What are some good activities to keep a 5 and 2 year old busy while their dad has to sleep all day?

Question

My husband works graveyard so that means keeping my kids quiet during the day so he can sleep. What are some things can we can do that will keep them busy and quiet? They need to be indoor things because I live in vegas and it's 110 degrees outside during the day with the UV at 11.

Answer 1

Let the kids draw on the windows with washable window markers.

Give them paper, glue stick, and many decorations (feathers, sequins, tissue paper, magazines) to make a collage.

Let the kids finger paint.

String painted cereal or pasta for jewelry.

Bake.

Read books.

Let them color in coloring books.

Look at photo albums.

Watch a movie.

(:

Answer 2

In Vegas, you can join a Mommy and Me group.  Try www.mommyandmewest.org.  They plan 2-4 activities each day that you can choose to participate in around town.  It's a great way to meet other moms and get your kids out of the house.  You can also join a playgroup through them.  The yearly fee isn't that much considering how much they do.  I get my kids out of the house 3-4 days per week- out by 9am, home by 12 or 1 or even sometimes later.  They are so exhausted, it leads to a very quiet afternoon of movies, crafts, reading.

Answer 3

Some noise canceling headphones may be an excellent investment for your family. A semi-loud fan or white noise machine would be another option to consider. It sounds like you are in a very difficult position. I am sure you know that keeping a 5 and 2 year old quiet all day is unreasonable however their father has got to be able to get some decent rest to be able to perform well with work tasks and do his part in taking care of the family. This sounds like an impossible situation, I'm really sorry. In my town we have several free public places I can take my kids during summer months. There is nothing wrong with spending several hours of a day in the public library. Many libraries have activity rooms that hold children's books reading and children's classes for toddlers. I would suggest trying there. Also, when my own air conditioning went out, I literally spent 2-3 hours a day letting my kids play in the play area at my local McDonald's or Burger King, which still had AC. I would go up there and buy 2 juice boxes and get a glass for water and then let the kids go wild for a few hours. Also, we have a membership to our local zoo, it has an entire area that is in doors and is climate controlled. Many local museums are not only climate controlled but (because of government funding) are free admission too. Now these are not the super cool children's deluxe museums, but in our town the National Swedish heritage museum, National Russian Heritage Museum, and Fire station museum are free admission. I don't know how the public transportation is in Las Vegas, but here it is super cheap during off hours for women with kids. For a little less then $15 dollars a week and some creative thinking , our family does this ever week. After any day like that, my kids come home beat and don't hardly move off the couch for literally 2 hours. We walk in the door to snack time, potty time, and then tv time. Usually they fall asleep sitting up in their chairs 30 minutes after being home. I hope some of this could help you. You can do it, don't give up!!

Answer 4

Jeez that's a good one. I have a hard enough time trying to keep the noise levels down with a 4 and 1 year old, without having to consider that someone is trying to sleep in the house.

In the really hot weather, we spend a lot of time at the playground in the mall, / mall walking (It takes restraint not to go shopping, but you can do it), going to the library, especially for their Storytime. That's free. Try setting up playdates with some friends, on the condition that you bring the food or something like that, since you will never be able to host, with your husband sleeping.

We spend $50 a year to belong to the local Transportation museum. Once we paid the $50, we can go to that museum as often as we want. While it can get a little boring, if you bring some of the kids friends along, it makes it much more fun. They have different activities there all the time, so it's definitely worth it.

Answer 5

give them a color book, make cookies, give them play-doh, try to do some craft projects  with them like an acuacolor paint, bits necklaces, a collage from magazines and their own draws, and in order to keep their interest u can make it look like a contest, or tell them it will be a gift for someone special, just use ur imagination.....pssst.....they are small, u can lie!!!!!

Answer 6

paint pictures ..face paint them into quiet animals,.cook things,glue beads onto frames ..for the pictures you painted ..macaroni art..nail polish dads sleeping toes..

