Creative Play, or what to do when the kids are bored

Andrew received a gift for his birthday from a friend. It was an electronic drum set with pop music stuff. It lasted one day and then disappeared. What's funny is that he hasn't asked for it. I've avoided electronic stuff as much as possible, mainly to preserve a bit of my sanity, and instead have looked for toys that encourage creative play. Here are a few things that are inexpensive, but fun for the children.

One thing the boys enjoy is the roads we make with tape on the floor. I take a roll of wide masking tape, usually the blue painter's tape, and slap it down on the carpet in various road patterns. After the first few times, Andrew got the idea and created his own road system as shown below. He put in a helicopter landing pad, the road you drive around at the airport, and the sidewalk where Daddy waits.

The boys will drive their cars all over the roads. They use cardboard tubes to create tunnels and paper and tape to make buildings. I usually show them how to do something and then let them create their own things.

We leave the roads down for a few days and then I rip them up. You can vacuum over them, though.

I use any large pieces of paper, such as the one shown here that came as packing material, and tape them to the floor for drawing spaces. You can trace outlines of the children and let them color themselves.

The children also like tents, made with old sheets, a card table and chairs, and a few clothespins to hold things together. They really like eating snacks inside the tent; we just have to run the vacuum after everything is done.

And, finally, remember cardboard boxes. I almost never toss a cardboard box into recycling until it has been well used by the children. You can make trains, cars, carts, boats, wagons, and more with a box, a marker, and some tape.

One of the beauties of these activities is that late at night, after the kids are in bed, you can clean up the house and throw it all away. If it was something you, or they, really liked, you can take a picture first.

Do you have any favorite creative play ideas?