More ideas for preschooler Quiet Time Boxes?

[ourbabygirl]

So I just started this yesterday with DD (age 3.5). She had given up her naps back in January, but she still really needs them, because she'll fall asleep right away if we take a drive. And if she doesn't need a break, then *I* do!
DS (1.5) is napping, and I'm trying to get a little overlap of them up in their rooms so my days aren't 14 hours long as a SAHM. :)
Well, yesterday I got 2-3 fifteen minute breaks out of DD (she would come down to ask me what to do next or how to do something in her quiet time box). Today isn't going as well, and I'm having to bribe her with cookies if she stays up there for 15 minutes. Any tips on how to get her to be o.k. being alone for 15 minutes or more at a time?!

I made the boxes for the next week (about 4-5 activities per box, including things from different 'categories' like reading, crafts, book on cd, coloring, etc.). I have a few memory games, puzzles, coloring pages, sticker sheets & blank paper, small books she hasn't read before, art supplies like pipe cleaners & puff balls, gel cling-ons to decorate her bedroom window, brainteaser cards, balloons to sort, Legos, colored foam shapes & cards with patterns, etc. I may order some Colorform sets and lacing cards from Amazon. All of these are things she's never done or seen before.
Any other ideas?

She was initially excited the last couple of days, and excited to open up her box. The box I did for her yesterday was a surprise, and then I had her go with me to the dollar store last night to get a bunch more materials, so she was excited about that, too.
I help her get started with the activities and really tried to get things that I didn't think would be too hard for her (really the only thing that would be tricky is the puzzles, but they're just little 24-piece things).
But then part way into it both days, she's gotten bored and sad and wants to come back downstairs. :( What am I doing wrong? I feel like she doesn't know how to be alone for more than 5 minutes and I don't know how to undo this! But I really don't want to resort to having her watch t.v. the whole time her brother naps (though I'm sure she would love that! ;)).

Any tips?
Thanks!

[acmom]

Have you tried adding music in her room? That seemed to make a big difference for our quiet time. My DD (who is 3.5) particularly likes to pick her CD each day - we have several choices. The favorites right now are the "Disney Greatest" Vol. 1 and 2 CDs and our CDs from her Music Together class.

You could also try books on CD - our library has a lot of choices. There are also some Disney ones at Target that include stories and music (longer than a typical book on CD I think) that might be worth a try.

[brittone2]

If it is new for her, I'd build up the time slowly. 10 mins by herself and go from there, kwim? I had to do that with my DS1.

Have you tried books on CD, or the books on cd that have a book to look at and chime when the child is supposed to turn the page? DS1 took to them by his 3rd bday. DD was more like 3.5 or maybe a bit older.

You can also google or use pinterest to look up Montessori fine motor activities for preschoolers. There are lots of great blogs too like chasingcheerios and others. Maybe some cool looking materials would excite her, or discussion of how she's ready for big girl "work."

[Carrots]

I second the pinterest suggestion. They have lots of great ideas for "quiet" activities.

One idea that has worked great for us is "sponge blocks". I bought 3 packages of colored kitchen sponges and cut them, lenghtwise, into strips. DD A can stack them up to build tall buildings, or make a bunch of small houses. The do dry out if you don't store them in an air-tight container.

I also bought her a big package of buttons at AC Moore that she can sort into color, size, number of holes, etc.

OH!! We also have a plastic bin of water beads and another bin of colored rice. She likes to bury little plastic animals in the rice and go hunting for them. She loves to pour the rice into cups and back into the container. Same with the water beads. The rice can get messy, though. I usually have to vacuume after she plays with it.

[ljackson]

I definitely agree about building up the time gradually. Maybe some of the activities would work better if they were not quite brand new and she had played with them once or twice with you - things like the puzzles my DD would play with many times after she knew how to do them but might need a little help at first. Books are probably more interesting if you have read them to her enough that she knows the stories.

Other ideas would be books with things to look for, like In the Town All Year 'Round http://www.amazon.com/In-Town-All-Year-Round/dp/081186474X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339306824&sr=1-1&keywords=in+the+town+all+year+round (probably the single best quiet time thing we have - I can't recommend it highly enough) or Usborne 1001 Things To Spot books http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=usborne+1001+things+to+spot&sprefix=usborne+1001%2Cstripbooks%2C245.

I don't know if 3.5 is quite old enough for the Usborne Sticker Dolly Dressing books http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=usborne+1001+things+to+spot&sprefix=usborne+1001%2Cstripbooks%2C245#/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_13?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=sticker+dolly+dressing+books&sprefix=sticker+dolly%2Cstripbooks%2C251&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Asticker+dolly+dressing+books but certainly for 4 year olds and older they are great.

ETA Stencils might be fun too.