I am taking care of a 4year old. any suggestions to keep him busy during the day would be appreciated!?

Question

I am taking care of a 4year old. any suggestions to keep him busy during the day would be appreciated!?

Answer 1

My son will be four in may and my daughter will be 3 in august, they both will sit down with play dough for 3-4 hours a day. It's crazy. My son also loves to clean so I bought him a water bottle at the dollar store and gave him a rag and he goes to town, he also loves to vacuum he is fascinated for some reason. He always wants to clean up everything but his own messes...

Answer 2

Every child is different and unique therefore what one child might be interested in another may not.  Also children's personalities vary and what might be good for one to play with might be a disaster for another (was reading about the play-doh, my daughter is very hyper and play-doh was absolutely out of the question).  Most four year olds love being read to.  Make sure to do the voices, ask him questions about what you're reading, let him interrupt, a book can be quite time consuming if done in this manner.  A lot of children also like building things.  If you could get some mega blocks (not legos, as the small parts aren't good for a child his age not only because of the choking hazard but because it will be too hard to put together) it would probably engage him for awhile.  Puzzles are also a good idea and will probably require assistance on your part, but activities where children can interact with adults are good because it also gives them stimulation socially.  Singing songs together is loads of fun for a four year old.  You can probably find lyrics to silly songs on the internet.  Maybe even download a few and dance to your little hearts' contents.  My kids absolutely love dancing.  You can put him in front of the boob tube and let him watch Nickelodeon all day or movies, but you wouldn't be doing him much good.  With the activities I've mentioned above you will have fun, teach him something, and help shape the future of a little boy!

Answer 3

Here are some activities that may help:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

There are lots of educational activities on this site:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

It kind of depends where you live.  Where I live it has been below zero most of the time and the kids can't get outside to play.  Instead of being atuck in front of a tv I have tried to find things that will educate as well as entertain.  My son will stay busy for hours playing online learning games and getting educated at the same time.  Kids this age also love crafts, play-doh, hide-and-seek and painting.

Answer 5

I would first suggest having a schedule.  

Do the same activities at the same time each day.

~Maybe when he arrives have him do a table activity (color books, dry erase board, Lego's, etc.)

~Then allow free play usually about an hour or two (have a toy selection that he can choose from.  Change this out every couple of weeks to keep it exciting)

~Fit morning snack in at a good time for you and him

~Make time for out side time or gross motor play.  This is very important for boys.  If you cannot go out side do music and dancing or something like that.

~Lunch and then rest time (I would recommend rest for at least an hour)

~When he gets up have a project planned (cooking, arts, crafts, etc.)

~Maybe the last part of the day could be computer or TV time.

Answer 6

ice-cream....cartoons........

Answer 7

get some toys, get some dvds pixar classic films such as toy story . should keep the 4year old busy

Answer 8

Clay and and crayons!

Answer 9

Well I for once have a 4 year old baby cousin and when I am taking care of him I bring some toys for him to play with. That way he will be busy and I play with him. But then when I hear him begging to get more toys I start to tickle him and give him some of his favorite food. Oatmeal. When he's done I will rock him to sleep and have the rest of the day to my self. I hope this helps you really I do. ? from: an 8th grader. now all you have to do is answer my ?. Please. P.S. i will pretend we are at school so I will be the teacher and he'll be the student.