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Sharing a working mom's ideas, dreams, joys, sorrows and struggles © Lavanya Krishna 2010

Sunday, April 25, 2010

What I didn't learn in school...Keeping a 5 year old occupied

Unending energy, the urgency of now, short attention span, needs to be busy every minute of the day.....these are phrases I would use to describe my 5 year old. He's an early to bed, early to rise kinda guy who doesn't take afternoon naps (sigh!). Keeping him occupied is a challenge and at times a physically and emotionally draining one at that. As a first time mom I was initially quite daunted by it. I am stickler for neatness and order. Well all that has changed now! In trying to keep a hyper 5 year old off the useless idiot box we have devised over a period of time things that he can do that keep him mentally and physically occupied and that save his eyes!

1. Boys and cars.. (girls and dolls?)
Boys and cars just go with each other. We have devised several games over the period of years where A plays make believe games with his cars and races them...and I have learnt over these years to learn let go of the need to have the house in an orderly way. Small price to pay for keeping A occupied...and not seeing TV. I have allowed my kitchen to be invaded by airplanes, cars, trucks..and other obstacles. Below is one of A's fav activities called "Whooosh Car" where he sends down a bunch of small "Hot Wheels" car on a slope and tries to make his favorite car come "first".

Average time occupied: 45 minutes
















2. A the super hero...


A LOVES dressing up as a caped crusader, in his Karate dress and running around the house beating up some make believe robbers and "bad guys". At times he also becomes Darth Wader, I guess maybe because he's tired of being the good guy. Not only does this keep him physically active but it's also very amusing to watch and hear (from the sidelines). The best I have found to enjoy this to be as quiet as possible listening to his dialogues (he's talk for both sides - the good guy and the bad guy).


Average time occupied: 1 hour (if I can add on some bad people into the mix!).



3. Let's go...Lego!!


Around the time A was 4 we discovered that he has a penchant for doing Lego. He's currently into doing Lego pieces that are for 7-8 year olds. I was initially amazed by how much his attention span has increased. In learning Aryan's like for Lego I learnt something interesting about him...he likes Lego because "it gives me instructions on how to do it". Hence he doesn't like jigsaw puzzles which he says "I don't know where to start". Hmmm....very interesting I thought. Below are pictures are from his favorite "castle" lego and "pirate ship" lego.


Average time occupied: 1-2 hours!


4. Origami, Kirigami, Painting et al...


Another of A's favorite past times (albeit a very messy one, which causes me a lot of post-activity work) is craft work. He LOVES making Origami and Kirigami work. It's his penchant "for following instructions" that makes him like creating these handicrafts. During the Halloween season (October) he can keep himself occupied for more than an hour carving a pumpkin.


Average time occupied: 1 hour.


On a typical day (weekend) at this point my (our) patience pretty much begins to wear thin. That's when we resort to the TV and some video games that we have for him (which he of course just loves!). I wish there was a school where I could have learnt these skills rather than having picked them up on the fly! I am yet sure there are other activities that other savyy moms have invented/discovered to keep their over energetic kids busy and off the idiot box. If so please share!!

Anyway now I don't mind if my house is in a mess with light sabers, fireman caps, cars and flysing saucers. The price is worth the pleasure of keeping a 5 year old occupied :))

4 comments:

  1. Hey..Lav!! I totally agree with you! Love the pics of A on the blog!
    Some ideas that have worked for me....Involve in kitchen activity while u are in the kitchen..Ishaan loves to unload a dishwasher or load after i rinse the dishes...Involve in transferring clothes from Machine to dryer..Any task involving sorting, transferring or mixing!
    Make believe games are a hit with Ishaan too..sometimes he is the mailman..sometimes he is the police officer..whatever it is..just play the role they want u to play and it is a lot of fun!
    Enjoy!

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  2. i am amazed he is into so many things and more importantly, is able to stay focused on them for so long! that's quite an achievement for one so young and especially a boy. i suppose a lot of the credit must go to u and KK for introducing him to these things instead of taking the easier way out (i.e. TV!)
    my 2 cents...
    1. cooking? ads helps me a lot in the kitchen. but yes, it is horribly messy!
    2. i allow ads to make his own playdough (the non-cooking type) - it takes quite a bit of time!
    3. is aryan reading yet? he must be. that's a lifesaver. unfortunately we are not there yet.
    4. every month, ads gets the task of creating greeting cards for people whose annivs/bdays fall during that month. it appeals to his artistic instinct, i get to indulge my appetite for sending paper greeting cards to people, and of course the recipients are always blown away :) Good for 1-2 days!

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  3. @Chitra...I like the unloading dishwasher idea. I think Aryan would like that.Thanks for your ideas.

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  4. @Apu..seems like I should try cooking. Both u and Chitra have mentioned that. Hmm..I have to think how I can get him involved in this. Aryan does read however we have to sit next to him as he is yet not a fluent reader. He takes reading to be chore and does it more because we tell him to. If I have to read to him...that takes up my time. I like stuff that the can do on his own without bothering me too much so that I can get my work done.

    I love the greeting cards idea. Very nice. Will try that one.

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