Sylvia Woodman

Joyce wrote on another post: At that point you could say "You can hang here
until they're done." Perhaps pulled out something to do from your secret
stash in your purse for such emergencies.

I could use some fresh ideas for a secret stash. I have a portable art kit
(plastic pencil case with crayons, glue stick, tape, scissors, pencil and
eraser and a small sketch pad), bubbles, frisbee and my iphone. What other
genius ideas are out there?

Sylvia (Gabriella 8 and Harry 6)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Lyla Wolfenstein

wicky stix are great. silly putty can provide oodles of fun. pipe
cleaners. postit notes (for drawing, sticking, and cutting)...

On Sat, Jun 23, 2012 at 2:26 PM, Sylvia Woodman <sylvia057@...> wrote:

> **
>
>
> Joyce wrote on another post: At that point you could say "You can hang here
> until they're done." Perhaps pulled out something to do from your secret
> stash in your purse for such emergencies.
>
> I could use some fresh ideas for a secret stash. I have a portable art kit
> (plastic pencil case with crayons, glue stick, tape, scissors, pencil and
> eraser and a small sketch pad), bubbles, frisbee and my iphone. What other
> genius ideas are out there?
>
> Sylvia (Gabriella 8 and Harry 6)
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Melissa Dietrick

dice! (got that several years ago from pam s. and they offer lots)
melissa in italy
\\\I could use some fresh ideas for a secret stash. I have a portable art
kit (plastic pencil case with crayons, glue stick, tape, scissors, pencil
and eraser and a small sketch pad), bubbles, frisbee and my iphone. What
other genius ideas are out there\\\\


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

sunny1of1

I love poetry strips keeping a stash of strips of words that you can line up to make sayings, poetry, etc. I keep Sharpie fine liners for Zentangles too. Makes waiting not such a pain. :-) Cheryl

--- In [email protected], Sylvia Woodman <sylvia057@...> wrote:
>
> Joyce wrote on another post: At that point you could say "You can hang here
> until they're done." Perhaps pulled out something to do from your secret
> stash in your purse for such emergencies.
>
> I could use some fresh ideas for a secret stash. I have a portable art kit
> (plastic pencil case with crayons, glue stick, tape, scissors, pencil and
> eraser and a small sketch pad), bubbles, frisbee and my iphone. What other
> genius ideas are out there?
>
> Sylvia (Gabriella 8 and Harry 6)
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

jo kirby

*I could use some fresh ideas for a secret stash*


I'd second pipe cleaners! We've just been to a party tonight that was pretty boring for children and I made little animals for my son out of pipe cleaners - I think it made the party a bit more fun for him :-)

Pocket sized travel games can be good sometimes too. A Rubik's cube.

An Etch-a-sketch although that's a bit bigger to carry round. Could be good to keep in the car though...

Sticky mosaics, Usborne puzzle adventure or look-and-find books, Eye Spy books, sticker books.

Magic colour-changing pens. Scissors and cut circles of paper to make snowflakes (could be too messy for some places). A few oddments of yarn, large-eyed needle and a plastic canvas shape (for little ones just tie the yarn onto the needle so it doesn't get annoying by keep coming off - the holes in the canvas are large enough for the knot to pass through).

Pipe cleaners are my personal all-time favourite though - because they can become pretty much anything my son might want, within reason ;-) I made a T-Rex tonight, among other things.

Jo



________________________________
From: Sylvia Woodman <sylvia057@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, 23 June 2012, 22:26
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Secret stash


 




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Robin Bentley

> I could use some fresh ideas for a secret stash. I have a portable
> art kit
> (plastic pencil case with crayons, glue stick, tape, scissors,
> pencil and
> eraser and a small sketch pad), bubbles, frisbee and my iphone.
> What other
> genius ideas are out there?
>

We liked Annikins books (3.5" X 3.5") which were easily available in
Canada, not so sure about the U.S.

http://www.annickpress.com/catalog/annikins.html

We also had fun with sticker books, tattoo books (Dover Books,
especially).

Playmobil figures (you can get individual figures for about 4 or 5
bucks) were a hit now and again, too. Here are a couple of examples:

http://store.playmobilusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Product-Show?pid=7534&cgid=Ds_Figuren
http://store.playmobilusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Product-Show?pid=6200&cgid=Ds_Exotische_Tiere

Robin B.

sheeboo2

---wicky stix are great. silly putty can provide oodles of fun. pipe cleaners. postit notes (for drawing, sticking, and cutting)...----

Yup, yup, yup! A less expensive version of wick stix are Bendaroos.

