Motherhood Mondays: Toddler Activities?

Do you ever take Toby to the library as an activity? We’d love to talk to interview you about it for http://www.atyourlibrary.org/connectwithyourkids

Oh my stars…that is one cooking show I would watch:) Adorable!

It’s funny, I don’t even have kids but I just read through all these ideas. I’m nostalgic today, I guess :-) Some childhood activities that are still wonderful memories:
– Making paper chain garlands for the holidays. My mother had old heavy foil wrapping paper from the ’50s, which made for a pretty result!
– flour/salt/water dough & ornaments. We were encouraged to make our own little 3-D creations, not just cookie cutter shapes. I still have the little ornament of me on my toboggan wearing a stocking cap & my brother on skis (made of toothpicks). Just slow bake in the oven & come back another day to paint. My dad would lacquer them later so they are still around 40 years later. The complexity went up each year – a fun way to see how one develops.
– Do-it-yourself golf course. We saved empty soup cans, poked a few holes in the bottom (to let water drain out) and planted them in the ground with top of can level to the earth. Add a little plastic golf club! (Hope you have access to some personal green space?)
– Sack toss: My mom made little fabric sacks filled with dried beans, and dad cut some holes out of a piece of masonite (double thick foam core might work). Depending on the kid might even be doable inside?
– Eye-spy scavenger hunt: make a list of interesting things then go on a walk to look for them (example: a store with a red awning, someone wearing pink, a doggie)
– and of course other things mentioned here: forts, sandbox, plants in styrofoam cups, pine cone feeders, leaves between waxpaper, snowmen, baking

A few things we didn’t do but would have been fun:
– Movies with toddlers (for those socialistas): Seems like most theaters who offer this do it on a Wed morning. They keep the lights up higher and don’t sweat the noise level. The entire crowd is moms with kids, so no worry about disrupting.
– Fun via the US mail: a woman I know pre-addressed/stamped some envelopes and had close friends send her child something by mail. Maybe a penny, a paper doll, a photo of a friend, stickers – almost anything a little one would enjoy. Made a real event out of getting the mail.

Hope you make great memories!

WOW! daycare in NYC is not cheap, to say the least! Luckily its relatively cheap in Norway. ¨

We wrote a post on kids activities some month back, which I think would work really well on your play-date mornings, especially the stone painting! The littles will LOVE this, especially if you put on googly eyes. Trust me; the stones come ALIVE! ;-)

http://bestof2sisters.com/2012/07/24/inside-out/

Another suggestion for December: decorate ginger break house, with lots of sweeties. A quaint x-mas deco, especially with lights inside. Growing up it was such a treat to smash it up end of January (I know – hello dust collector!) and share with friends.

/Louisa

I recommend sensory activities.

Get a bin or tub of some sort and fill it with rice, sand, birdseed, or water (endless possibilities here) and throw in some measuring cups, animals, etc. This is a free activity that offers the fun of cooking without the rules. Make sure that you can clean up the mess easily so you don’t stress and provide guidelines for keeping the “water in the water basin” and let him go at it. Toby will spend ages sifting, poring, scooping and burying. Good for inside days!

Also experiment with cornstarch and water, and play dough. There a ton of recipes for dough available. Have fun!

If it’s a nice day, there is nothing better than a big tub of water (dyed with food colouring, or with some dish soapy bubbles in it, or just straight up) and several measuring cups and bowls of different sizes. Set up time: 2 seconds, clean up time: 2 seconds, fun time: as long as the sun is out.

hahahaha neither of them look like they are enjoying the guacamole, that is too cute!

Nice to see your babies with some funny work…….

It’s really great article. I have been here reading for about an hour. I am a newbie and your success is very much an inspiration for me.It is one of the nicer sites I have seen today. and I truly like your style of blogging.
PHL Airport Taxi

Jo, are you familiar with the Soule family? Not only is there a great book (or two?) out now, but Amanda blogs at soulemama.com and she’s got tons of great ideas since they homeschool their children and family and home are the center of their blog! Check it out! (I’ve got a little bit of a crush on the Soule family, can you tell? I love love love the way SouleMama and SoulePapa speak with so much tenderness and love for their family!)

Love your blog and read it every day. I look after my two year old grandson twice a week and we mainly just hang out in my yard. He loves picking up rocks, pinecones, water play (with all sorts of containers around the house). We can also see planes landing/taking off from our house so that’s a great thrill. After I’ve picked him up from his house, we usually stop to watch the diggers and dump trucks. There is a lot of construction going on in Vancouver. Although I think the less ‘organized’ activity the better, there is no right or wrong when one is spending time with their child.

I read that one homeschooling mom chose a letter for the week, they ate food which coincided with the letter, learned a virtue that began with the same letter and also had an animal to learn in the same way. I pinned it on my preschool idea board: pinterest.com/juliajean/my-boys/

Such cuties! EEK!
<3 Dana @ This Silly Girl’s Life

Eat your way through the alphabet. It requires planning ahead, but it’s fun! Each day (or every other day or once a week… your choice) you eat a snack that begins with the letter for that day (or week). Start with A (apples, apricots, almonds, avocado, etc.) and work your way through the alphabet. Each night you can discuss what letter you will eat the next day and amp it up. Each day talk up that letter, for example if the letter is G you would maybe have grapes for snack and then throughout the day you point out objects, signs, toys that all begin with the letter G. My preschoolers love it!

la petite ecole is a fantastic, affordable, French immersion preschool with two locations in Ny. Everyone should check it out :)

I Just moved to Brooklyn a month ago. I am an avid reader of your blog–even during my year and half volunteer experience in Brazil. I guess it was my little way to connect with American life. I dream of designing learning spaces for children. When I got here, I met a neighborhood mother who was saying there wasn’t any quality affordable daycare for young children in the area. We decided to start a daycare. I call it a hands on, homemade, holistic approach. I dream of spending every day with the kids exploring this big beautiful world of ours.. even through guacamole! in case you guys end up moving to brooklyn….. http://www.fortgreenehomedaycare.com and I occasionally blog about fun children’s activities, too at http://www.beaheart.com!!

Oh, boy! This post made me want to move back to NYC and open a preschool! :) $$$

I got a lot of great toddler play and craft ideas for our three little boys from these sites:

The Artful Parent, http://www.artfulparent.com/
The Crafty Crow, http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/
Filth Wizardry, http://www.filthwizardry.com/

and I’ve posted some of our favorite activities on my blog, The Brooding Hen, http://thebroodinghen.blogspot.com/