered projects. I used to have a zip line the length of my garden. A drinking straw threaded on with a long balloon taped above and a paper basket attached below to carry light objects. Blow up the balloon and let the air out to propel.

If you don't mind an initial financial outlay, a Cranium super fort set will provide many hours of fun indoors or out and suits all ages. (I had 2 sets for more building options together) it all packs away into a smallish bag.

One of our favourite rainy day games is to make a tent indoors using old bedsheets and curtains I keep for the occasion. As the years have progressed so have the building skills. The last one had a large cardboard box suitably painted with a letterbox and handle which they used as a door on the tent.

They also love to sit at the kitchen table with a few white dinner plates and a selection of water soluble paints. They enjoy painting their designs on the plates. Then take photos of the favourites before they’re washed off later.

You could do some baking as suggested and have a Teddy bears picnic. If the weather isn’t great do it indoors and ask them to bring teddies with them.

Bubbles. Cheap and fun. All kids love bubbles. If it’s raining paint or draw. Cover the table with an old sheet, get some lining paper (for walls), plastic plates for paint mixing. Great fun.

Make a den....inside or out.....I use blankets and pegs ....then set them up with cushioned in side ....they can have a little picnic in there

At that age mine loved making fairy cakes, everything from putting the cake cases in the tin, to mixing it all up, to adding a little icing and hundreds and thousands.

Do you have any story books for children at your home? Or perhaps they could bring some for you to read to them. I expect they both know some nursery rhymes which you could sing with them and perhaps teach some new ones? Any with actions go well with children.
Good luck! 👍

Beetle is a good game for little ones - they have to put the pieces together to make a creature according to the number they throw on the dice.
How about making fairy cakes or gingerbread men and decorating them?
Painting with washable paints
Pop to the charity shop and see if they have any duplo bricks.
Do you have a doctors set? That used to be very popular with our GC.

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If you want a game, mine like our very old Game of Ladybirds - it's now made by Orchard Toys but you could make a set...

There are 24 leaf-shaped cards and a die.
Dots are drawn (to match the sides of the dice) from 1 to 6 so you have four of each.
On the other side of number card are ladybirds (3, 2, 1 and none). So, for example, the four "one dot" cards have on the back, 3 ladybirds, 2 ladybirds, 1 ladybird and none. The others are similar.

The rules are simple.
Spread them out "dice side up"
Take it in turns to throw the die and
find a card with the same number of spots as shown on the dice.
Turn the card over and count how many ladybirds are on the leaf.
Keep the card, these are your ladybirds.
Play passes to the next player.
When all the cards are gone count up your ladybirds.
Who has the most?

Oh. Just realised you don't have a one year old - you said "one aged".
Apologies

My grandchildren are never happier than when making a fruit salad.

We spent over an hour chopping last week (age 3 and 6) and and then there's the eating of it!

They like it best when I have lots of different fruits.

The one year old obviously won't be good at chopping (!) but they can stir a few berries in a bowl.

Make cookies !