Life as a nanny...

I'm currently working as a nanny for two boys (aged 1.5 & 4). They have so much energy that often times I need to make sure I have activities planned for them to keep them engaged and to keep me from running around (and playing make believe) for hours on end. (I mean it's great for an hour or so but you can only be a pirate for so long, ya know?)

Anyways, I recently set up somewhat of an obstacle course for the oldest and it was such a success (for him, and me!) that I had to share. 

 

The first obstacle was something I think I stole from Pinterest (does anybody else confuse things they thought of with Pinterest ideas? Addicted much?)

Well it's a simple "laser beam" obstacle of course! (but really it's just ribbon and tape.)

It was so fun to watch him slither under & hop over the "lasers". I even made him restart if he touched one.

 No short-cuts here!

ツ

#2 Bowling made from blocks, a ball, & a wooden spoon to mark where to stand (...naturally...)

#3 Hopscotch - Pillow Edition

#4 Counting Army Men (the teacher in me is starting to show)

I drew a few squares & wrote numbers above them so he could place the correct amount of Army Men in them. I even had him add(/count) them all together at the end as a "special challenge".

#5 Practicing writing on a magnetic board (do they have a special name? I can't remember.) Anyway, I had him write his name, his brothers name, and Mom & Dad. 

 

Isn't his writing nice for a (young) 4yr old?

This ended up keeping him busy for at least a half hour (he wanted to do it a couple of times) and it was literally free to create (make use of what you've got!) and super simple to set-up.

I highly recommend creating structured activities - especially for stay at home moms - (which is what I feel like sometimes, ha!) It helps the kids stay actively engaged and keeps you from running around like a mad-women (or a pirate...)

Have fun playing!

-N