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Inside: This simple rainbow play kit for kids is a lovely idea that encourages creativity and independent play.
One of the easiest ways to make our daily activities more fun is to choose different themes for the kids to explore. This makes play time more interesting for them, and it gives me the inspiration I need to plan activities for them.
I like to choose a monthly theme and do one activity focused on that theme every week with the kids, and I also prepare a new book display every month to make story time more interesting.
This month I decided to try something new: a themed play kit for the kids to explore! The theme I chose was “rainbows”, because it is a theme both my kids enjoy and it fits great with the books I chose for this month.
I created two play kits, one for each of my boys, and I only used items I already had, so setting them up was easy and quick.
If you like this idea and want to try it with your kids, you can find below the list of items I included in each of our play kits:
- the first play kit is great for young kids and it offers easy activities you can do with your kids
- the second play kit is suitable for older kids and it offers them simple materials they can use in their independent play.
Rainbow play kit #1 (for young kids)
I created this play kit for my youngest son, who is a toddler.
Here is what it includes:
- colored wooden circles (my son likes to stack them and build towers, but they are also great for sorting activities)
- colored silicone cupcake liners (great for sorting activities – we just use them for pouring activities for now)
- washable paint sticks and paper (we use a clipboard to hold the paper in place when he uses the paint sticks)
- stackable cups
- a little bottle filled with rainbow rice (we have a sensory bin filled with rainbow rice as well, but that bin is stored separately because I don’t want my son to be able to access it all the time)
- a little game I created for my son: I used a lid and make some cuts on it that are big enough for a craft stick to fit in. My son likes to put the craft sticks in the holes and take them out.
As I mentioned above, we also have a bin filled with rainbow rice that is a great addition to this play kit.
Sometimes I hide the wooden circles in the bin for my son to find, other times he plays with the rice and the cupcake fillers or the cups.
Rainbow play kit #2 (for older kids)
I created this play kit for my oldest son (who is in first grade). He uses it as a busy box for independent activities, but we also use it as an addition to our art cart during the activities we do together.
Here is what I included in this play kit:
- colored paper (the small pieces of paper are great for creating “mini books” with drawings or even short stories created by the kids)
- a small bottle with pieces of paper, yarn pieces, buttons, and craft gems in all colors of the rainbow (these are great for collage art)
- washi tape (similar to this set)
- felt stickers
- colored wood slices and wooden peg people (we had these natural wood slices and wooden peg people and we painted them together).
You don’t need fancy supplies to create a play kit for your kids! Just pick a theme you know your little ones will like and get creative with the supplies you already have at home.
A play kit is a wonderful way to encourage kids to get creative and inspire them to try new activities.
Even if you use supplies you already have at home, the fact that you present them nicely inside a box will get the kids excited about discovering the play kit and use it in their activities!
