Quarantine project with 3 year old that adult would find satisfying
July 5, 2020 10:53 AM Subscribe
Is there any kind of project or such that I can do with my three year old that he would enjoy AND that *I* would also find satisfying socially/emotionally/intellectually. Yes, I realize this is a crazy question. But maybe someone has a crazy answer. We cannot leave the house. We can order supplies online. I'm thinking more "hobby" or "medium-term project" than "this thing we can do one afternoon", but I'm pretty desperate, so if you can satisfy us both for an afternoon, I guess that's better than nothing.
Things I like:
Crafting
Folk Music
Photography and photoshopping
Reading, though I find it hard to concentrate these days
Things he likes:
streetcars
sealife (especially rays, anglerfish, jellyfish)
pelicans
swinging
reading
We have a backyard, but I'm not big on outdoorsy stuff (though of course I make sure he plays outside every day) and very hot sunny days can trigger migraines for me, so I don't want anything that will require spending hours outside.
He doesn't really get the concept of colouring yet.
I tried making books with him, but he's not that interested.
Things I like:
Crafting
Folk Music
Photography and photoshopping
Reading, though I find it hard to concentrate these days
Things he likes:
streetcars
sealife (especially rays, anglerfish, jellyfish)
pelicans
swinging
reading
We have a backyard, but I'm not big on outdoorsy stuff (though of course I make sure he plays outside every day) and very hot sunny days can trigger migraines for me, so I don't want anything that will require spending hours outside.
He doesn't really get the concept of colouring yet.
I tried making books with him, but he's not that interested.
Papier-mâché could be fun, even if he isn’t into coloring it (although maybe he might find painting or decorating it with doodads is more entertaining than coloring). I remember being really little and enjoying the whole sloppy experience of it. You guys could work on a collection of sea creatures to hang up around the house.
posted by sallybrown at 11:13 AM on July 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by sallybrown at 11:13 AM on July 5, 2020 [7 favorites]
I found collage reasonably satisfying at that age. Glue stick + kid scissors + construction paper + National Geographic magazines (Nat Geo was particularly good for the weight of paper and variety of types of pictures).
If you have time to devote, you might look into a preschool curriculum, where weeks are themed and various activities fall into each theme. You might find that cooking your way through the rainbow or crafting your way through the seasons offers you some satisfaction as well?
posted by vunder at 11:18 AM on July 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
If you have time to devote, you might look into a preschool curriculum, where weeks are themed and various activities fall into each theme. You might find that cooking your way through the rainbow or crafting your way through the seasons offers you some satisfaction as well?
posted by vunder at 11:18 AM on July 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
Projects: building big things (cars, houses, castles) out of boxes and then painting with something safe, even if it'll just end up flaking off
Related hobby: building smaller things (car tunnels, baby doll costumes, "contraptions") out of general recycling stuff
posted by teremala at 11:22 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Related hobby: building smaller things (car tunnels, baby doll costumes, "contraptions") out of general recycling stuff
posted by teremala at 11:22 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
We had a bunch of big cardboard boxes this weekend, so we made a couple of play houses from cardboard and packing tape -- actually one playhouse and one rocket ship. There were three grownups and one three year old in the mix and everyone had a lot of fun. I'm hoping we'll get a week or two of fun out of this, since we can keep cutting off parts and sticking on new parts and scribbling on parts.
(If this doesn't quite click yet, maybe try again in 6 months -- my kid got more out of the both the cutting/drawing/taping stuff and the imaginative stuff than she might have a little while ago.)
posted by john hadron collider at 11:28 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
(If this doesn't quite click yet, maybe try again in 6 months -- my kid got more out of the both the cutting/drawing/taping stuff and the imaginative stuff than she might have a little while ago.)
posted by john hadron collider at 11:28 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
I don't know the official term for this but as a kid I would use shadow boxes and make little scenes and displays out of them. You can each make pieces of it. Maybe you paint a nice background and he makes clay sculptures to put in. Maybe you cut out paper shapes and he decides where to place them. Maybe you both make pipe cleaner animals together.
To connect it with reading, maybe you could make scenes from books?
posted by brook horse at 11:30 AM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
To connect it with reading, maybe you could make scenes from books?
posted by brook horse at 11:30 AM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Sugar cookies or ginger bread cookies: Kiddo can help measure, cut out cookies with a cookie cutter or glass, and decorate to their anarchic heart's content.
posted by latkes at 11:35 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by latkes at 11:35 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Buy a spool of paper (pricing can be pretty weird depending on where you're looking and what they expect you to be doing with it so look around, and make sure you don't accidentally buy waxed/coated paper) and then work on drawing/scribbling down the entire length? Unwind a section, draw, scroll it up, unwind the next section, repeat.
