How to Entertain Kids With Games When Babysitting

Kids have a short attention span. When you're babysitting children, it's important to keep them entertained and out of trouble. So, Instead of reading them books or sitting them in front of the television, take a look at these fun-filled babysitting games. Get ready to become a babysitting hit!

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Glue sticks
• <br>Cotton balls
• <br>Non-toxic markers
• <br>Non-toxic glitter markers
• <br>Non-toxic crayons
• <br>Construction papers
• <br>Scissors
• <br>Posterboard
• <br>Pudding--vanilla and chocolate
• <br>Apples
• <br>Bucket
• <br>Fishbowl
• <br>Trashbags
• <br>Plastic bags

1. Set up a crafts station for the kids you're babysitting. Bring or gather cotton balls, glue sticks, non-toxic markers, non-toxic glitter markers, non-toxic crayons, construction paper and scissors. Let the kids go wild with their creativity and create artistic masterpieces. When they have finished, let the pictures dry and put them up on the refrigerator.
2. Fingerpaint with pudding! Put aprons on the kids or cut holes in trash bags for their heads and arms and let them wear those for this activity. Grab some pudding--chocolate and vanilla--and allow the kids to smear the pudding onto posterboards. The posterboards should be cut into four pieces to give the kids more pieces to work with.
3. If you're babysitting in the summer time, let the kids bob for apples. Fill a big bucket with water and put apples inside. Let the kids go wild. Tell them that the one who gets the most apples gets to be the lead cook when you make apple pie together the next time you babysit.
4. Create a "wishes and dreams" bowl. This should be a glass fish bowl or a bowl that is about that size. Let the kids create the logo for the bowl and decorate it however they would like. Then, every time you babysit, have the kids sit down and write about one thing they are wishing for or have been dreaming about. Then, tell them to fold up the pieces of paper and put it in the bowl.
5. Take the kids on a rock hunt or a flower hunt. Give them plastic bags and walk with them around the neighborhood. Tell them that the object of the game is to find as many of the prettiest flowers or coolest rocks in the neighborhood.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk to the parents about the activities you'll be doing with the kids. Some of the activities are messy, so let them know that you will clean up after them. Also ask them if you could have a small budget for crafts, if they don't have many of the supplies.