Answer 7

my children are now 3 and 8 and my husband sometimes works the graveyard shift especially when they were younger so to keep them as quiet as possible as lets face it you can't work miracles i let them make mess so to speak, OK organized mess lol. i do things like putting newspaper down and letting them paint pictures for him for when he gets up or buy some cheap bits and pieces like pipe cleaners, sequins, ABC letters all activity stuff that they can glue and stick to card to keep them busy. they also like story time where they pick a few books and i read them for them or now as my son can read he likes to read them, they also enjoy watching a family movie and drawing pictures. its hard to find different things to do inside. try baking cakes and getting them involved by letting them stir the mixture and putting the cake cases out on the tray then decorating them when they've cooled down or making things with them my daughter who's now 3 loves the Lego building blocks and we play for hours building bridges and making tall things out of them. they also like games that they can both play as they find it fun. another favorite of there's is house my daughter has a tea set etc and she likes to make pretend drinks and food, they can also play that for hours. now my son's a bit older he likes to play on his game console. i got him a wii as not only does he get to play he also gets exercise as well as it involves a lot of moving around and its great for all the family. my daughter likes to play as well and although she can't play it right we give her a remote without batterys so she thinks she's playing along and she copys all the actions etc so she gets exercise as well. were lucky as we live in the uk so we get to do outdoor activitys as well but when were stuck inside because of the rain the above is some of the things we do, hope it helps and good luck

Answer 8

what we do because my husband works the same is coloring. my 2 yearold loves it. cartoons are great. of course nap time works for a little bit. go online and look up how to make things out of paper you will be surprised at what you will find. my 2 yearold loves to help clean the house with me. my oldest hates it though. my son is 8 months so he isnt much of a problem there he is a lazy fat boy.

Answer 9

I think I would be more inclined to buy my husband noise canceling headphones or something to that affect.  

The children do need to know the difference between an indoor and and outdoor voice, but at the same time they need to be allowed to get excited.  

Play toys with them, draw pictures, play doh, learning toys.  Do you have a garage?  Let them run around and be silly in there.

Answer 10

In the same boat as you, but I only have a 2 1/2 year-old. I find foam stickers (you can find them at craft stores or Walmart) work great. There are many $1 projects you can do with them. You can put them on foam photo frames, and etc. Those are also at the craft stores and Walmart.

Anything they have to build like dominoes, legos, Lincoln logs with the promise that they have to be quiet!

Anything dealing with drawing works well like crayons, coloring books, different kinds of materials like that. Dont' forget playdoh and puzzles! Sometimes we get on the computer and play quiet games dealing with ABCs, numbers and shapes. Also, I let my little one help me cook even though there is a big mess to clean up afterwards. They can help make bread, homemade pizza, cookies, break pasta up and etc.  

Sometimes a movie rented from the library is good not to mention cheap or in some states, free.

Sit down and have them write a story (with your help of course). They can tell you a story and you can write it down and then they can draw the pictures for the story and add stickers.

Books are always a good choice.

Sometimes I have to take my little one to the mall or Walmart just to let her get out of the house. Chuckie Cheese, museums and the library (when they have special things going on) are always good choices too, but I know those cannot be done a lot, but might be nice once in a while.

Good luck!!

Answer 11

My husband also works the night shift. I read alot of already good ideas for the kids so I'll give you one for the husband. We turn on a fan like a table top on high. If he doesn't like it blowing on him aim it at the floor. It just creates a white noise to block out the kids voices.  It takes some getting used to but if I know there is going to be company we turn it on and he usually doesn't hear anything.

Answer 12

Sell them or get a new man.

Answer 13

Art does wonders. Try different kinds. Painting, finger painting, stamper art, bubble art, etc. etc. Also try cooking projects. Basic things, like making fresh lemonade. They can learn where lemonade comes from AND have a tasty treat. Get manipulative toys that will keep them occupied. Also, engage their sensory skills. Try getting two trays or containers and putting bubble water, shaving cream, easter basket grass, etc. Read them lots of stories. Don't have them watch a lot of TV though. That's the worst.

Answer 14

Coloring books, plain paper, and lots of colors -- paint, crayons, magic markers...

Legos.

Play-Doh.

Puzzles -- regular puzzles and 3D puzzles.

Teach them the alphabet -- have them write a letter lots of times, then make drawings with it of something that starts with that letter.

Tell them stories.

Let them tell you stories (this is really fun).

Have them make pictures with bits of colored paper and buttons and other scraps.

Let them cut out people from magazines and make stories about them.

Perhaps you could also get a white noise machine for your husband, so the kids can make a bit of their own noise.

Try taking them to the park every day so they can run around and be noisy a little while, then not be upset about the "quieter" rules at home.

Answer 15

I don't think you can keep two active children quiet all day -- everyday.