1 and 3 year old babysitting HELP!!1?

Question

Ok so I started babysitting 2 girls one is 3 and the other is 1. I babysit them for 8 hours a day and its becoming a challenge! The girls are pretty well behaved but its so hard finding things to do because of there age difference. I tried coloring,books,movies,playing house,dress up, pretty much everything and it just seems that after the first 4 or 5 hours I run out of things to do and the 3 year old gets bored and wants all of my attention and even though i have talked to her about this she just doesn't understand that the 1 year old needs more personal attention.So then they start getting tired,and wild and the 3 year old gets really self cantered. Please if you have any experience or any ideas on things I could do with them that would make those last hours more enjoyable please tell me!!!! Thank you =D

Answer 1

when my kids were that age i tried to get them outside as much as possible...a bucket of water and smaller containers to transfer water to and from was  great fun...in the winter i put them both in the bath to play..

let 3 yo do art projects while you do other stuff with baby...

play school and let 3 yo be teacher...

take a nature walk...even around yard with a scavenger hunt..

Answer 2

I have a four year old and a 9 year old.  Big age difference.  The one thing I have found to totally keep three and four year olds busy is playdough.  I can clean my whole house if I have playdough for her.  Another thing is a marble race.  I have a wooden marble race and my daughter and son play with it for hours.  I wouldn't reccommend this for a 1 year old but if you seperated them into different rooms or let her play while the baby sleeps it is wonderful.  How about playing with cardboard boxes.  Stack them up and make a pretend fort for her.  Have her color the outsides and decorate it.  Cut out stars and moons for windows.  Have her glue cereal on it or beads or whatever u can find.  It keeps them busy.