As the adult, you would want to control how fast the spool is unwound, lest a single line run down the entire length in five minutes and "now we're done!"
Kiddo can be scribbling all kinds of random things, ideally while talking about it, and then you riff off of that with more adult sketching, feedback loop hopefully ensues.
posted by aramaic at 12:27 PM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
As the adult, you would want to control how fast the spool is unwound, lest a single line run down the entire length in five minutes and "now we're done!"
Kiddo can be scribbling all kinds of random things, ideally while talking about it, and then you riff off of that with more adult sketching, feedback loop hopefully ensues.
posted by aramaic at 12:27 PM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Piggybacking on the papier-mache suggestion above, if you blow up small balloons and apply the papier-mache, then pop and remove the balloons when the paper has dried, you can paint the heads with poster paint and fashion scraps of fabric, handkerchiefs, or even colored tube socks with other simple craft supplies to make hand puppets. Pipecleaner hair, glitter eyeshadow, button eyes. Old costume jewelry will never be more loved than attached to a puppet. Unzipped plastic zip ties pushed through small (adult made) slits in the sphere make terrific bristly hair, for example. Raid the junk drawer and go crazy! Just make sure you leave enough room to slide two or three fingers inside the heads. to work the puppets. Perhaps you could fashion a puppet stage from a cut-out cardboard box on its side and make up stories and plays. Recreate the characters from a favorite story, or make family member puppets your child knows. This is a pretty easy, very cheap project, and kids love the squishy texture of the wet paper.
We also got a long roll of drawing paper, unrolled it on the floor and drew around each others bodies with crayons. We colored them with crayons and I cut them out and articulated the limbs with brass paper brads and backed them with cardboard. You then will be able to move the arms, legs, and neck. We then had life-size puppets to hold in front of our bodies to stage made-up scenes while we sort of danced behind as we moved the body parts.
Do you have a shallow toddler pool for your outdoor space? Kids absolutely love water play, and with a small pool, a few plastic cups and/or a hose or sprinkler, they will be happy for quite a while, and you can splash with your child. An umbrella or rigging up some sort of awning -even a tarp - would probably help protect from sun burn and sun glare a great deal. Have fun!
posted by citygirl at 12:27 PM on July 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
We also got a long roll of drawing paper, unrolled it on the floor and drew around each others bodies with crayons. We colored them with crayons and I cut them out and articulated the limbs with brass paper brads and backed them with cardboard. You then will be able to move the arms, legs, and neck. We then had life-size puppets to hold in front of our bodies to stage made-up scenes while we sort of danced behind as we moved the body parts.
Do you have a shallow toddler pool for your outdoor space? Kids absolutely love water play, and with a small pool, a few plastic cups and/or a hose or sprinkler, they will be happy for quite a while, and you can splash with your child. An umbrella or rigging up some sort of awning -even a tarp - would probably help protect from sun burn and sun glare a great deal. Have fun!
posted by citygirl at 12:27 PM on July 5, 2020 [3 favorites]
For an ongoing project, your best bet might be to build something that he can help with. My son was 3 when we redid the kitchen, and he spent a long time helping his dad assemble a ton of Ikea cabinets. I don't know that he was a lot of help, but he could get some of the bits and think about the problem. And the cabinets got put together; it took a week or more at a few hours a day.
Maybe you can find a birdhouse kit or something that would give that kind of pleasure, and he could paint it, too.
Oh, another thing--learning recorder is something that a little kid can try and an adult can also do. It's more of a 10-minutes-a-day thing, but it's a skill you can both work on at the same pace.
You also might take on a big art project like (this has been one of my dreams) getting a very large piece of paper and making a map of your neighborhood. To satisfy you it might need to be somewhat accurate, but he could definitely contribute. It wouldn't so much be something you definitely want to have, but it's a craft project that provides you with enough intellectual stimulation to make it interesting.
I'm in the same situation only with an 11-year-old; he's capable of a lot but uninterested, which is a different problem. But I absolutely feel your pain.
posted by gideonfrog at 12:34 PM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Maybe you can find a birdhouse kit or something that would give that kind of pleasure, and he could paint it, too.
Oh, another thing--learning recorder is something that a little kid can try and an adult can also do. It's more of a 10-minutes-a-day thing, but it's a skill you can both work on at the same pace.
You also might take on a big art project like (this has been one of my dreams) getting a very large piece of paper and making a map of your neighborhood. To satisfy you it might need to be somewhat accurate, but he could definitely contribute. It wouldn't so much be something you definitely want to have, but it's a craft project that provides you with enough intellectual stimulation to make it interesting.
