A few things to keep in mind is if your kids have any activities such as art or music outside of school, these interests can be incorporated into projects you do at home. Also if you have interests or if you excel at something such as sport or dance, all of these activities can be brought together so that you can enjoy your time with the kids. If you're not yet working with Mômji, learn more about our babysitting jobs in Paris!
Music Video
Kids love being a part of the creative process so doing something where they can exhibit their skills or something they have learnt in class can be very rewarding as well as this is something that they can have and look back on as they get older.
This also takes preparation, whether they need to learn to play a new song or some new dance moves so it can
keep them entertained over several days orweeks depending on how much effort you want to put into the final product.
This is better with older children as it easier for them to concentrate on the task then younger children.
Museum book
Keeping kids interested when visiting museums or events can be hard, especially if you look after young children and there are no activities for kids to do. A good way to keep the kids focused on an exhibit is to create a book for them to draw in or glue in brochures or tickets.
This can be an exercise book or even just white paper that you have stapled together. This does mean you need to hold on to nearly every bit of paper from bus/ metro tickets, exhibition tickets to brochures. Feel free to ask staff for extra tickets or brochures, if you need any. Bring a small pencil case of coloured pencils or pens for the kids, make sure that they don’t write on the walls, to write or draw in their books as they go. It is better to wait until you a home to glue in any bits of paper as that can get messy.
This is a great activity if your kids are learning to write or draw and it is a record of their day, instead of just telling stories as often children are tired at the end of the day and don’t feel like talking.
Art and Crafts
This is a tried and tested method of entertaining children especially on days when they are stuck inside due to the weather. One way to mix things up a bit is to go through the recycling of the family or ask they keep things like plastic bottles or
cardboard boxes so that you can use them later for arts and crafts.
These things can be painted on or used to create things such as stencils, then you’re not just painting on paper all the time and you can create different effects for painting or drawing with different items.
Another good way to vary what you make with the kids is to create a Pinterest board, this means you can search and find different types of crafts easily and have it on your phone if your ever stuck for ideas at the last minute.
One way of finding out what the kids like to do, and to help you bond with them is to ask them what they want to make, this is not always possible especially if the kids are young or if you look after multiple children and they want to make different things, sometimes an executive decision needs to be made.
Creating and making things that you liked as a kid is always a good thing to keep things interesting for you as you get to impart some knowledge on the children and then you also get to share a part of your culture with them.
Cooking/Baking
A word of warning comes when trying to cook or bake with children, make sure you do most or all of the chopping and when doing anything with a stove or oven otherwise keep both eyes on them at all times if the children are doing it.
Cooking or baking is a good way to keep kids doing something and keeping them separate at the same time, so it is good if you have just had to break up an argument.
There are many different parts to cooking from reading a recipe, to measuring ingredients, mixing them or preparing pans so even though they are creating something together, the kids can all do something different.
This type of activity is good for children that are learning to read or older children can prepare something for dinner and learn some skills in the kitchen.
Treasure Hunts
This is a good way to change up play time and can be adapted for any age. For younger children you can draw up a map and hide things around the house, whether it be some of their toys or even their snacks, if they have enough concentration to find them.
You can also help them learn English names of household items and rooms by telling them where you hid the item in English. For example “I hid the biscuits in the bedroom” or “The teddy bear is under the bed”. For older children, you can write riddles or clues about where you have hidden things and get them to work together to figure it out.
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Tips for your Babysitting job in Paris:
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