4 year old who is a "doer" - activity suggestions?

[elisheva]

MY almost-4-year-old ds loves to do "real" things. He wants to help me cook, plant and clean up the yard, build things, etc. I don't mind sharing but sometimes its awkward/inefficient/unsafe with his little sibs around. We recently made him responsible for collecting the eggs from the coop, checking the chickens' water and food, and giving them some scratch. He's very responsible and conscientious. 

Anyone have a kid like this? Are there independent activities I can give him that I'm not thinking of? He's too young to build anything "real" on his own. I just can't always be there or slow down my activities to accommodate his help.

[la mamita]

you have hit the jackpot! what a lovely child.

some ideas:
sorting and folding laundry
learning to crochet
gardening (indoors or out)
helping wash dishes, set the table
helping cook (mixing, stirring, getting out ingredients)
pretend cooking
pretend woodworking (some tools that won't hurt him and a few scraps of wood)
art- painting, drawing, coloring, photography

[DoubleLove]

I have 4 year old twins. My son is thrilled with having the responsibility of wiping down the table after meals.  He can do it independently while we clean up the kitchen.

As for a craft, today we began our first sewing on beads lesson (for star ornaments made from felt) and my daughter was a bit impatient as usual, but my son really got into it.  I started by having them look at the needle closely before first touching it and had them identify which end is sharp.  They each got poked gently and that was all it took to show them this is a big kid project.  After assisting a few times, they each really got the hang of it and were going on their own.  I think putting fabric into one of those hoops would help and I can see that before long I could easily set them up and let them create embroidery independently.  Our 5 year old friend has done well with this project also. 

What about having your 4 year old set up and preform a puppet show for the youngsters.  My son has fun doing this for us.

He could use a dust pan and hand broom and clean under the table after meals, especially meals like peas or corn. 

Have fun!  4 a great age!

[elisheva]

Ooh - thanks for the ideas! He's not so crafty - very little interest in clay or drawing - a little more for painting. He's not interested in writing or colouring, yet. His fine motor skills are developing more slowly, I think. But, photography! He's always begging me to use the camera. I may just have to get over my "what if he wrecks it?" fear. I'll also teach him to upload the pics and then maybe crop, etc. It's just hard to find the time to do this with the littles around!

[jrose_lee]

Have you seen this website?  Maybe it could give you some ideas.

forsmallhands.com

[elisheva]

Awesome website. If we ever have to send to school, Montessori would def be his gig. Thanks for the link!!!