| Play When You’re Away: Fun activities for your child and sitter |
By: Nicolette Zanzibar, Childcare/Babysitting Columnist
On 11/4/05
Sitters may have a hard time coming up with ways to keep your kids entertained. Rather than tossing her a Tele-tubbies DVD on your way out the door, try leaving some easy games and activities for your sitter and child to do together.
| "Have the sitter help your kids pour alternating colors of sand into the bottles. Voila! Beautiful paperweights." |
Here are some suggestions:
- Finger painting: Spread some newspapers on the kitchen floor, along with some food coloring, large sheets of paper, a bowl of vanilla pudding and some smaller bowls or Styrofoam cups. Your kids (and likely the babysitter) will love mixing colors and painting with their fingers.
- Playing dress-up: Go to a few thrift stores and garage sales to start a collection. Funny hats, oversized dresses, old cowboy boots and high heels make for a great start. Leave a digital camera for the sitter so that your kids can model what they pick out (and so you have a jump-start on holiday photos to send to the relatives!)
- Science experiment #1: The Amazing Volcano - Leave some 16-oz soda bottles in the backyard, along with food coloring, baking soda and vinegar. Have the babysitter help your child to mix about 10 drops of food coloring (it can be red, but certainly doesn’t have to be) into a small cup of vinegar before putting a half-cup of baking soda into the bottle. Have them add 2 tablespoons of the food-colored vinegar for a volcanic eruption!
- Science experiment #2: Liquid or solid? Have the babysitter mix water and cornstarch in a large bowl, a little water at a time. When the consistency is right, the cornstarch will “magically” go from solid to liquid to solid, depending on how much pressure is being applied. Squeeze the mixture? It acts like a solid. Let it sit in the palm of your hand? Liquid again. (This happens because cornstarch molecules act in what is known as a suspension. When you squeeze cornstarch its molecules line up – changing it’s viscosity – and it feels like a solid. But when there is no pressure acting upon it again acts like a liquid because the molecules relax.) It’s important not to pore the mixture down the drain when the experiment is over, since it can clog pipes when it dries. Have the babysitter spoon it into a bag and throw it in the trash.
- Colorful sand bottles: You can find colored sand at the local craft store, and bottles at a thrift or kitchen supply store. Old spice containers work well, too, just take the labels off with hot water and dish soap. If you can’t find colored sand, salt and food coloring will work – dilute the food coloring in water and mix it into the salt in plastic cups or baggies before letting it dry overnight. Have the sitter help your kids pour alternating colors of sand into the bottles. Voila! Beautiful paperweights.
These fun, inexpensive activities will set your sitter up for hours of fun with your child. For more ideas, try Where Puddles Go: Investigating Science with Kids by Michael J. Strauss, and Prime Time Together With Kids: Creative Ideas, Activities, Games, and Projects by Donna Erickson, both available at Amazon.com.
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