A brick of sculpy clay or beeswax modeling clay and Little Dover sticker (Noor has pretty much outgrown the stickers), tattoo, coloring books: http://store.doverpublications.com/by-subject-children-dover-little-activity-books.html

Noor really likes these small games, which I'll sometimes throw in my bag if I know we'll be waiting somewhere:
Kanoodle: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FGECAI/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i01
Think Fun: http://www.amazon.com/Think-Fun-5941-ThinkFun-Shape/dp/B00000IRZ4/ref=pd_sim_t_3
Story Cubes

Brie

usuheinerfam

> I could use some fresh ideas for a secret stash. I have a portable art kit
> (plastic pencil case with crayons, glue stick, tape, scissors, pencil and
> eraser and a small sketch pad), bubbles, frisbee and my iphone. What other
> genius ideas are out there?
>

I have a box by the door that I keep my secret stash stuff in. As we head out I stuff things from it in my purse based on my kids moods that day or what we haven't seen in awhile. Bear in mind that my list is all over the board because I have 4 kids ranging from 8 years old on down to just a year old and with needs as varied as gets-bored-as-soon-as-we-leave-the-driveway to a nonverbal 4-year-old who is seriously soothed by his flour/rice/sugar/bean filled balloons.

A bag of finger puppets.
Card decks.
Spot It game. (We have 3 of these - one in the car, one at home, one in my purse. It's great fun.)
Crayons and fun little blank notebooks.
A bag of small plastic animals with a folded up plastic mat with scenery on it.
Toy cars/trains.
Little project packs you can get for $1 at Target/Jo-Anns/Dollar stores.
Little books with tons of information like this one - http://tinyurl.com/7nulnf7 (DK Pockets books - my eldest *loves* these)
Sticker books.
Dice for yahtzee.
Animal Tile Puzzles http://tinyurl.com/7x25tns
'Find It' type puzzle books.
Target $1 section flash cards. Everything ranging from dinosaurs to landmarks to wildlife to presidents to states ... I think I have 15 different little boxes. I grab the ones that seem like my kids might be interested in if we have a need for them that day. (My kids have been really into the Presidents lately and I was *so* glad I'd thrown that in my purse on our way out the door to a 30-minute car tune-up that lasted over 2 hours)
Tangrams
A tiny origami kit.
Glow sticks.


My purse always has:
Balloons (Though the type of balloons can vary.)
Bubbles (Ditto - varies.)
Peepers. http://www.peeperspuppet.com/
Pens and notebooks.
Small ball or two.
One or two trains.
A charged up iPad.
Sensory balloons.

I also have a bag in the back of my suburban with books in it that my kids will find interesting, board books for the little all the way up to 'how to draw monsters/animals' books for the older ones (with paper, clipboards, and pencils).

I'm in the process of making a summer fun bag for the back of my suburban with frisbees, balls, bats, capture the flag flags, etc. in it.

And at home we have a Sanity Saving Box. http://unprocessedfamily.blogspot.com/2012/06/sanity-saving-box.html

Those are what have worked/are working for us.

teresa

Something I had to learn about the "secret stash" toys is that they are way more successful at helping my kids to have fun in a boring or challenging situation if we play with them *together*. In other words, no matter how special or cool the toy or activity is, I can't hand them over to my kids and expect them to entertain themselves. (Depending on the reason the secret stash was brought out, this can be a challenge to implement in the moment.)

We play with Army men, Playmobil figures, Lego figures, walkie talkies, Snapcubes, Star Wars action figures, wind up toys (one I learned from my own mom when I was a kid--she'd bring a Ziploc freezer bag full of them to restaurants with us to play with at the table), matchbox cars, and finger puppets. Sometimes there will be something random and cool a the bottom of my bag--last week it was a string of paperclips.

For us, it's usually not so much that it's something different in the secret stash, but rather portable favorite toys that we play with together in a new context.

Teresa
mama to Woody, 6 1/2, and Fox, 3 1/2

--- In [email protected], Sylvia Woodman <sylvia057@...> wrote:
>
> Joyce wrote on another post: At that point you could say "You can hang here
> until they're done." Perhaps pulled out something to do from your secret
> stash in your purse for such emergencies.
>
> I could use some fresh ideas for a secret stash. I have a portable art kit
> (plastic pencil case with crayons, glue stick, tape, scissors, pencil and
> eraser and a small sketch pad), bubbles, frisbee and my iphone. What other
> genius ideas are out there?
>
> Sylvia (Gabriella 8 and Harry 6)
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

BRIAN POLIKOWSKY

People are  bringing great lists but I wanted to add a big one!!!!
Snack and drinks!!!!! 
Yummy snacks and drinks!
I learned to always have snacks and always some yummy stuff to surprise kids!

