Best Kids Independent Play

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Here is a list of toys/activities that my 5 year old and 7 year old play with independently.

By independently, I mean that my kids will play on their own without my full attention. I offer these independent play ideas to my kids when I need time to make a meal, make a phone call, or sit close-by with a cup of coffee.

• PicassoTiles

• Drawing

• Podcasts For Kids

• Books

• Legos

PicassoTiles

PicassoTiles (link to product on Amazon) are magnetic building tiles. My kids stay busy building magnetic tile houses, castles, ships and more.

MagnaTiles is a big brand name with cool specialty sets. I buy PicassoTiles because they are less expensive, so I can get more tiles. I'm also very happy with the quality of PicassoTiles. There are other magnetic tile brands out there. Do your research when deciding on a brand because quality will vary.

You’ll want lots of magnetic building tiles!! With plenty of tiles, more than one kid or adult can create at the same time.

My kids like to keep their favorite builds up like castles and houses. Having lots of tiles allows them to leave the buildings up and continue building ships, rockets, etc.

Encourage building away from commonly used walking paths, otherwise someone will accidently walk through your kids magnetic tile creation.

PicassoTiles makes specialty sets, too. We have a set of the wheel bases and PicassoTiles Action Figures.

My kids like to use the magnatic action figures set we have, but they also add their favorite non-magnetic toys for fun (like plastic bugs and Lego action figures).

PicassoTiles are easy to clean up. They are large and the magnetic attraction between the tiles makes it easy to stack up lots of tiles at once for fast cleanup.

PicassoTiles are durable. We’ve had ours for at least 2 years with no noticeable wear. The Tiles have been heavily used and held up great!

Note, there are small magnets in the tiles, so if you manage to break a tile you need to keep the little magnets away from kids and pets (we haven't had any tiles break in our experience). Please read the safety information that comes with your tiles.

Drawing

Good old fashioned drawing! Crayons and white paper work best for my kids.

My kids prefer a fresh pad of plain white paper over a coloring book. Offering a new box of crayons or markers helps them get interested and stay interested!

If your child isn't into drawing, at first, draw with them to show your kids the possibilities.

Masking tape is a favorite in my home. Taping together boxes from the recycling bin goes along well with creative drawing. Often my kids will spend days working on the same robot or machine idea that they started from meshing together recycled boxes, tape and coloring.

Jumbo size crayons and paper are a must pack item when we travel for vacation. I recommend splurging on the largest crayons you can find for traveling. Large crayons are harder to break than the standard size crayon. Large crayons are also easy to find if misplaced in the car or in a vacation home.

Watch out for kids drawing on furniture! My 5 year old recently surprised me with a large pen mark on the sofa. That's one reason why I prefer crayons for independent play.

If drawing off paper is a problem, try Crayola Color Wonders mess-free markers. The markers only work on Crayola mess-free paper.

Podcasts For Kids

Have you tried looking up podcasts for kids? Podcasts are available on a variety of platforms and free! You can find podcasts on Spotify, Iphone-Podcasts App, Amazon Music and IHeart Radio to name a few.

I use the Podcast App on my iphone and connect to a bluetooth speaker. Using a bluetooth speaker keeps your phone free for your use (you don't want to play sound over the story, though, so if you are playing a story on the speaker don't open a news video on your phone). The sound quality is better on a bluetooth speaker, too.

There are so many different styles of podcasts out there and just as many subjects. Some podcasts are loud and silly while others are soft and serious. You'll have to try a few and see what works best for your family. I'll create a post with a list of kids podcasts we enjoy.

Be hyper aware of the contents of the podcasts you play for your kids. Some podcasts play advertisements. Even if you feel that the stories are appropriate for your children, you may get an inappropriate commercial!

The best way to avoid advertisements is to become a premium member for your favorite podcasts (basically pay a membership to avoid the ads). I have yet to pay for premium access to any podcasts, but I've seriously considered it.

Books

Both my non-reading 5 year old and my reading 7 year old will sit quietly and enjoy a stack of newly checked-out library books. I love seeing their curiosity as they dive into their personally selected books.

The trick is to use your public library. At the library your kids can pick out a large variety of books (picture books, fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels) at no cost to you. Because your kids selected their own stack of books, they will be excited to sit down and look through the pages.

My 5 year old will happily flip through graphic novels and non-fiction picture books. He comes up with a lot of questions to ask about the books. Still, he will sit relatively quiet looking through the books and asking random questions because he isn’t reading yet.

Our library offers WonderBooks which is a great option for kids not reading on their own yet. Wonderbooks is a book with a mechanism built into the front cover that plays the story through a speaker in the book and the story prompts page turning.

We load up on tons of books every library visit. If you have trouble keeping track of library books, try using a special bin or basket to store library books separate from your own book collection.

Legos

Between age 4 and 5 my son started to enjoy building with Legos (link to product on Amazon). He started staking blocks into large kind of chunks. My 7 year old followed his interest and began building Lego creations with him.

My kids use an assortment of random Legos and a couple of block sheets for imaginary play. They like to create their own spaces (like their idea of a castle layout or home with a yard) on the block sheets for Lego action figures. I prefer this scenario over Lego sets.

Lego sets look awesome, but they require adult attention with young kids. Be ready to sit down and follow the instructions with your child. There are surprisingly lots of steps even for the simpler sets. The steps are great for the independent child, but if your child cannot follow the instructions on their own you will have to participate. Also, your child will inevitably want to deconstruct the set. Once the finished set is taken apart and mixed in with the other Legos, it is super hard to find all of the particular pieces to build the set again.

We recently used the Lego App to follow the electronic step by step instructions for a simple Lego set. I don’t love the idea of time spent on a screen for Lego building, but my 5 year old did a great job independently following the steps and the app was easy to use.