Play with Toddlers

Easy toys to make

1.Shape sorter (use a plastic container like a yogurt or margarine tub, cut holes in the lid of the plastic container that can fit random bottle/jar lids into the holes in the lid) Your child will have to learn to turn it until it fits in the hole.
2. Giant bubble blower--cut off the bottom of an empty dish detergent bottle or water bottle, and use it to blow giant soap bubbles on a counter or table top. Spread soapy water on the counter to make the bubbles stick without popping. Make a soapy solution to blow with by mixing a little dish detergent into a bowl of water. If you can’t blow bubbles, add more detergent.
3.Elastic band tied in loop--put it around her waist and your knees and walk around to form train. Or put it around 2 legs of 2 chairs one inch off floor to jump over. Safety warning: only let your child play with this with supervision, to avoid choking hazard
4.Make large blocks by pushing 2 empty milk cartons together--one inside the other. they are surprisingly strong

Creative play

1.Make peanut butter play dough (mix peanut butter, powdered milk, and honey) She is too young make any distinguishable shapes, but she can mash it, and cut it with a table knife, or poke it with a fork. And you don’t have to worry if she eats it!
2.Make pudding finger paint--let her smear pudding around on the table, or on the backs of calendar pages (plain slick paper) if you want to save the “painting.” Add small amounts of food coloring to the pudding to color it.
3.Paint with water--give her a paint brush and bucket of water to "paint" the driveway or any concrete outside--water turns the concrete a darker color, then when it dries, the painting disappears.
4.Make a sun-catcher--Give her a piece of contact paper with the backing pulled off, or a piece of wide tape. Give her various flat items to stick to the sticky side of the contact paper. (in photo above)
5. Teach him to cut with scissors. At first, all he can cut will be slits around the edge of a paper--use it as a beard or lion’s main, or grass. You can draw a picture, and let your toddler glue the cut piece in place. After he gets good at cutting slits, draw simple shapes (square, triangle, or circle) for him to cut out.
6.Provide paper and markers to draw. Don’t expect a masterpiece at first. Toddlers begin by drawing scribbles. They progress to drawing people--a circle with 2 lines down for body and legs. Keep giving them chances to draw, and they will keep getting better as they develop. It is always more fun if you draw with them. Make sure to only buy markers that are washable and nontoxic, just in case she decides to write on walls or stick it in her mouth. If she only draws while sitting in a highchair, she can’t write on walls, but she can still put it in her mouth, so keep an eye on her. Teach her not to draw on walls, only on paper. If it happens anyway (which it almost always does--that’s why you buy washable!!) then give her a wet cloth to clean it off. The cleaning doesn’t have to be perfect--you can finish up later. Making her clean helps her to learn to take responsibility for her actions.
7.Stamps--buy a washable non-toxic stamp pad. Buy or make stamps. You can cut vegetables into shapes, or use fingertips to make blobs, then you can draw eyes and legs for them to make them into picture. Ends of toilet paper tubes make circles, and Q-tips (cotton swabs) make dots.

Quick Diversions: activities to distract when they are upset or bored

1. Make a doll or stuffed animal talk to him, whether he gets up from his nap grumpy, or falls down and bumps his head.
2.Hold her up to look at herself in a mirror.
3.Hold him up to turn lights on and off.
4.Hold a small object in your hand and let her guess which hand it is in
5. Play hide and seek --hide a favorite toy, such as a stuffed animal. Make sure part of it is still showing until he gets good at finding things.
6. Dance to music ( music that is on the radio, a DVD from the library, or just sing)
7.Put a piece of tape on her finger and let her try to take it off--it can entertain you, too because each time she pulls it off, it sticks to a new place. If she gets frustrated, rescue her and take it off!
8.You can continue the play by putting the tape in different places--her elbow, her nose, etc. each time she gets it off.
9.Blow bubbles for him to pop.
10. Tear old newspapers. Or crumple the sheets of newspaper and throw them.
11. Hand her an ice cube to hold.

Working together

Your child wants to be with you and do everything you do. So adapt what you are doing so she can do it, too. It is more than keeping her happy, it is teaching her all kinds of life skills. It may slow you down, but it will be worth the extra effort to keep her happy, and prepare her for life.

1.Wash dishes--use plastic so you don’t worry about her braking them. Provide a stool to stand on, or a plastic basin of soapy water on a chair to wash them in.
2.Put away dishes--store them on shelves low enough for her to reach.
3.Set the table--help her learn one to one correspondence. Ask questions like, “Does everyone have a plate?” “Are there enough plates?” “Who else needs one?”
4.Dry dishes
5.Sweep the floor--buy or make a short broom
6.Mop the floor--buy or make a short broom (cut strips in a rag, and tie to the end of a dowel, or glue a sponge to the end of a dowel--make it look like yours.)
7.Wipe up spills
8.Wash the car
9.Mix food (make cookies, pancakes, etc.)
10. Measure food
11. Take care of baby: if she has a stuffed animal or doll, feed it, burp it, diaper it, put it down for nap, etc.

Music

Children instinctively move to music--I love to watch a baby in diapers bopping to the music! Use this natural love of music to learn to sing, and as an outlet for all those wiggles!