 
Alex Polikowsky
 
 
 


________________________________
From: usuheinerfam <usuheinerfam@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2012 2:21 AM
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Re: Secret stash


 
> I could use some fresh ideas for a secret stash. I have a portable art kit
> (plastic pencil case with crayons, glue stick, tape, scissors, pencil and
> eraser and a small sketch pad), bubbles, frisbee and my iphone. What other
> genius ideas are out there?
>

I have a box by the door that I keep my secret stash stuff in. As we head out I stuff things from it in my purse based on my kids moods that day or what we haven't seen in awhile. Bear in mind that my list is all over the board because I have 4 kids ranging from 8 years old on down to just a year old and with needs as varied as gets-bored-as-soon-as-we-leave-the-driveway to a nonverbal 4-year-old who is seriously soothed by his flour/rice/sugar/bean filled balloons.

A bag of finger puppets.
Card decks.
Spot It game. (We have 3 of these - one in the car, one at home, one in my purse. It's great fun.)
Crayons and fun little blank notebooks.
A bag of small plastic animals with a folded up plastic mat with scenery on it.
Toy cars/trains.
Little project packs you can get for $1 at Target/Jo-Anns/Dollar stores.
Little books with tons of information like this one - http://tinyurl.com/7nulnf7 (DK Pockets books - my eldest *loves* these)
Sticker books.
Dice for yahtzee.
Animal Tile Puzzles http://tinyurl.com/7x25tns
'Find It' type puzzle books.
Target $1 section flash cards. Everything ranging from dinosaurs to landmarks to wildlife to presidents to states ... I think I have 15 different little boxes. I grab the ones that seem like my kids might be interested in if we have a need for them that day. (My kids have been really into the Presidents lately and I was *so* glad I'd thrown that in my purse on our way out the door to a 30-minute car tune-up that lasted over 2 hours)
Tangrams
A tiny origami kit.
Glow sticks.

My purse always has:
Balloons (Though the type of balloons can vary.)
Bubbles (Ditto - varies.)
Peepers. http://www.peeperspuppet.com/
Pens and notebooks.
Small ball or two.
One or two trains.
A charged up iPad.
Sensory balloons.

I also have a bag in the back of my suburban with books in it that my kids will find interesting, board books for the little all the way up to 'how to draw monsters/animals' books for the older ones (with paper, clipboards, and pencils).

I'm in the process of making a summer fun bag for the back of my suburban with frisbees, balls, bats, capture the flag flags, etc. in it.

And at home we have a Sanity Saving Box. http://unprocessedfamily.blogspot.com/2012/06/sanity-saving-box.html

Those are what have worked/are working for us.




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Andrea Q

-=- I could use some fresh ideas for a secret stash. -=-

LEGO bricks. We have a plastic pencil box filled with them (mostly bigger blocks, not the tiny studs).

Silk scarves/play silks

Story cubes and dice


Andrea Q

Bernadette Lynn

On 23 June 2012 22:26, Sylvia Woodman <sylvia057@...> wrote:

>
> I could use some fresh ideas for a secret stash. I have a portable art kit
> ========================
>
>
>
My children are aged 12, 11, 8 and 6.

Each of my children has a zip-up folder in the car with plain and
lined paper, pens, pencils, sharpeners and rubbers so I don't carry drawing
things with me much. I also keep a big air-powered rocket, a small kite and
a big bottle of bubbles in the car.

I currently keep some of the new tiny Nerf guns in my bag, with their
darts. I also have playing cards, a puzzle book, a set of the promotional
lego knights which came in cereal packets a few years ago, with weapons
(they're moulded in one piece and are a bit bigger than the minifigures so
it's easy to find all the bits when you've finished playing outside or in
the car). I also have a mixed bunch of tiny My Little Ponies which I think
are MacDonald's toys and a few Playmobil children to go with them, and a
selection of mini balls and gliders and balloons from the party section of
the supermarket.

I find the toys sold as party-bag fillers are a good place to start and
eBay is invaluable. Hawkin's Bazaar (www.hawkin.com) is brilliant for
people in the UK. Some toys from Kinder eggs or Happy Meals are really well
designed and interesting and you can get whole sets for pennies sometimes;
I like to have at least one thing none of the children have seen before
hidden in my bag.

Bernadette.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]