Since hundreds upon hundreds of moms are also bloggers and therefore read blogs, I’m hoping to get some response to this one! I am looking for fun, educational and inexpensive activities for my 19-month-old son. He is a fireball of activity but lately the more than 100-degree weather has kept us indoors. Naturally, he gets bored with all his usual toys and tired of making blueberries out of Playdoh. And when he gets bored, he becomes destructive. Not good.
So, I’m wondering if any mommies of toddlers have ideas for activities or games that have worked well for their kids. I’ve done some research online but haven’t found much. My son really isn’t into crafts yet but I can certainly give them a try. He likes listening to music (the same Bible songs CD is usually played six times a day) so we do some singing along. Mostly, I’d like to find creative things for him to do that won’t cost me an arm and a leg, or my sanity.
Any ideas?
Have you heard of the book – Slow and Steady, Get me Ready by June Oberlander. It is a great book with activities that will carry you from birth to age 5. All the activities are pretty neat and don’t require much more than what is in the home. Hope it helps!
I second that book suggestion!
When bad weather keeps us indoors, we like to have a treasure hunt. Make a list of things like something purple, something square, something soft, and go from room to room collecting things. When you’re done, use the items to play “the same game”, trying to figure out how to group items together that are similar (these things are smooth, these things are small). And don’t forget to take photos of all your treasures!
Thanks for the book recommendation! I will check it out.
Thanks also for the treasure hunt idea! My son knows when to go look for things when I ask him, “Where is such and such?” so I think this idea might be good for him! I’ll give it a try!
Toddlers love water play. Be prepared for a watery mess, but if you get a large, shallow plastic container and put about an inch of water in it, add some bath toys, cups, funnels, etc., they have a blast. We used to do that a lot with the toddlers at Kindercare.
Another thing that toddlers tend to like a lot is flashcards. You can make your own. Get some index cards, paste pictures on them of things that are interest to toddlers (sun, moon, table, truck, ball, etc.). Then you can either put them in clear contact paper, or you can take them to a teaching supply store to have them laminated. Some office supply stores do lamination as well. When you cut the cards out of the laminate, leave about 1/4″ of laminate around the edge so the laminate doesn’t easily peel apart. You can punch a hole in the top and get one of those metal rings to hold all the flashcards together (don’t want him to play with them loose).
A lot of kids like to sit and look at them, so that might be a good idea for when you are doing something and you need him to sit for a little while.