Story-time
Young children love their parents making up stories for them  – don’t worry if this isn’t your forte, just take an old story and set it in your town, change the names to people you know and so on. Every now and again stop the story and ask your child what she thinks will happen next.  With more children and adults you can each take turns.

Computer art
Children often get frustrated when they can’t draw the object in their mind’s eye so using art software is a good compromise. Alternatively you can cut out loads of pictures that illustrate a favourite topic like farms and your little one can glue them onto a paper collage.

On stage
Some kids love dressing up and putting on shows while others dread performing. However the more timid can often be enticed to use finger puppets, or just cardboard cut-outs fixed onto a stick, to play at theatres. A couple of large cardboard boxes and some felt tips and your stage awaits you. You might have to provide the audience!

Music
While even toy keyboards offer a huge range of sounds, some kids like to make their own. Cereal packets with a few flakes left inside, tins containing different objects like small stones, rice, dried beans or anything that makes a good sound encourage an awareness of rhythm especially if used when listening to music.