I'm in the same situation only with an 11-year-old; he's capable of a lot but uninterested, which is a different problem. But I absolutely feel your pain.
posted by gideonfrog at 12:34 PM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Good ideas above.
You dont say what crafts you enjoy, but combining that with one of his interests might work. Some kids like make collections of little things. While Googling, I came across this which might be amusing for the two of you.
posted by SemiSalt at 12:46 PM on July 5, 2020
You dont say what crafts you enjoy, but combining that with one of his interests might work. Some kids like make collections of little things. While Googling, I came across this which might be amusing for the two of you.
posted by SemiSalt at 12:46 PM on July 5, 2020
I think 3 is young to engage in most projects you find truly interesting, but I do think there’s lots of things you can do together. What about small home repair projects? A 3-yr old could help with small painting projects (give them a bucket of water and a brush, or just let them play with a paint roller, or give them their own object to paint. We painted our garage cabinets this way). Or do you have space for a garden? Or some potted herbs? He could help dig and plant, and just play with mud. You could make it more interesting for you by experimenting with some herbal tea recipes or simple syrups flavored with your herbs. I like growing herbs like mint, basil, oregano, chives with kids because they grow fast and kids can help pick the leaves easily. I’m not a gardener, but this is a low pressure way to garden with kids. Are there any landscaping projects you need to do? A rain garden, installing rain barrels, plant butterfly plants, weeding and mulching? That’s the kind of thing a 3-yr could help with a bit. Plus if you mulch, maybe you could get him a mini wheel barrow, which is adorable.
A fun leisure activity is fill up a mini kids pool, put a lawn chair next to it & sit and read with your feet in the pool while kid plays with cups in the pool. Kid can help water plants at the same time. I do understand that’s not what you asked, but it’s something that’s gotten me through some long afternoons, so there you go.
You could try to learn to be a great hula hooper? Make giant bubbles? Become a great face painter? Learn to do interesting shadow puppets?
The best crafts I can think of are making clay-mation type videos together. Kids love taking photos and videos, maybe you could do a video journal project together. Or have you ever wanted an aquarium? I bet your kid would enjoy helping set it up and feeding fish, and you could learn about it too. Maybe try aquatic plants too.
posted by areaperson at 12:55 PM on July 5, 2020
A fun leisure activity is fill up a mini kids pool, put a lawn chair next to it & sit and read with your feet in the pool while kid plays with cups in the pool. Kid can help water plants at the same time. I do understand that’s not what you asked, but it’s something that’s gotten me through some long afternoons, so there you go.
You could try to learn to be a great hula hooper? Make giant bubbles? Become a great face painter? Learn to do interesting shadow puppets?
The best crafts I can think of are making clay-mation type videos together. Kids love taking photos and videos, maybe you could do a video journal project together. Or have you ever wanted an aquarium? I bet your kid would enjoy helping set it up and feeding fish, and you could learn about it too. Maybe try aquatic plants too.
posted by areaperson at 12:55 PM on July 5, 2020
Get a big piece of paper, and tape it or tack it to the wall and draw the kid's outline with arms spread out a little, then you can draw a face and clothes on it. You could make them a farmer or a fireman, or a cat or dog or bunny. You could make them a tree with branches coming out, or a bird with wings, you get the idea, think of any silly thing you like. The child could draw along with you or have fun directing you what to make them. Try different arm and leg positions, you don't have to be an artist, the child will see what you're making. Just have fun with it!
posted by starfish at 1:09 PM on July 5, 2020
posted by starfish at 1:09 PM on July 5, 2020
Make a very large felt storyboard by hanging felt on cardboard or even a wall. You could make different scenes to put various animal cutouts upon. An underwater scene, a farm scene, a forest scene. Fun if there are animals hidden behind objects. There was a great storyboard at the local museum that all the kids enjoyed putting up leaves and rearranging the animals.
How about making a picture using cut-outs of construction paper. Grandkid and I once made a scene from the book, Sneakers the Seaside Cat. Using some cut paper and some torn paper we arranged the pieces to look like the cat. We added baubles for eyes. You may have seen some kid's books that are illustrated in that manner.
We weren't successful at making a collage with pictures from magazines but Grandkid did enjoy cutting the pictures out and collecting them into a folder.
