Today is another edition of Works-for-Me Wednesday over at Shannon's site. Today's topic is a bit different than normal. It is actually a reverse edition subtitled "Backwards Day" where I get to ask a question in hopes that someone out there can give me a great tip!
So, here goes. I am the mom of a 2 year old who is FABULOUS but constantly moving and wanting to do something new! Any great tips for games and such for us to play as the cooler fall/winter months approach? If you've got an answer, leave a comment for me. For other great questions and answers, click on over and visit Shannon's site!
17 comments:
I loved doing scavenger hunts with my daughter when she was that age. I would make a list (red block, animal book, doll etc) and we would go on the hunt. It makes them thing, and you can be vague or specific.
My daughter is 2, she loves books...we spend hours reading, the scavenger hunt idea is great!
hide and seek (simple hiding, of course) provides my 2-year-old endless entertainment! plus playing with all the tupperware in the kitchen works in a pinch!
I sometimes set up a simple "water station" for my kids. I fill up a large storage tupperware with water (a few inches), and interesting toys/things like a funnel, cups, a colander, sponges, etc. Good luck!
My daughter LOVES her play kitchen! I was all set and had picked out a $140 one online, but had a horrible feeling knowing that I just shouldn't spend that much on it (although she would have probably gotten that much use out of it). Anyway, then I went to a consignment sale and got her one for $18. It was as big and fancy as the one I picked out online, but she doesn't care. She just plays and plays and plays with it.
I kept my youngest niece entertained at my house when she was a toddler by asking her to bring me things. It started accidentally when she grabbed something off my bookshelf and brought it to me. I took it from her, then asked her to bring me X. When she'd done that, I'd ask her to bring me Y. And so on. She was so proud of herself for bringing me just the right items!
Granted, this activity does make for work for you afterward to put things back, but it's fun for the little one, and I suspect it's somewhat educational to match names with objects.
I'm going to keep watching your blog today, because I have a 2 1/2 year old that sounds a lot like yours!
Lately, she has been really into art - watercolors, play-doh, crayons, chalk, etc. I bought an easel at Ikea, and she can stand there for hours. Granted, you need to be able to lay an old sheet down or something when you're dealing with the chalk and paint, but everything has cleaned up perfectly for us. We also print a lot of coloring pages online for free, and make homemade play-doh as well (lots of recipes online).
She's also very fascinated by toilet paper and paper towel cardboard rolls, so I save those, and she can entertain herself with those for quite a while. Sometimes we'll set up tp rolls bowling-pin style, and she'll take a little ball and try to knock them down. Also, here's a link for good tp roll craft ideas:
http://www.dltk-kids.com/type/tp_roll.htm
A tarp is your friend. :) You can spread out a tarp (either the heavy-duty camping kind or the plastic painting drop-cloth kind--just make sure it's waterproof) and have all sorts of fun.
• Splash in the kiddie pool
• Finger paint
• Sculpt with play dough
• "Cook" with water-filled pots and wooden spoons
• Bathe washable dolls
• Wash dishes (real or pretend)
• Blow bubbles
• Just about anything that you could do in your yard, but is generally too messy for the house.
We my son was that age he loved playing with his indoor rice box. I would put a plastic table cloth on the kitchen floor and haul out the under bed plastic storage box with the dry rice in it (it had a lid on it).
He would play with the sandbox toys (they were new) and some kitchen toys sorting rice, pouring rice, building a pile of rice and driving matchbox cars into it. It was an endless amusement that didn't attract pests.
Rice is inexpensive, so when spring came and we could play in the outside "sandbox" I threw the rice away.
Wikki Stix, baby. These are fabulous for car trips, too. I'd forgotten all about them until Chili's started handing them out to kids along with the typical crayons and kids' menus.
http://www.kazootoys.com/wikkistix.html?GCID=S18233x014&keyword=%5Bwikki+stix%5D
My favorite toddler activity was filling the sink with soapy water, pulling up a tall chair, and letting her wash every plastic dish we owned.
We lucked into finding a Playhut Ultimate Playland on sale after Christmas a couple of years ago. We set up the tents and tunnels through a few rooms on the days when the weather is too wet, cold, or hot. Since it's not up all the time, the boys think of it as a special treat. I love it because they are active, burning off some energy and they have a ball!
I have a two-year-old and she loves doing what everyone else has said to do. Plus I got some other great ideas. One thing my daughter loves is to play with Little People. We have a ton of them and she loves them. She also loves to play with blocks. Another fun thing is one of those pop-up tent-like toys. We have a fire engine and she loves to take her stuffed animals in there and read books.
Anything that involves scooping and dumping. Things like a water table and sandbox are your friend right now. But if you don't want that kind of hassle get a big bowl of dry beans. Then give her measuring cups, plastic cups, big spoons, sugar scoop, anything she can use to scoop the beans and dump them into another container (different sized tupperware).
Painting with water on construction paper sometimes works.
Building and knocking down towers with MegaBlocks.
PlayDoh - make snakes, balls and even simply squishing it in your hands.
My kids have all loved hiding spaces or cubby houses. If we move a lounge so there is enough room behind it for the to play they will go and play behind there for ages.
Cubby houses are usually just a sheet over some chairs or lounges.
My middle child - the active son - loves dancing with mummy (great exercise for mummy and lots of fun) he is happy to dance to Mummy's music.
We also have an exercise trampoline for him for the times when he can't go outside but needs to burn off energy. He is now 5 and loves to go and count how many jumps he is doing.
My daughter loves stickers, $2 worth of stickers can keep her amused for ages.
Teddy bears picnics are a fun way to have morning tea.
Treasure hunts are great activities for language building and children love them. For a 2 year old, you can just make simple "clues" like "you can find the next clue behind the red chair..." and have the last "clue" lead to the prize. Although the concept might or might not be lost on the 2 year old, they will love the fact that there is something waiting for them at the end and they will be learing their colors, expanding their vocabulary, learning to follow directions, etc., all at the same time! Audrey
I don't know if anyone else has already mentioned this, but my daughter spends huge amounts of time pushing around her little tikes shopping cart. She loves to fill it with toys and play food and baby dolls and pretend she is shopping. She uses it every day and has owned it since last Christmas! It was worth every cent.
Good luck!
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