Stacking

CP is one creative kid. We found that he does not get into trouble very often as we let him explore (safely) around the house (Inquiry learning). We only say no if it is breakable or can hurt him severely. We guide him to areas of the home that are fairly harmless. 

Yes, the cans can hurt him but we were working together and if they fell over we said "no big deal" and if you notice the cans leaned away from him (I may of had something to do with that, just in case)

On this day he was in the cabinet that holds tea, hot chocolate, and soup cans. He thought it was a great idea to try and stack all the cans. Well since there was about 8-10 I removed all but five from the situation so there was no fight and modeled how to stack the rest. 

Awesome motor skill and hand/eye coordination practice. 

We stack all sorts of things around our house. The usual of course, building blocks, Legos, cups. 

Now try a few unusual items to spice up your kiddo's day. It will help keep attention longer if you are able to change the items used. 
Examples: soda cans (full or empty - if you use empty, tape over the sharp opening), cups, plastic bowls, books (try various sizes and see if they can figure out the strongest "tower"), tissue boxes, empty toliet paper/ paper towel tubes. You get the idea :)

Rainy Days

 CP is an uber sports fan! She can do various errands on a rainy day as long as we tell him what our schedule is going to be. One of his favorite things to do is visit the golf store. They always carry kids sized clubs and putting greens. We have a practice sessions and get some wiggles out between stores.

 We have a few boxes that are low lying. It great balance practice to set them up near a wall and all kids to walk up and down the box or 2x4. Hold their hands the first time or two and allow them to get use to it and soon it will become a great independent activity.

Not only is our son a sports fan, he loves animals. We visit pet supply stores between errands to allow him to get out of the car seat and cart. We are investigating the hermit crabs and it is hilarious! You'd be surprised how many conversations can occur in a pet shop. Between the puppies, kittens, fish tanks, hamsters, birds, spiders, snakes, lizards, and anything else you can find there provides so many topics to practice conversations skills, language, types of habitats, appetites, etc. Be creative with what you decide to tell you kids! They learn a ton from adding a visual to vocabulary.

Cool Off on a Hot Day

 This summer has been so hot and we have needed to introduce a few new indoor activities that also allow for some stimulation and feel us cooled off. 

CP loves eating ice from our water cups. This gave me the idea of letting him play with ice! I used and extra shower curtain liner as a play mat on our floor and gave him a plastic tray of full of ice.

He used spoons and little Tupperware containers to transfer ice around and dump it on himself. 

He found that a lap full of ice was what he thought it was going to be as you can tell from his expression. 

This is a great sensory activity to help your kiddo practice hot/ cold, wet/dry, large/small, frozen/melted. 

It's never too early to start conversing with you child about things they experience. It will only build their vocabulary. 

Painting Made Easy

 My son LOVES painting. One of the first ways we were successful painting independently with minimal mess (for paint) is to use bingo markers.

Hand held paint makes it really nice so that even daddy is willing to get messy and Grandma doesn't get covered in various colors.

Some of the best places to get bingo paint markers are craft stores like JoAnn Fabrics and Hobby Lobby. They can also be purchased at any Target, Walmart, etc.

Indoor Pool

Stole this idea for a girl friend of mine! She found a pool that was small enough to be inflated in the house and used as a ball pit, sand box, toy box, or pool! It came with a small set of balls. I know you can buy a extra pack of balls fairly cheep on amazon or find it at your local store (target, mejier, etc.) 

Travel Play Dough Mats

We LOVE these mats for when we are out to dinner and need to hold CP until the food arrives. They are also fun in the car and of course around the house. I can stick CP in his high chair while I am making dinner, doing laundry, or trying to vacuum. 

~ Print various activity pages off of a great website that your child may enjoy.
~ CP loves animals and transportation, so many of our pages include items geared toward his interests.
~ You can use store purchased play dough or make your own. In an earlier post, you can find 10 different homemade dough recipes.
~ Ring clips are found in the office supply aisle and Target or similar stores.
~ Use a three hole punch with the middle punch removed (or however you want to connect them).

Laminate each page to make it last a LONG time. Laminaters can be found at WalMart for about $30 or any office supply store - this one was about $40. 5mm plastic covers work the best and are more sturdy that then 3mm.

A jumbo sized ziplock bag will hold a few small play dough containers and the 8x11 placemats you made.

 

Idea: http://planetoftheapels.blogspot.com/2011/09/busy-bag-swap-day-5-playdough-mats_05.html

Chicken Themed Mats

Giraffe Mats

 

 

Downloads:
Playdough Mats Instructions
Playdough Mats Booklet

Mix and Sort

One of the cheapest activities with a huge amount of success! I purchased a bag of three different kinds of dried beans (store brand from the local grocery store added up to about $5 total). I snagged an empty folgers container from my parents to use as storage.

CP loves to scoop and dump the beans on the floor. We practice using old measuring cups and spoons to scoop and aim where we dump. (we watch closely to make sure nothing goes in the mouth.)

We spend time sorting the size, color, shape and discussion how they are alike and different. You'd be surprised how much kiddos understand at 19 months old.