I once made two sets of cards with photos of motorcycles pasted to heavy cardstock as a matching game. That would be fun to do with sea creatures. Or you both could dress up as your favorite characters and do selfies to print out.
posted by goodsearch at 1:13 PM on July 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
How about making a picture using cut-outs of construction paper. Grandkid and I once made a scene from the book, Sneakers the Seaside Cat. Using some cut paper and some torn paper we arranged the pieces to look like the cat. We added baubles for eyes. You may have seen some kid's books that are illustrated in that manner.
We weren't successful at making a collage with pictures from magazines but Grandkid did enjoy cutting the pictures out and collecting them into a folder.
I once made two sets of cards with photos of motorcycles pasted to heavy cardstock as a matching game. That would be fun to do with sea creatures. Or you both could dress up as your favorite characters and do selfies to print out.
posted by goodsearch at 1:13 PM on July 5, 2020 [5 favorites]
Grow something, veggies or herbs or even just flowers.
posted by Charity Garfein at 1:48 PM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Charity Garfein at 1:48 PM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
The uninterested 11 year old mentioned above hits home for me because I’ve been spending a lot of time with a similar 10 year old! A teacher friend recently reminded me of making gingerbread houses with graham crackers; so I bribed him with candy and we had a nice hour or two making an incredibly inaccurate but edible version of Hogwarts. It would also probably entertain a 3 year old for a while! Even if it’s not an on-going project.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 2:36 PM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jeweled accumulation at 2:36 PM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: thanks, there's a lot to run with here, especially the paper mache.
I'm seeing a lot of "kid projects that an adult might like" and I'm happy to hear more of that.
But when I asked I was more thinking about "adult projects compatible with the participation of a preschooler." Yeah, that's why I said I know it's crazy. But if anyone has any crazy ideas, feel free to share.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:12 PM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
I'm seeing a lot of "kid projects that an adult might like" and I'm happy to hear more of that.
But when I asked I was more thinking about "adult projects compatible with the participation of a preschooler." Yeah, that's why I said I know it's crazy. But if anyone has any crazy ideas, feel free to share.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:12 PM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
What about something like documenting birds, insects, or other things in your garden? You could take photos of them. If you have a device that is robust enough you could let your kid take photos too. Otherwise maybe you aim the device and he presses the button? But then after you have a photo you could together decide what notes to write down about it. Maybe he makes up a story. Or maybe it's just descriptive. He can tell you what to write. You can keep the images and text on some kind of blog or in a private digital album. It will be a fun memento one day.
The fun will also come from trying to spot new creatures you haven't already got.
posted by lollusc at 3:25 PM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
The fun will also come from trying to spot new creatures you haven't already got.
posted by lollusc at 3:25 PM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Hi. I have a 3 year old. Here are some things he helps with:
- kneading bread dough and shaping bread loaves
- embroidery - we do this independently
- fingerknitting - independently
- my partner is teaching him piano so they can duet. (On songs like old Macdonald.)
- this is more his thing but he’s really into this old house, so we often give him blocks of wood to paint or hammer nails into. He just received a birdhouse kit.
- both of my kids love sorting. If you do a craft with little bits or pieces, he can help put them into bins for you.
- we are just getting into jigsaw puzzles together
- we bird virtually through the Cornell feeder feeds on youtube. We watch them most mornings.
posted by melodykramer at 3:51 PM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
- kneading bread dough and shaping bread loaves
- embroidery - we do this independently
- fingerknitting - independently
- my partner is teaching him piano so they can duet. (On songs like old Macdonald.)
- this is more his thing but he’s really into this old house, so we often give him blocks of wood to paint or hammer nails into. He just received a birdhouse kit.
- both of my kids love sorting. If you do a craft with little bits or pieces, he can help put them into bins for you.
- we are just getting into jigsaw puzzles together
- we bird virtually through the Cornell feeder feeds on youtube. We watch them most mornings.
posted by melodykramer at 3:51 PM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]
One more: he might be able to learn a little guitar. We have a small one with some chords and that’s actually been more of a hit than I anticipated.
posted by melodykramer at 3:54 PM on July 5, 2020
posted by melodykramer at 3:54 PM on July 5, 2020
do you like challah? Very easy to make, makes extremely tactilely-satisfying dough, little ones love it, and any shape they produce will bake up into something they will love to eat, including just blobs that bake up as tasty challah buns.
You can also just order some refrigerated white bread dough and it'll be just as fun.
posted by fingersandtoes at 5:28 PM on July 5, 2020
You can also just order some refrigerated white bread dough and it'll be just as fun.
posted by fingersandtoes at 5:28 PM on July 5, 2020
My daughter is older, but I've been thinking about projecting an image on one of the walls in her room, tracing it onto the wall with a pencil, and then painting it with her. We've talked about a forest, mountain scene or cityscape as possible ideas. I think this could be pretty fun for a toddler too, and could take a few days to complete. Maybe you could do a seascape where he puts handprints on the wall in different colors then you add in the details to make them fish?
