Toddler Games
Creative Reading
Has your toddler ever wanted you to read the same book over and over again? My son will stay with the same book for sometimes 10-20 minutes. I have found a few things that help keep things interesting, and keep his interest. My son’s favorite is counting. Anything and everything that can be counted, we count it. Sometimes he will take my hand, put his hand in it and have me move his hand over various items to count them.
We also go through and identify colors and name objects. It’s a great way for him to learn and for us to spend quality time. Bridger also likes to look through music books. He just sits on the couch and pages through them.
Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles!
This toddler activity should be supervised! I had lots of fun with Bridger pulling out some bubbles. Sometimes he held the little stick while I blew into it, but mostly he just had a blast chasing the bubbles around. Bubbles are easy to find if you have a dollar store nearby, and they can be tons of indoor and outdoor fun.
Hidden Toy
This toddler activity can have several variations and target different skill levels. The basic activity requires three empty containers with lids, and one object or toy. Show the toy to your child, then hide it in one of the containers and mix them around. Have the child guess where the toy is. My son got really excited when he found his toy, and then had fun playing with the containers
You can use different colored containers and ask questions like, “Is it in the blue container?” You can use different sized containers and ask, “Is it in the big or small container?”
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Table Time
My sister called and told me about this toddler activity, and it saved my sanity today. Bridger was throwing fit after fit as he was following me around the house while I was doing chores, because he wanted to get into things he shouldn’t. Finally, we came to the kitchen and I sat him up to do some “table time.” Basically, this is structured time sitting at the table with a task or activity.
The task or activity should be one that is only done at “table time” so your toddler knows what to expect. Since we had never done this before, I got out two bowls, a measuring cup, and some dry beans. I showed him how to scoop the beans from one bowl to the other and then handed him the items. He had a blast for a good 20 minutes, which allowed me to compete some much needed tasks.
The benefits of “table time” are development of dexterity, learning task completion, and preparing for kindergarten
Table Time
Diaper Box Car
Bridger and I had a blast fixing up one of the diaper boxes we had sitting around. All you need is 1 diaper box, some crayons and markers, about 13 pieces of 8 1/2 X 11 paper, scissors, and packing tape.
1. Cut the 4 top pieces off
2. Bend the two long pieces to form the front and rear “bumpers”
3. Use a cup or free hand two wheels from each of the smaller top pieces (You should end up with 4 wheels)
4. Cover the two longs sides of the box, and the two bumper pieces with paper. Attach the two bumper pieces.
5. I taped a piece of paper on each side to form a front and back windshield.
6. Color and attach the four wheels, and then decorate the car.
7. I made a steering wheel using 3 pieces of rolled up paper. I also did the front and rear lights using rolled up red paper.
8. Ride around the room yelling “Vroom, Vroom, Vroom!”
Capratika!
When we were little, my dad used to give us “pratikas.” He would lie down on the floor with his knees bent so we could sit on them. As we sat on his knees, he would say “Capratika…..capratika….capratikaaaaaaaaaa……….Kerplunk!” As he said “kerplunk” he would open his knees and we would fall to the floor. This toddler game is a good exercise for parents, and lots of laughs for kids. My son loves to do this.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Bowling
I have lots of gas station refill cups that were given to me, and my son loves to play with them. This morning, we invented a toddler game version of bowling. We stacked the cups on top of each other in a pyramid shape, then took his big bouncy ball and rolled it into them. He had fun both rolling and throwing the ball, as well as just knocking the cups down himself.
Bowling
Playing in the Park
For a while, I wasn’t doing much outside with my son, and then I realized the warm weather was almost gone, so I started taking a daily trip to the park with my son. After a few days, he came to expect it and want to be outside more often. Since he is too young to be on the equipment himself, and I don’t have the energy to spend the entire time climbing on it with him, we bring a bucket and shovel. After we play on the swings and slides, I let him have his bucket and shovel and he spends half the time digging in the woodchips.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Edible Play Dough
My son absolutely loves to play in and eat dirt, rocks, sticks, and anything else he can pick up off the ground. Another way to let your child get that gooey feeling on their hands, and not worry about whether or not they eat it, is edible play dough. A very basic recipe that is easy and uses items you probably have on hand is for an oatmeal dough.
OATMEAL DOUGH
Ingredients:
1 part flour
2 parts oatmeal
1 part water
Directions: Mix ingredients together and form into shapes. Note: The items made from this play dough recipe can be painted when they are dry.
For more fun recipes, visit http://www.childfun.com and search the site for edible play dough.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Music Time
My sister and her husband both have music degrees, and her children love to make their own music. She just turns on a CD and gives her kids some instruments like drums or morraccas. If you don’t have any instruments, take a bowl and give your child a spoon. Or for easy shakers, take a yogurt cup with a lid, or other small container with a lid and put rice, beans, or some other small shakable objects inside. Turn on some music and have a blast!
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