8 CREATIVE ACTIVITIES USING HOUSEHOLD FOOD ITEMS
Keeping your child entertained at home all day can be a difficult task for any parent, especially on a budget. Tixylix is here to inspire you with some little tricks to try with ordinary items you most probably already have at home.
Here are 8 fun and creative ways to entertain your child with common food items found in your home:
Sensory sandbox
This activity is suited for younger infants, but can definitely be enjoyed by any older siblings too. Create an indoor sandbox using a couple of loaves of bread. Start by lightly toasting some bread and blending it up in a food processor or blender. You can either leave it there or make it a little more colourful by dividing your mixture into bowls and mixing different coloured food dye into each segment. Do this by first mixing the food dye with milk, then add this to each bowl. Place your breadcrumbs into a large container and let your little one play around in your new sandpit - a lot of fun, and completely safe if they’re at the stage of putting everything into their mouth!
Brown sugar sandcastles
Have a beach day inside by introducing brown sugar sandcastles. Mixed with a little water, your sugar will turn into a sand consistency, perfect for making different shapes, towers, castles or skyscrapers.
Yogurt painting
Similar to the sand box, this activity is great for any baby who loves to put anything and everything into their mouth. Empty a few pots of yoghurt into different bowls and mix with a couple drops of food dye. Place you little into their highchair and let them be creative with their brand new finger paints.
Food challenge
Let your child explore all the different textures and tastes by hosting a mini food challenge! Whether it be describing which ice cream flavour they’re tasting, or which type of vegetable they’re crunching, asking your child to describe the flavour whilst having their eyes closed will not only be a fun activity but will help them become open to new foods and meals during dinner time.
Go digging for worms
Who says a child can’t play in the mud if it’s raining? For this activity you will need a packet of biscuits, some chocolate mousse, a pack of gummy worms, a plastic food bag, a wooden spoon, a bowl - and potentially some jelly if you’re feeling extra messy. Start by popping your biscuits into the plastic food bag and let your little one mash them up into small pieces with a rolling pin or spoon. Pop your mud rocks into a bowl and add the mousse or jelly to make a muddy texture. Add any worms or jelly creatures you have at hand and there you have - an edible garden!
Marshmallow rainbow
Simple and easy, this activity is a great way to pass a few hours and improve on younger infants fine motor skills. Draw out a simple rainbow for your little one on a piece of paper and provide them with a bowl of multicoloured marshmallows. Add some glue to the strips of the rainbow and let your child choose which colored marshmallows go where. They will not only enjoy having control of their masterpiece but will love having a nibble on some treats whilst they play.
Vegetable stamps
You may have done this yourself in school with potatoes, but who’s to say the whole vegetable family can’t join in? Cut up a variety of vegetables so they have a flat surface - you could use carrots, swede, courgettes, you name it! Put out a few pots of paint for your little one to dip the vegetables into and start painting. Your child will love all the different shapes each vegetable makes, you could even cut shapes into the bottom, like hearts or stars.
Become an archaeologist
No matter the type of pasta you have at home, raw pasta shapes are perfect for creating dinosaur skeletons. Simply pop a bowl of pasta in front of your little one, spread some glue over a piece of paper and let them start making dinosaur shapes out of the pasta pieces! If you have older children above aged 4 you could even give them control of the glue and let them stick on individual pieces.
