365 Creative Days of Play

View other editions of 365 Creative Days of Play.
View books by Sheila Ellison, Judith Gray.

365 Creative Days of Play: For Children 2 Years and Up - Rated
Having purchased this to assist me with my planning for children aged 0-4 years, I didn't find it very helpful.

The activities were quite varied but you need to ensure you have the correct resources available or complete an activity at a set time of year. For example, Winter tracks.

Having purchased this book, I have used very few actitivites from it, to say it is aimed at children from 2years, I though many activities were unsuitable for this age range, a great example of this is the poem dance where the adult reads a poem and the child dances or moves freely to it. Many children aged two wouldn't quite understand this and would wander round to explore the area.

plenty of good ideas, but some quite bizarre ones! - Rated
This book is in a great, easy to read format. There are plenty of ideas for children as young as 2 from craft activities (such as creating a garden collage using scraps of floral fabric and making rock crystals), to cooking (vegetable dip)and gardening projects (growing a pineapple top) and activities such as "walk like the animals" and "abc shapes". However, some are just plain bizarre, such as making a special trip to the beach so you can clear up the litter, and how about catching fleas from your carpet?! Being an American book, you may not recognise some of the materials and some will be hard to get hold of (several use paper grocery bags) but you should be able to improvise for most of them.

Overall I would recommend this as a book which you will be able to use for inspiration for many years and when you come across an idea like "snip snap - when your child finds a plastic 6 pack ring on the beach, show him how to use scissors to snip into small sections and place in the bin" it'll make you smile even if your child doens't!

Great - Rated
This little book is well written and has great ideas for rainy days and school holidays. Varies from bigger 'tasks' to 5 minute activities which the kids love.

Recommend to all parents!

Fast answers when you'd like a compassionate helping hand - Rated
I welcome the quick read set-up of this book. It is simple to thumb through, clear, and chock full of "doable" activities that my child and I enjoy. When my "think-tank" is on empty, I can easily open this activity guru and choose something that seems appropriate that will work at the moment. The easy access format of this book compliments my busy lifestyle with a 3 and 4 year-year-old. Another little pocket guru for the same age group that I have found extremely helpful with my children is called "The Pocket Parent". This upbeat guide is filled with hundreds of sanity saving suggestions addressing many troublesome behaviors that can drive even the best mom or dad of a 2-5 year old close to their wits' end. Consider keeping both books handy, available to consult at a moment's notice to keep the peace as well as to restore your sanity on one of those difficult days when you feel you are about to lose your mind.

Easy book to read - Rated
Very easy book to read, format is laid out as one activity per page. If you have crayons paints pencils thats really all you need. Every day things you have around the house. You can just pick up this book and start doing a task with your child. No thought or preparation required as its so easy, but effective. Would recommend this book to anyone who feels rushed or who is disorganised like myself.