Kids Activities with a 6 year old and a toddler

As mother of two, sometimes I struggle to find activities to suit not only both their interests but also their age groups. My daughter, Sariyah-Lei, affectionately known as just Sariyah, is 6 years old and my son Khai 21 months.

There is a 4 1/2 years age gap, and even though this is not a significant gap between them, I sometimes get a little stuck on places to take them.

So here is a few ideas that I find quite useful in keeping them both entertained:

Go to the park:

This might sound like an obvious one, but my children really do like it there. Nothing like a nice walk to the park and then being able to go to the playground. Luckily we live quite near to one where they have a playground for younger kids as well as the older ones. A place to feed the ducks, and a nice cafe where you can grab some much needed lunch after pushing them for the 100th time on the swing.

In the warmer months you can dine al fresco and sit at the picnic tables. Or my personal favourite, bring a picnic with you along with a blanket and watch the world go by. The park has the sprinklers turned on and boat rides available.

Visit a Museum:

This is one of my daughter’s favourite things to do. To be honest she doesn’t mind what kind of museum we go to. I think she just likes walking around and looking at the interesting things behind the glass. And although this is fun a day out, it is also educational. I always find her asking what is this, what does this do, was this from the olden days. And I am just as intrigued as she is.

Recently we were able to visit the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green, this was our second time there. Unfortunately, Khai fell asleep as soon as we arrived. So for the first half it was just me, Sariyah, grandma and sleeping baby in pushchair.

Even though we had visited before, Sariyah was still so intrigued by it all. She especially liked that you were able to ride on a rocking horse. They have all different types of toys from back in the day till updated toys. They also had an arts and crafts table where the children were able to pick out different cuttings, glue them on to a piece of paper and cut them into a particular shape. They then had the opportunity to showcase their work on the museum’s pirate flag.

When we visited they had A Pirate’s Life for Me exhibition, which is still on until the 22 April. By this time Khai had woken up and was ready to explore. From the makeshift pirate ship, where you could walk the plank, look through the telescope to see how far you were from land, to finding hidden treasure. And although the space was small, the children didn’t have any problems at all with this. Definitely a place I would recommend for a family day out.

Trampolining:

We have only really discovered this a year ago or so as Sariyah was invited to a trampoline birthday party. She had so much fun, we decided that we will all go again.

We decided to go to the Oxygen Freejumping at The O2. First time going to this particular one we wasn’t too sure what to expect. But we were pleasantly surprised.

Whilst Sariyah went off to jump for 1 hour with daddy, me and Khai went to the soft play area for the little ones. And although we had been to a local trampoline park where they had a designated trampoline area for babies, this one did not. I was disappointed in that, but to be honest Khai enjoyed himself just as much. Beckoning me to come down the slide with him, which I was pleasantly surprised I was able to fit down! Then there was the ball pit, where we spent most of our time. A fun day out.

A trip to Ikea:

And no I haven’t gone completely mad, Sariyah genuinely likes coming here. I believe it is all the excitement of going into all the different rooms, making herself comfortable on the sofas, and lying in bed like she is about to go to sleep. Not to mention the children’s area with all the toys, books and tents. And yes we bought two tents whilst on our last trip there. But it was worth it as they look great in our garden when its warmer and the kids really like playing in them.

We usually grab lunch here or get a cake from the cafe. I know this isn’t a usual day out, but my kids tend to enjoy it here.

And lastly, but definitely not least

Arts and crafts:

This especially comes in handy as a rainy day activity or just a day when you have nothing specific planned.

I usually head to Poundland and stock up on paper, PVA glue, coloured card, stickers, paint, brushes and all the other good stuff.

It’s only been recently that Khai has gotten a bit more involved with this. Before he was still a bit too small and didn’t fully understand the concept behind it. But now he as at age where he can enjoy it a bit more.

Our lastest project was making masks, which Sariyah thoroughly enjoyed. So much so, she made three. A lion that unfortunately lost its straw whiskers (that PVA is just not as strong as it used to be!), a zebra and an elephant. Khai wasn’t too interested in this so just decided to paint/colour instead.

And even though this is a quite a basic activity, the kids really do enjoy it.

This post was a bit of a long one, so thanks for getting this far.

I hope you found this post useful. I have some more kids activities ideas, so please let me know if you want me to write more about this.

J x