Keeping a 3 Year Old Busy

Boxes are wonderful things to stimulate imagination! If you can get a large box, one big enough for him to sit in, have him decorate it... it can be a space ship to the moon, or a wagon in a wagon train.....

My grandson, the other day, found a box.... it was a bit small for sitting in, so he dumped his blocks, blankets, and other toys, and took it around the house giving us "presents"!

He is 3 1/2, and his imagination has just been blossoming lately!

Here's an idea, but may take a few days to work. Lay out three things for him to play with. Tell him he can play with those or with any of the toys in his room, but that you need to [fill in blank] and cannot play with him right now. Every time he comes back and says that he's bored, remind him that he can play with what you laid out or any of his other toys, but that you are busy and cannot entertain him. Stick with it until you've finished what you need to get done. You may have to do this over and over and over again over the course of several (hard) days, but this might "train" him to learn to entertain himself (a very important skill).
Also - check out his toys. Has he outgrown them? Does he need something more challenging? If he won't color, will he do workbooks or puzzles? My son loves construction trucks, which he can make "do" a lot more than cars. Is that something that might interest your son?

There is a FANTASTIC game called hullabaloo by cranium. It is a game that can be played solo or with others. A very active game that gets kids hopping, slithering, dancing, etc. and you set it up on the floor with however much room you have available. I highly recommend it. I was fortunate enough to get it at walmart on clearance for $7 but that was two years ago. I did a search and it is available at some toysrus (hopefully in your area) for $21 and on amazon for $30. It is a great game that can keep your child entertained for much longer than coloring because it is constantly changing. And another plus- its educational. It teaches colors, shapes, and categories such as food and animals. It is my favorite game for a 3-6 year old. I have used it with my niece solo and together, and I have also used it with a small class of pre-school and Kinder kids (between 5 and 10 at once) This game has a 100% approval rate!

Also, have you ever thought about some kind of carrier for your daughter? You can hold her safely while having free hands to push your son on the swing or help him up the ladder for the slide. My son is 8 months and he loves the moby wrap ($40) and my sister in law uses an ergo baby carrier (which I wish I had) with her 1 year old, but it is more pricey.

Sounds pretty normal... :)
The only thing I can offer is that perhaps you could (we did this twice a day) make a "quiet time" that the 3 year old has to play alone knowing that the "reward" for doing so would be .......? That was about the age I did that for my boys.

My niece (4) and my nephew (7) are in my care daily. They routinely pull the I'm bored routine. So since I have three other kids two and under plus a husband a dog and a house to care for, I tell them.if they don't want to play, they can work. I generally have to tidy the work they do but by golly my day goes faster, they learn that playing with their toys is sometimes preferable to helping me and I have time to play with them more often. Good luck.

My 3 yr old boy loves puzzles, especially CARS 2 puzzles purchased from the Dollar Store.

the other ladies have wonderful idea too. My son got these "trios" toys. They were the 1st toy he actually sat and played with for at least on hour straight. Before the trios he would constantly be asking me to play. I love my son, but I still had to get stuff done. When I mentioned the trios to another mom, she said the same thing happened when she got them. They are easy to play with and you can make so many things with them. My son specially liked using the eyes that some with some of the sets. My son with be 4 in Nov and he still plays with them on a daily basis.
Another idea outside is to give your son a sponge and a bowl of water. Let him make designs on the cement with the water. Good luck