Care package for isolating 5 year old.
October 21, 2020 3:51 AM Subscribe
My 5yr old nephew is having to self isolate for the next 2 weeks, including over half term. We want to send a package with activities to keep him amused (and help his parents keep him amused).
I'd welcome any ideas on what would be good things to put in it. He likes crafts, reading with his mum & dad (but has a lot of books). Any physical stuff must be available in the UK, but I'd welcome websites that set out interesting activities also. His sibling is too small for play so multi-child activities are out. They have a decent sized garden so outdoors is possible but the weather might not support too much of that.
I'd welcome any ideas on what would be good things to put in it. He likes crafts, reading with his mum & dad (but has a lot of books). Any physical stuff must be available in the UK, but I'd welcome websites that set out interesting activities also. His sibling is too small for play so multi-child activities are out. They have a decent sized garden so outdoors is possible but the weather might not support too much of that.
The electronic memory game 'Simon' comes in a smaller version. Where's Waldo is fun. If you google dial-a-story many libraries have dial up services for read aloud stories that somehow seem more important than
books on tape.
posted by InkaLomax at 5:12 AM on October 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
books on tape.
posted by InkaLomax at 5:12 AM on October 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I've been very successful with Hama beads for that age, or sticker mosaic kits.
posted by jeather at 5:23 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jeather at 5:23 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Occasionally, a distant grandma will order identical craft kits for them both and they get on zoom and paint rocks or whatever together.
Identical Lego sets over Zoom also work very well with cousins, friends, aunts, uncles, etc.
posted by zeikka at 5:35 AM on October 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
Identical Lego sets over Zoom also work very well with cousins, friends, aunts, uncles, etc.
posted by zeikka at 5:35 AM on October 21, 2020 [6 favorites]
We have had unexpected success with a 6-year-old suffering from real covid-related anxiety, just by playing board games and card games with them. Very unexpected was the increase in resilience and emotional regulation on the part of the child. To date the best game has been Snakes and Ladders but we also have great hopes of Dobble kids and Chinese Chequers.
posted by glasseyes at 5:59 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by glasseyes at 5:59 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
One possibility with zoom and lego is the customizable mini fig option
I should add I think the social play-interaction with adults is a big part of the positive effect of these games for a little person.
posted by glasseyes at 6:02 AM on October 21, 2020 [4 favorites]
I should add I think the social play-interaction with adults is a big part of the positive effect of these games for a little person.
posted by glasseyes at 6:02 AM on October 21, 2020 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Orchard Toys games and activities are excellent, our son loved them at that age.
Link is to their Amazon store but they are widely available.) I'd recommend Sneaky Sharks in particular but it's out of stock :(
posted by dowcrag at 6:20 AM on October 21, 2020
Link is to their Amazon store but they are widely available.) I'd recommend Sneaky Sharks in particular but it's out of stock :(
posted by dowcrag at 6:20 AM on October 21, 2020
As a mom who remembers what it was like to be isolated at home with two small kids (for other reasons) ... and to have well-meaning friends flood my house with an unmanageable amount of children's toys, games, legos, coloring sheets, etc. that I was too mentally and physically exhausted to even *think* about doing with my kids, IMO the best gift you might be able to give those parents is (a) a little time off from having to entertain the kid and (b) a physically exhausted child.
What if you set up, say, a 20-30 minute block of time every day with the parents, and you do some kind of a work out with the kid? It might work well for you, too, because now you have an accountability partner who will hold your toes to the fire. 6 yr olds are competitive about doing more jumping jacks in one minute than you can possibly manage, and depending on their temperament, will be OBSCENELY pleased to tell you that your push-up form sucks so "those last five don't count, do them again!" This could be a win-win-win scenario, for you and the parents and the kid.
