Creativity doesn’t always have to include glue , glitter and paint. Sometimes being creative with your kids means using what you have to have fun, learn and keep them from drawing on the carpet. Right now being at home with a newborn and an active imaginative three year old I have had to come up with some fun games for my son who is 3 and I to play while my newborn daughter has me sitting and nursing her, sometimes for a while.

Here are three games we have been playing and loving!

1. Secret Toy

Similar to 20 questions, this game involves asking questions to guess which toy in a room is the “secret toy”. Asking only yes or no questions this game forces your child to think about opposites as well as problem solving .

To keep my family room a little less cluttered I will often also tell my son after he is successful to pick up a certain number of pieces of Lego, matchbox cars , toys etc.. and when he has done that we play again. This stretches the game out, gets him counting and keeps the clutter to a minimum.

2. Read The Pictures

At 3 my son isn’t reading yet but he is aware of the basics, and can read the pictures. So I encourage him to grab some books and read them to his sister. It’s amazing to see which books he’s memorized and which he runs off on different tangents depending on the pictures. Not only is he sharing his books , he is gaining confidence when he “reads” independently.

3. Color Piles.

This can be done anywhere but I have done it both in the nursery ( using my daughter’s clothes my son can reach) and in the family room ( using toys). Simply yell out a color and have your child find and pile things with that color, when they are done move on to a new color. It’s simple, but it’s fun and gives you enough time to nurse your baby without “help” from your older child.

I really hope these ideas are helpful, I know not all of you are on a couch or in a rocking chair nursing a newborn but even if you just need a quick game to play these have been hits at our house.