Customer Reviews

The Five Minute Parent: Fun & Fast Activities for You and Your Little Ones

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The Five Minute Parent: Fun & Fast Activities For You And Your Little Ones by Deborah Shelton is a compilation of 115 quick, easy, and very enjoyable parent-child projects designed specifically for families running short on time. Simple black and white drawings by Frankie Gordon illustrate such activities as making colorful "button flowers" out of construction paper, buttons and pipe cleaner, hanging a pine cone bird feeder for feathered friends, handprint art, and a great deal more. A fun and lighthearted resource, The Five Minute Parent is ideal for rainy day activities, single parent visitations, family night plans, kid's parties, and any time there's a few extra minutes in the day for family bonding with the kids.

When Deborah Shelton found herself saying: "maybe this weekend" and "maybe later" she knew it was time to think up some creative ideas. She thought up more than 115 fun activities. She is a craft enthusiast, active member of the Associateion for Play Therapy and a homeschooling mom.

You and your child can choose from any of the following categories:

Adventures in Art
Weird & Wacky Science Experiments
Writing and Wishing You Were Here
Games and Sports, of Sorts
Family Fun Time
Easy Crafts for All Ages
Music, Movement and Mayhem
Puppets, Critters and Creepy-Crawlies
Celebrations Using Your Imagination
Cooking and Munching In the Kitchen
Outside Fun Guide

Some of the ideas are as simple as "No-Bake Banana Crunch Cookies" or as educational as "Floating Needle" in which you teach your child about "surface tension."

In Five Minutes you can:

Make Jell-O
Water the plants
Write a letter puzzle
Draw Fingerprint Critters
Giggle as you make up tongue twisters.

Camp Indoors
Make a Pine Cone Bird Feeder
Turn breakfast into an art appreciation experience

Deborah shows you how to get everything organized. Making a space somewhere in your kitchen (away from the stove, etc) is a great idea. Many people have a breakfast nook or a place kids can play/draw/sit and this is a way mom can cook and supervise 5-minute activities. You can make up a list of things to buy or just look around the house for things you already have and organize them all in one place.

This book also includes jokes, trivia, riddles, quotes and fun facts to encourage your children to be more curious about the world. Great for rainy days, birthday parties, holidays or just because.

Will be appreciated by: grandparents, aunts, uncles, babysitters, homeschool moms and day care teachers.

Fun, Creative Ideas!

~The Rebecca Review

I recently received this book as a gift and was blown away by how much great information is inside! These activities are perfect for fast fun; when you only have small blocks of time. They're also great starting points for when you have more time together. I whole-heartedly recommend this book for moms and dads who are looking for fun things to do with their children.

More than an activity book, The Five Minute Parent is a reminder for parents everywhere to stop and smell the flowers with their children. If you are like the rest of us busy parents, and find yourself telling your little one "not now, later", then this book is for you!

From organizing craft supplies to making time for kitchen experiments, this book is filled with quick and easy ways to spend quality time NOW with your children. And as the author reminds us, there is no reason to wait for the weekend when you can do it today!

Teachers, parents, grandparents, and other caregivers will really enjoy the easy format and quick activities contained in the pages of this book. Seize the moment!

After reading one of her activities on OnlinePlaygroup.com, I just had to buy her book. I'm so glad I did! It is brimming with great activity ideas for my family of 4 children and for my playgroup of 15 kids. True to the title -- not just FUN, but FAST too! Just what you need when you have impatient little ones.

The thing about parenting is that we all assume it comes naturally & easily. Anyone in this modern world who's been there & done it knows it ain't so! When your children whine about being bored, I bet most of us silently agree "Me too!"

Well, THE FIVE MINUTE PARENT is an excellent First Aid Kit for when your tribe has hungry minds, & is in need of something new & fun & inspirational.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends Deborah Shelton's THE FIVE MINUTE PARENT for when you all, parents & children, need to take some time together to reconnect & make some memories.

While the ideas in this book don't seem to be that unique, they are extremely useful for keeping a preschooler with a short attention span happy and busy. Another bonus is the ideas will get your creative juices flowing with even more ideas. An EXCELLENT book when you don't want to plop your child in front of the TV!