It’s hard to occupy a toddler. It’s even harder to occupy them with something you think is educational or constructive. When Alex naps I always like to attempt to do an activity just for Maggie – things we don’t do when I am chasing both her & her super fast crawling sister. Here is a list of some of our recent successful toddler activities:
Alphabet snake: Maggie LOVES snakes (odd I know). She does not love sitting down & listening to me try & explain the ABCs. So thats when I came up with the Alphabet Snake. I cut out this snake shape from computer paper & drew a face. Then we used ABC stickers to try & recognize letters & the order they go in. Maggie was really proud of her snake & then made it “fly” around the house for the next 30 min screaming.
Little People Bath Time: Do your Little People & their animals feel really gross after a while? I think because both my kids still put everything in their mouths I get very grossed out by ours. Anyway, our new thing, about once a week, is giving them a bath. We put a towel on the kitchen floor with a big bowl of soapy water. I fill other little cups of water for her to “rinse them” & wash clothes for towels. This actually occupies her for quiet a while. You can double your efforts & do it on a day your kitchen floor needs to be washed! Most of the soapy water makes it far from the towel & soaks the floor too!
Crayola Air Dry Clay: This big bucket is about $5 at Target. We have made all sorts of things with this clay. Maggie’s favorite is to make what she calls “Critters”. She sticks pipe cleaners, pompoms, etc all over them. We have also used cookie cutters with this clay.
Fun Face Stickers: These stickers by Melissa & Doug are great because I think they help with matching. For example, the smile is 2 pieces so you have to try & find both halves & line them up to make the face. Maggie loves clowns so we made these last week:
Priddy Book’s Preschool Sticker Activity Book: I think this is the best activity book I have seen for 2-3 yearolds. The activities are ones they can actually do & understand. This book is jam packed with stickers & fun. Below are pictures of a few of the pages we have done. We also just got 2 of their other books – The Dinosaur Color & Activity Book and The Princess Color & Activity Book.
These are some great ideas and I really needed this! Thank you for sharing.
I just ordered a First Words sticker book from the same author for my just turned 2 year old son! Thank you so much for the idea – I think this will help us not only recognize what's what, but to start SAYING the words!
My daughter likes snakes too!! Also, check out the educational activity books you can find at teacher stores like Becker's. For $8-12 you get a book filled with fun, educational games and most can be cut out and used over and over again. It's a staple in my house on a rainy day.
This is great!
I am coming back over from Life With The Little Man!
Such great ideas! And it's been raining here all week with rain forecasted the next few days. We'll be doing the snake for sure!
Hi!
I gotta try the ABC stickers that looks so neat! It is educational, to see how they arrange the alphabet. We also like to play with Play-Doh.
Thanks for stopping by! I am your new follower ๐
Lilly
I have a nephew who is an absolute wild child and I am always looking for things to do with him. These are great ideas. Thanks for sharing at our party this week.
Hi! Im a new follower, from NC! ๐
Great activities! I'm definitely going to check out those books!
Just stopping in to say hi. I love these ideas.
Great activities for toddlers!
Thanks for following! Now following you back!
Emily
http://Birthofamom.blogspot.com
Great ideas – I can never get enough to occupy my little one ๐
I need to try that air-dry clay. I forgot that it existed and my son would love it! Thanks for the idea ๐
I like the ABC snake. I have an active toddler too and know she would love that activity. Thanks!
The ABC snake is such a great idea!
some really cute ideas! i love the fact that you created the alphabet snake to suit her interests! thanks for linking up to tip-toe thru tuesday.
Thanks so much for sharing this at Monday Mom Musings. I am bookmarking ideas for toddlers like crazy as I prepare for my little girl to grow, grow, grow before I know it. Keep up the great ideas!