Toddler activities?!

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Permalink Reply by Becky Sue on January 4, 2009 at 4:49pm

But... it might be too late, I think I lost my marbles todAY! lol
Sarah @ Ordinary Days said:

Hi Becky Sue! My sister and I started Mom's Marbles this past year and we've packed it full of ideas for moms just like you! Check it out when you get a chance. :)

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Permalink Reply by Marie @ Make and Takes on January 4, 2009 at 5:52pm

Here's a few sites that are great for Activities for kids:

http://www.makeandtakes.com/ - My site
http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/
http://blissfullydomestic.com/channel/blissful-kids/
http://www.kidscraftweekly.com/index.html

Have fun playing with your kids!

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Permalink Reply by Audrey Hussey on January 4, 2009 at 8:38pm

I have toddler, actually all 6 were toddlers...
A dish pan of water on the floor over a large plastic tablecloth, scoops & cups. Supervise well.
OR substitute with noodles, rice, beans. This is FUN! Most of the mess stays on the tablecloth.
Stick them in the tub with shaving cream and let them "paint" the tub. They'll need a bath after, use non smelly stuff. You can use finger paints too. Kids + mess = fun.
Tape contact paper sticky side up on counter/table. Cut or rip paper into little shapes, with yarn, ribbon pieces and let them stick away. You can then stick their artwork right to a window.
Rip pages from magazines, give them kids scissors and let them cut. Yes, they can cut. Or at least try lol. If they try to cut their hair, say no lol. If they try to cut their finger, they won't do it again lol. I believe this should be allowed with supervision to really work their dexterity. Let them stick the pieces to the contact paper.
Get a big blunt embroidery needle, and buttons with large enough holes, and let them string. Tie a button to one end to stop from falling off.
Have hubby make, or buy a "geoboard" which is just a grid of finish nails into a board, or pegs on a plastic square (you can buy these @ rainbowresource.com I think), and a bag of elastics. Show them how to make shapes on the grid. 12x12 one inch apart is fine.
All of my kids have done these activities, some are more mom supervised than others, but all are very tactile and good for dexterity and crafty learning.
Make a felt board on a wall, BIG. Cut shapes and have fun!
Toddlers don't stick to most activities long, but the 3 yr old will.
have fun!

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Permalink Reply by Amy Bleser on January 4, 2009 at 10:27pm

Hi Becky Sue! You have set a great goal for yourself and your girls this year. My youngest is 3 years old and one site that I have used a lot over the years is http://www.childcareland.com/. They have both a daily learning page and a daily art activity which are free as well as hundreds of other activities that you can download and/or purchase. It's been a great resource - especially on those days that you need something fast.

My other favorite site for fun crafts is www.familyfun.com. It has a wonderful selection of holiday, seasonal and themed crafts. They also have some printables too.

I hope those help!

Amy

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Permalink Reply by Rebecca on January 5, 2009 at 8:01am

Wowzers...great thread! I'm sure I'll find something to do with my almost 3 yr old

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Permalink Reply by Heather on January 5, 2009 at 10:28am

No Time For Flashcards is the BEST toddler/preschool/ and beyond activity website!

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Homan on January 5, 2009 at 3:28pm

thanks to everyone for the links. they are all GREAT!

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Permalink Reply by Christine on January 5, 2009 at 5:17pm

I am helping to plan a craft project for a group of toddlers of different ages and the main project I am currently thinking about doing is making piggy banks. You could use all kinds of things you have lying around the house - use a soda bottle or juice jug or even a milk or juice carton as the main structure. A milk or juice carton would make a great house shaped piggy bank. I thought this one would be fun and would also help encourage them to grow up saving their money (at least some of it).

Here are the projects that I found which are a great jumping off point if you are a little creative.

This one is a traditional pig
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ca_crafts_projects/article/0,2041,DIY...

This one is a house
http://www.cutiegadget.com/diy-coin-bank/

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Permalink Reply by jamaicaj on January 6, 2009 at 3:48pm

Hi,

There's a lot you can do right out of the kitchen- check out my son using half cup water & half a sponge.

