Games Esme plays - she is quite creative and it helps that she hasn't had much exposure to quick electronic type fun (video games, cellphone apps etc).
This one was Mark's idea the other day: handfuls of dry beans in egg carton bottom cups. I cut the egg carton bottoms into different numbers of cups and let her be creative do whatever she wants with sorting them around in there. She practiced counting and I tried to teach her 'two of each', 'three of each' etc. She lined them up like a 'choo choo train' and piled them all in one place on the table then in another etc. etc.. I'm wanting to add another color soon - haven't gotten around to it yet. White and red dry beans are very cheap and last very well... but may not be a good idea for some kids (of course) or when a younger child starts crawling around looking for things to mouth!
I know one person who has a six year old she still can't trust not to eat non-food unless she watches her like a hawk, so it varies highly from one kid to another. We have been able to trust Esme not to try to eat non-food since she was about two years old -- superballs have been one of her favorite toys and she has a goodly collection of them because our video store has a vending machine in it and that is her 'good girl' treat there - putting a quarter in the machine and getting a colored superball to play with. We still WATCH her while she is playing with small things, but she hasn't attempted to eat something like that for a very long time - she knows it is a toy and toys and food are very different. I do NOT think that is average - I think most people have to watch kids closely until they are about four or five.
PAIRS in PEARS toy - basically large scrabble tiles in a pouch. She sorts them and plays with them and then puts them all away.
Bells and tin can drums and sticks to make noise on them.
Paper cards with pictures on them and laminated with packing tape. She has to be in the mood for it though.
A pinwheel cost 1.00 at the store - she practices putting it places it will stand up and blowing at it.
Nothing. She hands me a piece of nothing - tells me what it is - and then wants it back. ?? She has a large imagination.
A large box of buttons - several pounds of them. Same problems as the beans, though, for some kids. She pours them over and over out of her hands and over other toys she puts in the box, sorts colors, pretends some are 'mean' buttons and some need to be saved etc etc... sounds like games I remember playing with acorns in my front yard when I was <5.
Hiding in boxes. Having her toys and (real) cats hide in other boxes. - making up games about hiding in the boxes and carrying the boxes all around the house with some intent I had no idea about.
Bubbles. Lots and Lots of bubbles - every day lots and lots of bubbles.
A newspaper with advertisement pullouts. I cut out pattern pieces from them and she reads things in them, plays with scraps, helps throw away bits we don't need etc.
A balloon pump and balloon animal balloons. We make her random things and she decides what they are and goes off to play with them. When they pop - she throws them away and says 'goodbye birdie - you popped, poor birdie' etc etc..
Heavy string, attached to a large button - she plays 'fish' with the cat (sometimes involves said boxes) ties a toy to the end and drags it around, pretends it is a swing for the toys, wraps it around her waist and asks us to play bungee cord with her etc etc... I have a brown velvet ribbon on my desk she was playing with yesterday.
We went for a long walk in the woods the other day, and examined and collected lots of things which all stayed outside when we got home. We also watch youtubes and play on pbskids and other computer places for fun. We still have multiple plastic animal performances per day, block towers and trains and 'cow houses', we are served wooden food often and she watches a lot of Clifford and other shows she asks for.
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