Adding a sibling to a family is a time of major changes, but one of the lasting challenges is finding activities that are suitable and interesting for all the children in a family. Lisa Hanson and Heather Kempskie have put together 200 fun activities for kids of different ages in their book, The Siblings’ Busy Book (Meadowbrook Press, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-0684057859).
Fun Activities for Babies, Toddlers, Preschoolers and School-Aged Children
The Siblings’ Busy Book is divided into several sections, according to the type of activity. The first section is one that many parents of multiple children will recognize as one of the toughest times to entertain children: the rainy day.
Hanson and Kempskie provide lots of easy, low-cost activities that involve minimal set-up or planning, lots of fun and very little clean-up afterwards! The Siblings’ Busy Book describes ideas such as tossing a ball through a hula hoop, bouncing a stuffed animal on a sheet, making shadow animals and an indoor scavenger hunt, and provides instructions on how to tailor the activity for children of different ages.
Keeping Siblings Occupied While Out and About
The Siblings’ Busy Book also provides ideas for quiet play that will help keep kids occupied while waiting at the doctor’s office, restaurant or in the car. Searching for letters of the alphabet, trying to guess which item has been hidden from the restaurant table or inventing stories about where the passengers of other cars are going are all activities that siblings can enjoy together, even if the baby is just listening to the fun. For more ideas and strategies to reduce sibling conflict, see Siblings Without Rivalry (Harper Paperbacks, 2004) by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.
Strengths and Weaknesses of The Siblings’ Busy Book
The Siblings’ Busy Book is easy to use and the ideas involve minimal set-up and planning, so it’s a good resource for those times when the children are at loose ends and an activity is required at short notice. Other parents may wish to pick activities and plan for them in advance, especially the holiday themed crafts or activities that require specific materials and preparation.
Many activities in The Siblings’ Busy Book support reading readiness skills or can be modified to provide opportunities for older children to practice reading and writing in fun activities at home. Some of the activities might already be part of a parent’s repertoire of activities, such as going to the library, but are worth mentioning because of their enduring appeal.
The Siblings’ Busy Book is a great resource for parents or caregivers with more than one child of varying ages in their care. Whether used to plan daily activities in advance or pulled out in a moment of desperation, the ideas in The Siblings’ Busy Book are easy to do and provide lots of hands-on, creative fun. For more ideas for toddlers, see The Toddler's Busy Book (Meadowbrook, 1999) by Trish Kuffner.
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