Since the seasons have changed and the days are getting shorter (and wetter) entertaining the kids is a little more challenging. Our go-to is spending time out and about or in the garden, but the cooler weather makes staying in a little more appealing.
Luckily, I’ve got some new toys for my 6-year-old that means she can still explore sensory fun indoors. Some of these are simple ways to get her imagination working and others are cool gadgets that let her burn off her energy and even exercise her little brain.
Below are my recommendations for keeping a 6-year-old busy indoors during those colder months.
Bluey Duplo – Building Blocks are Always a Hit
This Bluey Duplo ice cream set pairs two very important branches of play – imaginative play, and exploring through reasoning. Building any sort of structure requires your child to get their thinking cap on, especially as not every combination of blocks will be freestanding or create a shape you’re aiming for.
The set include Blue and Bandit, the family car, and ice cream stand you can build yourself some swirls of ice creams and cone-style cups. This means once your child has built their scene for Bluey and Bandit to visit, they can launch into imaginative play and act out any scenario they dream up.
Plus, since the setting is made of building blocks, they can change things up if they want to create a different location for their story to play out.
Magical Makeover Fairy Fox – Interactive Play with a Creative Flair
Orlaith has had her eye on this fox for a little while and I just had to get her it. The Magical Fairy Makeover Fox allows for endless makeovers and interacts with your child with light and sound. She has a log tail your child can brush and accessories, a beautiful fringe that changes colours with the hair tool and “makeup” on her eyes and ears that your child can change.
To change the fox’s hair colour, put the hair tool head on the wand. When you close the straightener on the fringe, a UV light springs into action and temporarily tints the hair. My daughter loved playing at being a hairdresser and choosing whether to change the colour in a pattern or all over the Fox’s fringe.
For the makeover play with the Fairy Fox, simply switch the head on the want to the brush head. There is a silver/grey ring around the brush that rotates and makes the brush glow a certain colour. Turning the ring more will keep changing the colour for your child to make a selection.
The colour the brush is lit up can be transferred to the fox’s ears or eye lids. So your child can get creative and change every thing a different colour, or make them all the same colour as each other. It’s lots of fun giving this fox a makeover!
Changing Seasons Sensory Tubes – Encourage Mindfulness and Focus
My daughter is a huge fan of these kinds of sensory toys that can be lined up and displayed, or played with and spoken about. Each tube represents a season, and they are filled with beautiful confetti that fits in with that season.
I think my favourite might be the autumnal sensory tube, filled with sparkly orange and gold confetti leaves with glitter. The autumn sun catches it perfectly when my daughter is playing with these. We both love looking at these and they give us chance to wind down and have some quiet relaxation.
My little one is a high-energy child and a huge chatterbox, so sometimes it’s good to slow her down and give her something to relax and look at. Taking time to focus is so important for young brains and love how mesmerised my daughter is by these sensory tubes.
Bluey Claw Game & Go – Fun on-the-go
Since Bluey is big news in our house, I had to grab Orlaith this Bluey handheld learning toy. This pocket-sized games console talks to players in the familiar Bluey voice and explains how each game works.
Me and Orlaith were both quite enamoured with a game where Bluey has to catch falling fruit (but avoid anything other that you’ve been told to catch). It combines aspects of memory, reaction time and co-ordination. I particularly like it because it fits in my handbag and we can take it anywhere.
It’s an educational game too, so you don’t have to feel guilty that your little one is on a screen as it’s helping their little brains have a workout!
Leap-Move – Burn off Some Steam and See Yourself on the TV!
Leap Frog have always been excellent at bringing education to playtime and the Leap Move has done it perfectly. This little camera unit attaches to your telly and lets you put your kid on the big screen!
In these games, you use your body to play. The camera recognises movement and your own hands are the cursor for choosing options. You can even exit a game by putting your hands across your chest and touching your shoulders.
It’s suitable from 4+ and has different learning levels for different age groups. My daughter is 6, so we selected the option for Primary school and the ability was pitched just right.
Orlaith’s favourite game involved kicked and hitting falling boulders to earn prizes. It involved a lot of movement and she was eventually warn out!
I was really pleased to introduce her to this, because she isn’t the sort of child who will just dance or exercise along to a video. She needs that interactive element and the Leap Move kept her perfectly engaged. This is going to come in handy over the next few months when she is bursting with energy but doesn’t want to venture out into the cold!
All in all, these five sensory play picks are going to keep us entertained through the cold and rainy days ahead. I can keep Orlaith’s brain and body active, without even having to leave the comfort of my own home!