parental help!

[Pixilated]

Colouring books and crayons/coloured pencils/water-based paints. Also freehand drawing/painting -- you can also toss in coloured paper, glue or tape, safety scissors, inexpensive stamps (this kind, not postage stamps, LOL) and similar "artsy-crafty" neat stuff you can find in the toy section or craft section of stores (often dollar stores).

Would probably not include vials of glitter, though ...

[Der Cute]

Yeah a routine - Wake up, yay, play. Snack. Play woo play Lunch Nap Wake up play play Snack play play go home. Throw a quiet time in there - books or 2, a movie.
Crayons are the bomb. Use butcher paper and have at it on the table. Get play-doh! (use cups glasses spoons kitchen stuff for pattern making)
Go out leaf hunting, my kid LOVES trees like all get out. He will say Dat Tree, My Tree. (He won't share his trees). Find a leaf, do the old school leaf drying thing. Buy a small plant and say "Ok, this is yours, it needs love every day and we check if it needs water too, right?" and do that, it's your plant together.
Toy cars are fun (use the butcher paper after you've colored on it - you stay on THIS paper here! and not scratch anything). Toilet paper roll centers, markers, twine, make a collage, string up colored elbow noodles, GET DIRTY. Sidewalk chalk is fun.
Or try this: get a small storage box, like one that fits under your bed, larger than a shoe box? And fill it with sand. Kid can play in that (close to the door? In kitchen?) and have fun. Indoor sand box. Tell her "sand stays in this ok?" and reinforce it. Plus, easy to vac up.
Best thing: Large cardboard box and some cloth. Pretend is the key: Closet. Stage theater. Dressup. Ride on a dragon. Chariot. Ghost-in-a-box. House for the markers. Silly kid house. Anything!
Get outside as much as you can, though. Find local parks/playgrounds and let her loose. Tennis balls! Forgot! My guy LOVES those. Cheap and easy, and you play, roll, throw, everything with them.
Do not forget: you are the adult in charge. You're not exactly her friend, you're an adult with some fun things to do BUT there are rules and consequences. Sit down with parents first and find out what's allowed, not allowed, any current issues she's got (my guy did spitting when he got frustrated. Made a rule for that and he figured it out quickly) to address. How do they discipline? What are their rules for breaking a rule? Hissy fits? Breaking items? Find out.

[Sarlon]

cute...and everyone! Thanks for the great ideas!!!

I've been playing and helping out with this little girl since she was born, I met her mother (not really my niece by blood) when she was 5 months preggers with her, and helped her mother get out of a bad relationship to her current husband of 5 years and counting.

guidelines for disicpline, rewards, and punishments are already firmly in place and she knows (both mother, father and child), I will enforce them. I will sometimes let little things slide...watching a movie while she plays with dolls...eating lunch while watching TV...nothing earth shattering, but the second she starts to break the rules special things are taken away.

[fireheart]

One thing you could do with her is practice certain "functional" skills that she'll need for school.

Things like:

-Tying her shoelaces.
-Using her manners in the classroom.
-Raising her hand to ask for something.
-Money for the tuckshop/canteen/cafeteria (if the school has one). She can practice counting out the correct money and receiving change.

-How to borrow books and take good care of them. If she doesn't already have a library card from her local library, see if she can get one (most libraries do allow kids to have one ). Let her make a library bag too: get a plain cloth bag from a craft store, give her some fabric paints and whatnot and let her go nuts (i've seen this really cool "puffy" fabric paint in the local craft store which I reckon she might get a kick out of). She could also personalise a drink bottle and lunchbox if she so chooses (the cheapest way to do that is to mix some PVA glue into acrylic paint and it'll stick to the plastic.)