When you're done looking at it or moving, you could primer and paint it over.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 6:44 PM on July 5, 2020
When you're done looking at it or moving, you could primer and paint it over.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 6:44 PM on July 5, 2020
Ah. Most of the genuinely productive projects my kid helped with at three took place outdoors, where the precision can often be much less. In small increments, we pressure-washed the fence and siding (the kid had eye protection and it's not like you use super high pressures on those surfaces anyway), spread mulch (having a huge pile and a wagon to haul from it with makes for great fun), cleaned first-story gutters, dug out plants from between sidewalk squares and refilled the cracks with sand and cedar 1x2s, edged landscaping with big rocks that could be placed haphazardly and look nice that way, that kind of thing. I also taught them what garlic mustard is and periodically turned them loose in a patch where the only plants I cared about were obvious shrubs. It was actually pretty effective! Indoors is more difficult, I've found, but they did like cleaning the walls/baseboards with magic erasers, spraying and cleaning appliance doors or low mirrors, rolling towels, picking stones out of dried beans, pushing a dust mop around, baking basically anything even if they didn't like eating it, coming up with stuff for me to sew for their dolls, and whoops there we are right back at "kid projects an adult might find tolerable." :)
posted by teremala at 7:22 PM on July 5, 2020
posted by teremala at 7:22 PM on July 5, 2020
When kiddo was three we had nice little garden pots going. She was a big artist though.
Other things:
- playlists for music
- sorting books, cooking things, art supplies
- wiping and washing things
- cooking was always a go, she would happily chop things like mushrooms, kneading dough, layering and spreading (always use a bigger bowl than you think you need)
- papercraft like collage, painting, resist painting, anything with layers and layering
posted by geek anachronism at 7:48 PM on July 5, 2020
Other things:
- playlists for music
- sorting books, cooking things, art supplies
- wiping and washing things
- cooking was always a go, she would happily chop things like mushrooms, kneading dough, layering and spreading (always use a bigger bowl than you think you need)
- papercraft like collage, painting, resist painting, anything with layers and layering
posted by geek anachronism at 7:48 PM on July 5, 2020
I always tried to find a way to make them adjacent to my project. If I was baking, kid was in a high chair or stepstool with their own bowl to stir or dough to shape. If I was sewing, kid had cardboard shapes with punch holes and yarn to sew. If I was playing piano, kid had maracas. Reading ... picture book with matching read-a-long cassette. Exercise video.. dance costumes. Unloading dishwasher.. kid in charge of spoons and Tupperware which is stored in a low cupboard.
The trick is the amount of attention you give and the respect that you show.
If you tell us what kind of crafts you like or what project you are thinking about, we can help figure out something adjacent.
posted by CathyG at 8:56 PM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
The trick is the amount of attention you give and the respect that you show.
If you tell us what kind of crafts you like or what project you are thinking about, we can help figure out something adjacent.
posted by CathyG at 8:56 PM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
I’m with you-three kids and ice never really loved playing kid activities with them-barbies and candy land and legos are not my thing. And I can’t imagine if mine were still preschoolers during the pandemic-so hard! Kids that age typically love to help do grown up things, so that’s what I’d focus on. Cooking was and is my main one-they can learn to help in ways that become legitimately useful, in getting a task done, and they are doing a life skill. Stirring, kneading, making cookies, threading veggies on skewers, brushing on sauces, making pizza-for bonus time you can read or watch a cooking video for kids and they can learn and pick what they want to make. Laundry is another one-they can help and learn and be involved. Projects? Making art to decorate-like you each work on a painting, decoupage, etc that you frame with similar frames and hang.
posted by purenitrous at 9:22 PM on July 5, 2020
posted by purenitrous at 9:22 PM on July 5, 2020
My kid was probably at the early end of the bell curve for this, but he was surprisingly helpful and enthused about helping me with adult jigsaw puzzles starting from age 3.5. I picked 500 - 750 piece puzzles with lots of small, easy to identify things he could build (eg one with lots of different coloured robots rather than a uniformly green landscape). I left the easier parts for him to do, and he also really enjoyed sorting the pieces with me.
posted by TheLittlestRobot at 1:34 PM on July 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by TheLittlestRobot at 1:34 PM on July 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
If he's not coloring, he's probably not drawing either. But you might get some ideas from videos that writers and artists have put out for kids in quarantine, like this series by Mo Willems.
posted by BibiRose at 11:09 AM on July 5, 2020 [1 favorite]