After school has quickly become the hardest part of the day. The kids have spent all day trying their best to behave at school. They’ve worn themselves out, even though they’ve spent much of the day sitting still at a desk. They are tired, cranky and wanting to run around but not quite having the energy. This means every one ends up fighting and fussing around each other. Yesterday, it was frustration that child 2 was touching something that child 1 was also touching.
Good times, you guys. Good times.
The best way that I’ve found to consistently work through these rough spots with the kids, is to clear my schedule for immediately after school and engage them in play time with me.
The ideal type of playtime is one that engages their brains and helps them get creative while not requiring too much energy, since they are exhausted from a long day at school!
I’ve found that Bunchem’s are a perfect after school thing to play with the kids. While regular Bunchem’s are fun enough on their own, the Bunchem’s Alive are so much more fun!
We can make different animals, and then watch them wiggle around.
The kids loved getting to follow the instructions at first to create one of the fun animals they have listed. Things like birds and dragons immediately caught the kids eyes!
I helped them make a little bird, we had lots of fun doing it together.
I enjoyed the sensation the Bunchem’s give when you squish them together. It feels neat on your hands and I think it’s one of the main things the kids like about it too! It really engages your senses!
This keeps them busy and having fun TOGETHER instead of fighting, engaging in creative playtime and stimulating their tactile senses, the perfect after school plan!
After we build together, the kids usually want to pay some more on their own. They are still working on making more intricate pieces, but for a first solo attempt, I like their little alien animal! They loved putting it down and watching it come to life!
They couldn’t have been more proud of themselves! I’m pretty thrilled that clean up time is so quick, everything sticks together so it’s easy for the kids to do on their own!
It’s amazing how such a simple thing like this can really make the difference between a stressful after school experience and a building a fun memory together.
To keep everything fun, make sure that you pull back your child’s hair if it’s long. We didn’t have a problem with anything getting tangled, but they recommend putting hair in a headband or ponytail to be sure! My daughter’s hair is too short for a ponytail, but a headband worked just fine. They recommend playing over a hard surface too, like tile! See their safety video here.
We put things together on the carpet and then let the Bunchem’s Alive hop around on the tile! Check out my instagram for a video of how it looks in motion!
Have you ever played with Bunchem’s Alive with your kids? I highly recommend getting it for an after school activity! There’s a reason it was awarded the 2016 toy of the year world for activities!
You can enter the giveaway below to win your own Bunchems Alive and Megapack ($64.98 ARV)! Giveaway runs from September 16 – October 9, 2016
Winners will be randomly selected and notified by Clever Girls and/or Spin Master by October 14, 2016
Terms & Conditions: The official Terms & Conditions are included in the widget; here is the high-level eligibility criteria:
- Age 18+
- US & Canadian residents only
- Only one winner per household
Good luck! I hope you win, or head out to get your own for after school fun!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Preslie Rook says
Have you tried AfterSchoolProviders portal (www.afterschoolproviders.com)?
They let us try different after-school providers for different days of the same week! My son loves it. Different friends, less boredom, more fun ;)
Love,
Fellow Mom