1.Listen to music videos--be sure to choose music that you like because you are going to listen to it a million times! Songs that are Bible verses are especially good because they are learning scripture at the same time. Hide ‘Em in your Heart, and Doughnut Man songs are music my kids grew up listening to.
2.Sing songs while you are driving in the car, taking walks, or sweeping the floor. Your kids will learn the songs, then start chiming in with you.
3.Take time away from housework to turn on some foot-tapping music and everyone can dance and twirl together.
4.Make maracas or jingle rings for your kids to rattle and shake as they sing along. Maraca: Put dry rice or beans or pebbles in small plastic jars and glue the lids on. Jingle ring: Sew jingle bells to a ring of felt.
5.Encourage movement with a ribbon wand: Glue or tape strips of colored ribbon to a short dowel or unsharpened pencil. If you want to get fancy, you can tie the ribbons to a fishing lure gizmo that would allow the ribbons to twirl freely.

View How to Make a Cardboard Kitchen

Here is a book with even more ideas of fun things you can do with your toddler--Games Toddlers Play, by Julie Hagstrom.

Action Games without toys

1.Chase your child while saying, “I’m gonna get you!” When you catch him, grab him and tickle him. It only takes once or twice before he starts running away with squeals of delight in anticipation of a tickle.
2.After “I’m going to get you!” becomes a favorite game, change the game so you are the one being chased. Run away from your child and say,” Oh, no! You are going to get me!” Run slowly enough for your child to be able to catch you.
3.Hide and seek--this is a super quick version--you barely have time to dash into the next room and hide behind a door or curtain before your child finds you--which is good, since she won’t be able to find you if you hide well.
4.Give your child a ride on your lap, bouncing and jiggling him, then let your knees go flat to make a slide down to your feet
5.Give your child a ride on your back, whether you are standing or crawling on all fours.
6.Hold your child by his feet and lift him up so he is upside down. If he enjoys this, spin him around, then gently put him back down.
7.Face your child and let her step on your feet. Hold her hands and take very tiny steps while she gets a ride.
8.Give your child a ride on your shoulders--be careful not to hit his head on a door frame or low branches!
9.Most children enjoy a good wrestle with their dad.
10.Tractor ride--while you sit on the floor with knees up, let your child sit on your stomach, leaning against your legs. Put up both thumbs for your child to drive the tractor. When your child pulls one thumb, the tractor hums and jiggles, but he pulls the other thumb, you spread your legs apart so your child falls between your legs (give him a shove if he anticipates and doesn’t fall.) He never knows which lever to pull, because it keeps changing back and forth.
11.Teach her how to roll down a hill, or do a summersault
12. Hold her hands, let her walk up your legs and flip over
13. Lie on your back, with knees bent. Let her sit on your feet, and give her a ride by lifting your feet so your knees come to your chest, then down again (good exercise!). If she enjoys that, you can lift your feet higher, but keep your hands on her shoulders to keep her from falling when she goes upside down.
14. When they get a little older, let them be an airplane stuntman--plant your feet on his stomach while holding his hands. Lift your feet in the air, then gently move your feet so he feels like he is flying above you. (As you can see, it can be fun for many years!)

Action Games with simple toys or materials

1.You roll a ball on the floor, he drops a cardboard box over the ball while it is still moving. If he can only drop it after the ball has stopped, try again in a month or two.
2.Build a tunnel out of chairs or boxes for your child to crawl through
3.Giver her a ride on a broom--she sits on it, and you drag her along
4.Make an obstacle course to climb under, over, around, through, etc. (follow a string)
5.Put a strip of tape on the floor, or a board for her to walk on (flat on the ground, but it feels like a tight rope!)
6.Once your toddler can walk on a board flat on the ground, put the board on blocks so it is an inch or two above the ground to walk on.
7.Jump over the tape or board, or jump off of the board. Young children can only step across. Try again in a month or two to see if she can jump with both feet.
8.Sit on the floor facing each other with your legs apart. Roll a ball back and forth to each other.
9.Throw a ball (or wadded up newspaper) into a box or trash can that is on a chair like basketball. Or kick a ball into a box on the floor like a soccer goal. (if your husband watches sports, your son will want to imitate what he sees, be it basketball, soccer, or tennis)
10.Build a tower of blocks and let your child knock it over or kick it down. Continue to build blocks together, and by the time they are three, should be quite good at it.
11. Build roads, tunnels, and ramps out of books to roll toy cars on. If you don’t have cars, roll toilet paper tubes down the ramps.
12.Give him a box and see what he does with it--put toys in, take toys out, sit in the box, get pushed by an older sibling or parent, turn it upside down and sit on it, or use it as a step stool, etc.
13. Make an indoor tent with a sheet or tablecloth over a table. Play house, or eat a picnic in the tent with your toddler.
14. Teach your child who is still crawling how to get down off of a couch or bed safely by pulling his legs over the edge until his feet touch the ground.
15. Teach your child how to safely go down stairs (even before she can walk!!) by showing her how to back down stairs one at a time. Put her on a staircase about 2-3 steps from the bottom, facing the stairs in a crawling position. Pull one leg down to reach the next step, then the other. Repeat this till she gets to the bottom. She can crawl back up stairs on her own. Do this several times until she gets proficient. Then you can be less worried if she somehow finds herself at the top of stairs without supervision.

Family Fun > Play with Toddlers

contact paper sun-catcher

thumbprint birds and wreath