posted by MiraK at 6:21 AM on October 21, 2020 [10 favorites]
What if you set up, say, a 20-30 minute block of time every day with the parents, and you do some kind of a work out with the kid? It might work well for you, too, because now you have an accountability partner who will hold your toes to the fire. 6 yr olds are competitive about doing more jumping jacks in one minute than you can possibly manage, and depending on their temperament, will be OBSCENELY pleased to tell you that your push-up form sucks so "those last five don't count, do them again!" This could be a win-win-win scenario, for you and the parents and the kid.
posted by MiraK at 6:21 AM on October 21, 2020 [10 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks, some great ideas here and will be on the list. Unfortunately, their house has lousy internet connectivity, which will likely rule out the zoom stuff but i will confirm that before i scratch it off the list.
Mira: I think that's a good point, if we can zoom we will, and I think getting the grandparents to connect with the kids would be possible if the internet is better than I think it is.
posted by biffa at 6:52 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Mira: I think that's a good point, if we can zoom we will, and I think getting the grandparents to connect with the kids would be possible if the internet is better than I think it is.
posted by biffa at 6:52 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
The Lego Creator 3-in-1 "Deep Sea Creatures" 31088 is fantastic. I have been recommending it to kids and adults as one of the most rewarding Lego sets I've ever played with. Get two. There are a large number of homebrew designs on Rebrickable using just that set (or two copies of just that set).
posted by notsnot at 7:02 AM on October 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by notsnot at 7:02 AM on October 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
If you can possibly help fix the internet situation with something like a $20 range extender, please do so! However, if they have some connectivity, maybe you could play app-based games like Boggle or Connect 4 with him with just an open phone line. It takes some searching to find ones that aren't spammy, but they're out there. Or physical games like Guess Who! or Battleship could go pretty well without shared visuals.
posted by teremala at 7:08 AM on October 21, 2020
posted by teremala at 7:08 AM on October 21, 2020
A few T-shirt and fabric markers.
posted by ReluctantViking at 7:49 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by ReluctantViking at 7:49 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My 4- and 7-year olds are big fans of Usborne - the current favorite is the Halloween activity book - and there are a bunch of free printables and craft ideas on their website.
Other successful self-directed play starters: giant roll of paper + markers (sometimes I'll draw e.g. a castle outline and ask the kids to draw furnishings), Perler beads, fort building, Where's Waldo.
posted by scyllary at 9:41 AM on October 21, 2020
Other successful self-directed play starters: giant roll of paper + markers (sometimes I'll draw e.g. a castle outline and ask the kids to draw furnishings), Perler beads, fort building, Where's Waldo.
posted by scyllary at 9:41 AM on October 21, 2020
Response by poster: I checked with the aunt and it looks like the acrylic pens and clay will be the winners. Maybe that Usborne Halloween book as an extra if needed. We're trying to find the bucket of stones we cleared out of our veg patch last year to use for the pens. Thanks to all for great suggestions. We will check with the parents before sending anything.
posted by biffa at 9:49 AM on October 21, 2020
posted by biffa at 9:49 AM on October 21, 2020
As a kid, I got a set of plasticine clay for a birthday and my family and I got randomly obsessed with making ALL the different miniature food. We ended up buying more clay and it occupied us for weeks. Highly recommend. Get some for yourself and share via text if zoom isn't an option.
posted by sexyrobot at 1:07 PM on October 21, 2020
posted by sexyrobot at 1:07 PM on October 21, 2020
Oh, and if you get FIMO clay instead, it's bake-able for permanence. (It tends to be more expensive, but there's lots of really cool colors, including fluorescents, metallics, sparkly, and glow-in-the-dark.) It's also available in sets of various sizes.
posted by sexyrobot at 1:12 PM on October 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by sexyrobot at 1:12 PM on October 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Another recent hit was Hey Clay, which comes with an app to teach you how to build little bugs and monsters and what not. It held her attention span for a good long time once we got her set up.
posted by juliapangolin at 5:00 AM on October 21, 2020 [4 favorites]