My 15 month old is a very normal, healthy, active little bundle of joy. His days are currently filled with walking, running, climbing and mass amounts of exploring and learning. As a stay-at-home momma I have found it increasingly difficult to keep his energy focused in a positive manner. He gets bored pretty easily and with boredom comes getting into mischief and continual focus on things he is not supposed to be doing. Little Stinker. :) Along with that, I am in my third trimester with our second baby boy and am finding my energy and agility beginning to wane. So over the past several weeks I have been compiling a list of fun and frugal indoor/outdoor activities that a child around his age might really get a "kick out of". As stay-at-home parents we need to learn that we can lean on each other for support, encouragement, and fun, safe ideas that bring creativity and freshness into the home. **This is not a complete list and I'm always adding to it. If you have any fun activities you'd like to add, feel free to leave a comment. :)
Fall/Winter (indoor type activities)
- Finger Paint (edible)-plain yogurt/vanilla pudding and food coloring * Let them finger paint while in their high chair.
- Foam Shapes-peel off back and let them stick it on paper, then display their artwork.
- Non-toxic big crayons and let them color on a big piece of paper. You could even tape down a huge piece of paper on a table and let them just have fun coloring all over it.
- Magnet fun on the fridge (of course with your supervision)
- Listen to music, sing and dance together
- Grab some books and read to/with them
- Give them some paper to tear up (good for motor skills)
- Make some homemade play-do out of cornstarch, food coloring, water and salt, that way if they eat some, it is non-toxic.
- Homemade slide-pull crib mattress out of crib and prop it up against couch. Don't forget the pillows in case of falls.
- Pull cushions off of your davenport aka couch and let them crawl over them.
- Build a fort-grab some blankets and place them over furniture
- Check in with your local library on story times for your toddlers age group.
- Grab a ball and roll it back and forth
- Boxes! Need I say more? Toddlers LOVE climbing in and out of them and taking things in and out of them.
- Grab an old pair of socks, sew a couple buttons on and you have yourself a sock puppet. *Remember to put out of reach when you're done, as the buttons could be a choking hazard.
- Peak-a-boo Farm style-cut out some pictures of farm animals and laminate them, then play peek-a-boo with the animals and your little one. *Great time to work on sounds of the animals.
- Shaving Cream or Whipped Cream & Food Coloring-combine in a ziploc bag and let them squish it or "finger paint".
- Laundry Basket-fill it with their stuffed animals and them and then push them all around as if they were in an imaginary car. Vvrrrrrmmmmm!!!
- Laundry Basket-fill it with safe odds and ends, such as plastic spoons, Tupperware, lids, hats, socks and they will have fun taking those items out and putting them back in.
- Little Helpers-let them help with things like dusting with a wet rag, or vacuuming. My son literally "make believe" vacuumed for 25 minutes one day.
- Take a little trip to the mall and walk around.
- Check out a children's museum or an art shop that caters to toddlers.
Spring/Summer (outdoor type activities)
- Go for a Nature walk (letting them pick up rocks, sticks, etc. which could be used for a craft later.
- Go to the park
- Kick a ball back and forth
- Set up a couple huge boxes and cut out windows and a door and you have an instant playhouse.
- Hang up some construction paper and give them a spray bottle so they can "paint" the paper with it.
- Hook up a sprinkler and let your little one run through it.
- Water balloons-your water-baby will love running around and popping the balloons on the ground.
- Fill ice trays with water & food coloring, then empty tray into a baby pool and they'll have fun playing with the rainbow colored ice. (This can also work during bath times.) *Never leave your child unattended when they are near or in water.
- Go to the zoo.
***Some of these are my ideas, others I have gleaned from other sites.***
Here are a couple of the sites I found the most helpful.
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