Work-life balance can be challenging when you have children to take care of. Since 2020, work-from-home jobs are more prevalent, providing parents with the opportunity to save on childcare and have a flexible schedule for their busy life. We will explore five stimulating options of activities that will aid your child’s development and help you with entertaining your children while working from home.
1. Puzzles
Memory games and Jigsaw puzzles promote cognitive development. Attention and focus are needed for memory games. Through this activity your child is using concentration. Memory games with colorful tiles or cartoon tiles are suggested to increase your child’s engagement. Furthermore, it can improve the vocabulary and visual recognition of your child. Jigsaw puzzles produce increased problem-solving skills. They aid in fine motor skills, increase self-esteem once the child completes the puzzle and creates spatial awareness. Check out a list of recommended puzzles for toddlers and kids here: 13 Best Puzzles for Toddlers and Kids
2. Arts and Crafts
Arts and crafts promote self-expression and creativity through the senses. Prewriting skills develop through drawing. Mixing colors can display the color spectrum and provide the child with a deeper understanding of the colors they encounter every day. Motor skills, imagination, and concentration are enhanced during these activities. Encourage your child to engage in arts and crafts and provide different art supplies to allow their imaginations to take control.
3. Stacking and Building
This is a wonderful way for your child to use logical reasoning skills. They gain the ability to recognize different shapes and sizes and the order in which they build based on those skills. Many jigsaws and blocks are of various colors that can be used as an identifying tool. Fine and gross motor skills improve from this activity. Basic concepts of geometry are also learned through this type of play.
4. Sensory Box
Sensory boxes can include touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing. You can place various items such as rice, shaving cream, beans, shredded paper, cornmeal, and feathers in a box. This tactile play engages many senses while your child plays and encourages fine motor skills. Children will enjoy manipulating the contents with their hands through the sensory box along with pouring out the contents. Tools that can increase the experience are a scoop, funnel, spoons, tweezers, and whisk. Interested in learning more about sensory play? Check out our blog post titled Sensory Play – What Is It?
5. Water Play
Water play is not only restoring but also yields numerous developmental benefits for children. There should be a designated area for water play which could be a shallow container or water table. Additionally, adding various water toys, utensils, and different-sized containers can help. Water play can benefit the development of fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, sensory exploration, and grasping basic scientific concepts such as floating and sinking.
The Importance of Play at Home
While working from home, entertaining your children is essential. Incorporating activities such as puzzles, arts and crafts, stacking and building, sensory boxes, and water play provide entertainment along with developmental benefits for children. Stimulating cognitive, fine motor, and sensory development, assisting creativity, concentration, and fostering problem-solving skills are just a few of the benefits. Combining work and play can create a balanced environment for you and your children.
Here at Family Futures, we want to support you. As always, reach out to a Family Support Navigator with any questions or concerns at navigation@familyfutures.org or contact us on our website.
