Good shabbos toys for an artistic, creative 6 year old?

amother

Lavender

Thu, May 17 2018, 11:05 am

Hi ladies,
My 6 year old DD is very creative and artistic. She could sit for hours doing crafts - coloring, making books, lanyard, bracelet making and things like that. But on Shabbos and Yontif when none of that is available, all I hear is "I'm so bored." It's driving me crazy because she's an early bird who needs lots of activity and stimulation. When she doesn't have structure, her behavior deteriorates and she starts bugging everyone around her, which is a shame because she's a great kid and a lot of fun when she's not in a mood. She's very bright and needs to be engaged in whatever she's doing. She can't read on her own yet but loves words and pre-reading things. I've tried to buy different games and engineering type sets but she loses interest unless someone else is doing it with her. She does not like puzzles, mentchies, not so into building things. Later in the day when there are more kids around she's happy playing with friends but I need something to occupy her when it's more quiet. Partly she's whining and perhaps needs to learn to be more independent but partly it is a legitimate claim. Also, she's my oldest and maybe I do need to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to age appropriate entertainment instead of thinking that all the toys we have are fine. Anyone have any suggestions? If you have any ideas I would be so so grateful.

amother

Ruby

Thu, May 17 2018, 11:21 am

Felt board and felt pieces/shapes
Colorforms
(For both I recommend basic shapes and a few figures/people rather than a themed set. Most satisfying for creative kids!)
Blocks - Even if she isn't into building per se, she may enjoy using them creatively

If she needs someone to "play with her" but you can't spend that much time with her, you could try saying something like, "Oh, I see you are using your felt board. After I get the baby dressed, you can tell me about it. I'll see you in ten minutes." Or stop to read a book with her every so often. Be realistic about how long she can entertain herself on a long Shabbat.

amother

Lavender

Thu, May 17 2018, 2:45 pm

Thanks. Of course I don't expect her to entertain herself endlessly. It's more like if we just finished the seuda and have an hour until we go to the park, she needs to have something to be busy with. Or if she's up at 6 and the other kids wake up at 7, she's got to be occupied. During the week she listens to books on tape, colors, does work books, etc. I'm trying to be proactive for the 3 days of yomtov coming up Very Happy

bsy

Thu, May 17 2018, 2:47 pm

Does she like pretend play? I remember loving dollhouses, playmobil, etc.

amother

Navy

Thu, May 17 2018, 3:24 pm

My 6 year old ds is also very creative and gets bored easily without other children around. Any suggestions? He likes Lego a lot and I'm wondering if there are any Halachic reasons I maybe shouldn't be encouraging him to play with that on Shabbos because it's building?

trixx

Thu, May 17 2018, 4:05 pm

Paper or magnetic dolls?
Magnatiles
Above poster, lego is not building if it's for play and part of the fun is in destroying it, feel free to ask your rav and get it banned

amother

Dodgerblue

Thu, May 17 2018, 5:27 pm

would a dress up box help?
mine always liked those books that open up into tree houses or a stage. comes with pop out card figures u store in the book. we saved it for shabbosim only!
if you look on Amazon they have many games for one player. iq games is a good brand or thinkfun. they are great for shabbos. pack small so super for travel and can go on the bedside table for the morn. have a look. most reccomend age 8+ but my bright ones were doing at 5 or 6.

bestme

Thu, May 17 2018, 5:39 pm

She might like magnetic shapes pattern blocks. She could make different pictures with them.

jewish613

Thu, May 17 2018, 7:21 pm

I don't know about the Halachic permissiblity of these, but perhaps she would enjoy them if they're ok to use on Shabbos:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.....lSrch

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000.....erb_1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.....lSrch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.....lSrch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.....lSrch

amother

Papaya

Thu, May 17 2018, 8:50 pm

following

amother

Lavender

Thu, May 17 2018, 10:34 pm

Thank you, there are some great suggestions here!

saboni

Thu, May 17 2018, 10:35 pm

How about making a fruit salad or platter? That can be creative, takes time, and she can feel proud of it when others enjoy it.

reality mom

Fri, May 18 2018, 1:28 am

My son loves puzzles!
I bought him large 24 peice puzzles, and we use it strictly for shabbos only, so that its a fresh activity for him every week leaving less of a chance for boredom.

seeker

Fri, May 18 2018, 1:40 am

My DD is also like that, can spend a loooong time coloring and the like. But she also channels that creativity into doing things with dolls. Parties, shows, whatever.

I found with building toys that it's a great creative outlet, but for the most part they didn't catch on right away. When I first got the Legos, they played with them a little bit but it didn't fully engage. So I let them sit in an accessible place in the toy shelf, and sure enough the day came when they took them out and got so involved in them that they haven't been put away since and I was actually about to start a new thread today asking for suggestions on how to handle that!

Same thing with single-player games like Rush Hour. Sometimes they sit on the shelf and rot, and sometimes they get absorbed in them for an hour. See if you can get hold of some of those. And remember that the ages on the package are only suggestions.

Do you have other kids? How much younger are they?

No idea if this will work or not but here's an idea - if what she's missing is structure, maybe it would provide her with enough structure to not need full entertainment if you put some time frames around things. Like if she's bugging you that she's bored at 9 a.m. and you're not ready to entertain, maybe tell her that if she finds her own entertainment until 10 then you will do something fun with her. Yknow "Kids in Action?" Tell her "Mommy in Action" opens at 10 and she can tell you how bored she is then. Maybe an hour is too long to start with but if she gets the hang of finding her own devices, then you can work up to it. Of course this only works if she has some toys/games accessible and a way to reach them. And maybe some snacks or incentive. When I need a break in the afternoon I tell my kids to go play until [time] and that time will be Shabbos party. Knowing that Shabbos party is coming after this round of play, they are satisfied enough to run off, and guess what? Sometimes they get so busy playing that they forget to come back and ask for Shabbos party until later!

I know I'm just lucky in this area, I'm blessed with kids who can keep themselves or each other busy. But maybe what works for them could work for others too.

seeker

Fri, May 18 2018, 1:44 am

Also, at the age before Legos my kids enjoyed Bizzy Bits. We called them the "Shabbos Clics" because I bought them special for Shabbos and yom tov. Eventually they spilled over into the weekdays but it helped to make them special at the beginning.

Go for a building toy that comes with lots of suggestions of what to make with it, like an idea/instruction book.

amother

Lemon

Sun, May 20 2018, 5:07 pm

Some suggestions:

- Marble Maze toy - fun to build and ru the marble through - I recommend Marble Works - but there are many: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=n.....works

- Gear toys - there are lots of different ones, like these: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=n.....+toys

- Mosaic toys - you can make the patterns in the booklets/cards or just make your own beautiful patterns (good for artistic kids), this one in particular was a big hit: https://www.amazon.com/Mosaic-.....eries

- Paper dolls with lots of clothes for dressing them - a kid who likes arts and crafts may appreciate the fashion side of them - there are paper ones, magnetic ones, colorform ones, etc: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=n.....dolls