Simple as One, Two, Three! Fun in a Flash.

A rush of excited anticipation raced through my body.  I hung up the phone, glanced at the clock and sent a whirlwind of activities into motion... my "kids" were coming for a visit!
What is a grandma suppose to do with just minutes before an unexpected arrival of her grandchild?  Of course, the standards were in place...a container of homemade play dough next to a tiny rolling pin and an empty peanut butter jar filled with little cookie cutters waited patiently in a kitchen drawer.  The bucket of sand toys sat in readiness next to the back door.  Children's books were resting on the shelf in hopes of being read.  But, what could we create "on the spot"?

Dinner had to be considered, so a peek into the refrigerator produced two answers!  Frozen pizza and some spur of the moment fun!

Check out how we played while we waited for the pizza to cook!

The cardboard under the pizza quickly became a three piece puzzle. 
It was cut into three pieces and a different number added to each piece.

He is three years old and we were practicing counting to three.
Any number of pieces can be cut.  The pieces do not even have to be pie shaped.  Any angle cut can be used.

 Older children could practice learning fractions with this same concept

Foil removed from a dish in the freezer worked great crushed up into a ball. 

We tossed it into a cake pan!  Older children can use a plastic storage container with a smaller opening to create a greater challenge.

When this fun wore out, dinner was on the table!

Quick, easy, fun! 

We saved our new games for another visit.

But, you wouldn't have to. 

They could be popped into the recycling after you have a few minutes of fun

while a meal is being prepared.

So, the next time you have impatient children wanting to know when dinner will be ready, or you have an unexpected little visitor, think before you toss into the trash . 

It could be an activity in disguise!