 

As you may notice, by the end of our play session, beans are EVERYWHERE. Now we use an old sheet as a drop cloth and we can easily clean up stray beans. 

 

One of the best pieces of advice I can give is to place these in a safe spot and bring them out on occasion. I believe this is such a huge success and am able to get quite a bit of play time and focused attention on this is because it is out of sight, out of mind. "New" each time I bring it out.

Reorganizing

CP has found that he loves to help reorganize the lower shelves of the refrigerator. He has become so careful with glass bottles, that I am not concerned with things breaking. He unloads the shelves and then reloads them when he is done or I ask him to. I find that if I let him unload them once and leave him be, he doesn't fight when it's time to clean up. And tons of praises come with he completes clean up. 

 (yes, cools the room - one way to help cool the house in this hot summer - we don't do this all the time.)

Splash Zone

Our family dog, Zeus, loves the water and enjoys helping entertaining CP with some splashes. This trip to grandmother's house turned into a water park. CP couldn't get enough of people (and dogs) in and out of the $9 pool filled with cold hose water.

His favorite activity was having people throw balls to him seeing how big the splash was. He quickly threw them back out to see who would return them (aunt, uncle, grandma, or a dog)

Frogs aka "Ribbits"

We loved creating frogs, however ours were "destroyed" before a photo could be taken.

I did all the cutting and my son had fun with a glue stick. Yes, he did get messy as he was 20 months when we created our "ribbits", but we used our high chair for easy clean up. :) 

 

I do not have a heart punch. I simply cut hearts out of green paper. If you feel comfortably free cutting go for it, it cuts the time down drastically. I did find it helpful to use various objects to trace, to help show my son how to use different things from around the house to create other things.

I used scrap construction paper that I had in the 'leftover box'

"Entertaining the Baby"

This may be one of the professional photos we had taken with Jenni Kenney Photography but this happens frequently at our house. This is a great activity to help big brother understand gentle and slow. We spend time pushing and pulling our stuffed animal "friends"  and baby sister around.

Now, let me remind you that I am right beside him as we do this and am engaged in teaching the different parts of the wagon (wheels, gears, handle, etc) as well as opposites (fast, slow, gentle, rough, etc)

Little Tykes wagon (great for indoor spaces)Little Tykes Wagon (great for indoor use)

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

My son absolutely loves music and playing various "guess the body part". 

A couple of websites that I have found helpful to remember various lyrics, be inspired by classics and learn a few new songs.  - one of my favorites is listed last.

 

CP playing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

http://www.dsokids.com/ is a great website for kiddos to learn about music. You can listen to various composers, play games, learn the different sounds instruments can create, and a list of activities that parents can do at home to create music with their kids:

Make Your Own Instruments

• Build Your Own Xylophone
• Buzzing Brass Mouthpiece
• Make A Woodwind Instrument
• Make A String Instrument
• Tin Can Telephone
• Shakin' Maracas
• Brass Instruments Uncoiled
• Clay Pot Chimes
• Coffee Can Drums

http://www.childrensmusic.org/ is a website for children's music from all around the world. CD's can be researched and purchased through here as well as a whole network of songs and stories for all ages.

KPR (Kids Public Radio) - super cute

A new network for kids and families, featuring a wealth of 

web-based channels, archived audio, podcasts, and links 

- all free and commercial free!

www.creatingmusic.com
"Elementary-age students can enjoy exploring, creating and manipulating music."

New York Philharmonic Kid Zone! 'Oh, yeah, we are always looking for more good music sites! This one is all you would expect from this legendary orchestra. A Game Room of musical games. An Instrument Room area that explains every instrument and lets kids hear it play. An Instrument Lab that lets kids create their own instruments, and a Composition Workshop that lets kids compose! (That one needs Shockwave.) Kids can also learn about famous composers, famous NYP conductors and soloists, and NYP musicians.' http://www.goodsitesforkids.org/Music.htm

http://www.mightybook.com/classics.html Children sing songs, read stories, play games, hear jokes and solve puzzles while. There are hundreds more books inside…and NO ADVERTISING! 

Love Nursery Rhymes

http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/index.htm These sections contain more than just the words/lyrics.  Each section has free printable coloring pages, craft ideas, puppets, felt board characters, word wall Templates, picture crossword puzzles and other activity sheets to go with the songs, rhymes and stories! 

http://www.zelo.com/FAMILY/NURSERY/  Full of Mother Goose favorites! 

http://www.world-english.org/rhymes.htm    - Love this website and the ideas for parents to do with kids!!!

"Children in English-speaking countries learn many rhyming songs during their early years. 

Here are some of the more well-known. Many are several hundred years old. 

If you're a teacher at school these rhymes work well in classes of younger children. 

They can be sung or spoken. Click here to read some ideas on how to use 

rhymes with children."

Thrifty Finds

Check out your local thrift stores, Savers and Goodwill. You never know what you'll find. We found jumbo box of Duplo Legos for $4 and this UNOPENED Chuggington track for $7!!