What does your 6 year old girl play with?

[littlelara]

So... We have a playroom that is loaded up with blocks, lego, tea sets, whatever, but dd refuses to go in there - "there's nothing to doooooooo!"
She's happy enough to draw, colour, do crafty things (more so if I'll do it with her), but then I find bits and pieces all over the house and it drives me nuts.
So I'm starting to think maybe she's right and we need more open ended play things with her in mind, but what?
What does your dd immerse herself in?
Right now she and her brother are spraying water from $2 spray bottles into the bath and laughing their heads off, so it doesn't need to be complicated

[Boo Boo]

We still have barbies happening here...also Friends Lego she loves...seems any kind of doll / figurine she can do pretend play with. just noticed your DD is a year older than mine so probably this time next year I will be going through this. x

[littlelara]

Thanks BB. Dd has never really done pretend play, but then I don't think I did either.

[Butterfly Dawn]

Have u tried taking away half the stuff she has in the play room. I find if my kids have too many toys out they can't find anything to play.
My 6year old plays lego, practices writing, likes pretend cooking, will pretend play hairdresser on me. I will introduce and semi supervise roll play- Dr and patient, dentist, shop keeper, farmer whatever.
Shop is easy cause they can draw stuff to sell and draw money etc. It can go all day with just swapping the customer and shop keeper around.
Moping and washing windows are favourits too

Sorry if it doesn't make sense, the barefoot princess is covering me with kisses

[myturn]

DSD is older now, but was never really into the dolls and stuff at that age - much prefered the craft etc...and now is more into build a bear and even got the barbies out the other week! She's 10. In fact, I reckon the pretend play was when she was very little, and then more as she has got older - which is interesting I think

I think they go through phases... but if she likes the craft and stuff....

maybe

playdough...? (especially if you make your own) clay? (DSD seemed to prefer clay to playdough)
when the weather is good I used to make "goop".... cornflower and water... in a bucket outside... she LOVES it! in fact, asked for it the other day... too cold though!
'messy making' - which is let her loose in the kitchen to make anything she likes.... however she likes! (I don't do it, but nanny used to and she LOVED it! lol be prepared for a really big mess though!
drawing...
scrapbooking... kid style
computer time.... she did like it sometimes and on cold wet days we used to let her have a bit more time.


the other thing, is sometimes kids come to you to be entertained because they want attention - they don't really NEED help finding something to do, they just think they do. I found that all my ideas would be poo pooed anyway....
I guess make sure you have individual attention time throughout the day sometimes (and try to do it when she is quiet and entertaining herself - even though you want to leave them alone - sometimes it's important to give them time when they are doing the 'right' thing which in this case, is entertaining themselves!

I will say to DSD.... "I can't help you figure out what you are going to do sorry lovely, you will have to work out what you want to do yourself..." and if she gets really annoying...

"I can find something for you to do.... if you want...." with a 'look'..... ie.... clean the toilet...

usually THAT gets her back to her own devices

I want her to learn to find her own entertainment, rather than rely on the TV or other people to entertain her, she's already and attention seeking only child and spolit rotten!

can't wait till there's a baby in the house - will be fun to see her handle that one

[~Kim~]

Mine is a 'maker'. I've learned to let go of the anxiety that goes with associated mess. Mine pretty much have free reign with craft supplies.
Lego
Barbies (but she is right into pretend)
Lots of outdoor play
She would spend hours at my sewing machine if I let her

Have you asked her what she'd like to be doing?

[Gigi]

my nearly 6 DD is very keen on jigsaws, although i feel i have engineered that to a certain extent. All her life she has lived in small homes, so i've needed to find activities to do, that don't take up much space. I buy jigsaws for her. We do jigsaws together, so it's become a bonding activity i suppose. Now she's happy to do them on her own. She's up to the 100 piece ones, but the clear detail type, not the photographic/heaps of sky/water/snow ones that are too hard for her.

she loves making patterns and sorting, with baskets of pebbles, marbles, shells. She has a collection of play cloths (made from muslin) and i'm amazed how much fun she has with those, engineering her own little cubbies and costumes with them.

her fave thing right now, is to draw, it seems, every waking moment she is not at school. She has the little rectangular Lyra crayons, great for shading and detail. i have found if i provide her with crayons that are easy to use and handle, she becomes very creative.

she likes drawing hopscotch with chalk on footpaths. and rollerskating. and scooters.

so many outdoor forms of play i would love to provide her with, if we lived somewhere different.

[shellbell3]

DD will be 6 in sep, we are huge on craft here too. I have a craft section set up in corner with little kids table then all the stuff, glue, paper etc. If its real messy stuff like glitter or paint then thats an outside craft.

Other stuff she likes, barbies, board games are a big hit too, making cubbies. But craft stuff always is the thing to do around here.