I also like MontessoriMom- you have to look around but there are SO many great ideas.

Good luck!
jamaicaj

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Permalink Reply by Sophia on January 7, 2009 at 12:11am

I have a 3yo too and some activities he LOVES are:
- sidewalk/wall painting. mix baking cornstarch, food coloring and water together to make a water-soluble, TOTALLY safe "paint". Hand your 3 yo a brush, the "paint" and a wall, and you get about 30-45 minutes of independent play. You can adjust the measurements of water, cornstarch and food coloring to your own liking.
- when the weather gets a little warmer, he loves playing with ice (it's also a good way to get rid of old ice in the icemaker). I usually get a big bowl of ice and a big bowl of water. My 3 yo loves to play and "experiment" with the solid and liquid, usually making "soup" with other things found in the backyard (grass, bark, rocks, etc)
-making pizza. While I am cooking, I often let my 3yo make pizza appetizers. For this quick and easy pizza, you only need flatbread/lavash, a bowl of tomato sauce and a bowl of cheese. I put these things on the counter next to me and he takes a piece of lavash, spreads the sauce and sprinkles the cheese. It's a good way to include him in the daily activities but also keeping him occupied and giving you some time to get stuff done.

Good luck and have fun!

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Permalink Reply by KylieM Designs on January 7, 2009 at 12:40am

One of the things I found worked was a busy box!

It is something that grows as your children grows, these days with a 10, 6 and 5 year old its a whole cupboard and more ... but with littlies I suggest the following

A cheap tool box with some basic crayons and good quality felt tip pens in (pencils for littlies arent much good as they dont have enough pressure to make a mark, I know felt-tip pens can be messy but they get better results and the kids stay interested). These days my kids have a huge tool box that is filled with textas, pencils, glitter glue, gel pens, metallic pencils etc .. it grows with them, but is still one of the best ways to keep it all organised and easy to access.

A blank paper notebook/scrapbook, the cheap ones, I always have a few on hand, different sizes to be able to chuck into a bag when going out as well. And I still have lots of these as they are getting older. Once older you can also get colouring books, and lined books.

Kids safe scissors, even 18 month - 2 year olds can learn to cut old magazines, coloured paper etc.

Glue sticks, and Kids Paste, good quality. It is tempting to buy cheap ones but they always dry up and dont work, this is too frustrating for the kids.

Stickers, Stickers and more stickers. All sorts, even just plain dots and stars, I still pick up a packet every time I go shopping to chuck in their sticker box, keep some different ones in a pencil case that you take out, fantastic at restaurants!

A sturdy sticky tape dispenser, weighted so that they can use it easily.

Pre-cut fabric/coloured paper/ magazines. late at night, if you can, just chomp into some paper and magazine, cut out letters, animals, shapes, even just strips. Pasting is such fun for them, and quick and easy. you can draw large shapes, ie/ rectangle, triangle, circle, for them to fill with the bits.

Boxes, cartons from food and other stuff around the house. Cereal boxes are great for pasting those fabric and paper shapes onto. Also paper plates (cheap ones) and brown paper bags are good to covering with pastings! Inner tubes from cling wrap, aluminium foil are also fantastic.

the important thing is to sit down with them, even if it is just to get them started, and don't get everything out at once. Maybe just choose the stickers, and then you can turn it into a book by lacing pages together if they have done it on blank paper. If you get them started they will stay much more into it, with your littlies you may need to spend a bit more time with them doing it, but it is great fun, and full of great conversation, and now my kids can keep themselves entertained for hours with this stuff.

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Permalink Reply by KylieM Designs on January 7, 2009 at 12:43am

Oh yeah, and also .. display their work! It is so important to value what they have created. Sometimes, yes it becomes dust collecters, but it is really nice to have things up. I have a couple of shelves that is for kids creations, we then go through and take photos of some things, and others that fit we put into folders, so they can keep it (or atleast a picture of it), then we take it apart together and start again, build something new!

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