Are your little ones bored these long summer days? Or are you starting to run out of ideas to keep them busy? Well, I've compiled a list of fun things to do, when you're in doubt! Since I work part-time, from home, I need to find ways to entertain my two and a half year old while I'm working. Since we have the twins, I also want to be able to do fun things with her on our own, just mama and Ellie time. Below, are some super FUN & EASY things I've tried with my toddler to keep her busy and most of all HAPPY! Enjoy!
1. Pouring soapy water into measuring cups and buckets! Inside or better yet, OUTSIDE! Don't forget to bring trays and towels to dry with and sit on.
2. Make a bird feeder out of a toilet paper roll, peanut butter and bird seeds!
3. Make music!! You can use play instruments, real instruments or even just plain 'ole pots and pans!
4. Cook fun meals together :) Have your little one mix ingredients together or garnish a dish.
5. Decorate desserts or snacks with chocolate and sprinkles! Mmmmm...chocolate covered pretzels! Baking cupcakes and cookies are just as fun!
6. Have them put on a puppet show or tell them a story, using their stuffed animals as the characters! We made our puppet show theater out of cardboard and painted it with acrylic paint!
7. Draw a picture together using chalk on the sidewalk or even markers on a regular piece of paper.
8. Dance while playing some good old fashioned music!
9. Finger paint on canvases to hang up in your house or give as a gift!
10. Take them to a hands-on art class! I took Ellie to an Art Spark class held at a local children's store, The Spotted Goose. SHE LOVED IT! They had lots of fun projects for the little ones :) Check out their website for more info here ---> www.theartspark.com
11. Paint their face or get their face painted! My lovely sister painted this lovely heart on Ellie! <3
12. Pour rice into measuring cups! Make sure you have a tray or something to catch the loose grains. I have a breakfast in bed tray table for her to play on. It's the perfect level for her height! I scored it from Goodwill for $2.00!! My mom bought her those measuring cups (which she happens to LOVE and use EVERYDAY via Discovery Toys). You can find them here - Measuring Cups via Discovery Toys link.
13. Once she learned how to pour the rice from up really high...we decided to use beans and different colored buttons! She then separated them by color and it was easier to clean up for me ;)
14. Go to the library and borrow books. Sometimes they have free story-times along with arts & crafts, like the Campbell County Library! My sister is the Children's Programmer there. The best part of all of this...it's FREE FUN!
15. Learning math early on is always a PLUS! Get out those coins and cash them in!
16. Paint color-coded sheets with Q-Tips! 
17. Couch race-tracks with decorative tape! I used checkered duct tape I bought from Target.
18. Go to your local book store for a book signing! The Blue Manatee is a local bookstore that has some really great events for the kids. It's one of our favorite places to go :) At this event, the children got to meet and greet the author of Crafty Chloe, Kelly DiPucchio! Be sure to check her website and blog!
We've even made fun couch forts, played kitchen, watered plants, played picnics inside and outside, too. The possibilities are endless. Do you have any fun things you do to keep your kiddos occupied? What are they? I'd love to hear some of your ideas, too :) If you have a question about how to do a particular one, from the list above, just contact me! I'll be happy to share how we did any of our projects. Thanks for stopping by again and have a wonderful summer!
that is so stinkin' cute cuz! what a fun summer ellie is going to have!
ReplyDeleteThanks cuzzie! Can't wait to hang with you and the fam SOON!!!!!
DeleteThanks for sharing, sis! How fun are all of these activities! P.S. I'm totally making duct tape tracks with my PlayArt kids on Wednesdays! Thanks for the tip :)
ReplyDeleteGreat! Glad you like them ;) Let me know how the kiddies enjoy them!
DeleteGreat ideas!!!! I see lots that we already do, but a few new ones!!!! Thanks for sharing. You did a great job editing the photos as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the kind words!! Your feedback is MUCH appreciated!
Deleteomg. try this with a boy! i have a girl and a boy, and my girl would sit still for these activities, but my boy would just throw the beans in the air!!! could you post some boy-friendly things too? great photos,.. but i think a lot of bloggers get so wrapped up in making things look pretty that they're kid crafts aren't truly realistic.. but beautiful site. found you on pinterest thru many friends "likes"!
ReplyDeletehaha! Actually, I did hear that from another mom, too...about the beans! Well, that's boys and girls for you!! I figured beans would be easier to clean up than the rice. THANK YOU for the insight!! I will definitely be posting more "boredom busters" in the future. I also have boy and girl twins (currently 7 months) so I sure will be seeing their differences in the near future...eek!! Thanks for your interest in my site :)
DeleteMy son loves cotton balls and those fuzzy craft balls. Those would be easy clean up & no damage if thrown at mamas face!
DeleteHow freaking cute! I am so excited to try some of these with my 18 month old!! YAY thanks for posting cute blog btw :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Micki! Glad you stopped by to say hello! Let me know how it works out for you both ;)
DeleteGreat ideas. My little guy is just turning one, but my 6 year old daughter would love these ideas. Where did you find those ADORABLE cups?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Holly!! I'll be posting more things to do with boys, in the near future. So stay tuned ;-) My mother bought these awesome cups for my daughter from Discovery Toys - Here's the link http://bit.ly/LCmmDC! She literally plays with them EVERYDAY.
DeleteMy son has the Discovery Toys cups. I almost sold them in last consignment sale becuase we ran out of ideas for them. Yay I will keep them and use your ideas. Thanks so much! ,)
DeleteI promise I know how to spell "because". LOL
Delete@Lovin' Mommyhood, Glad you like those cups, too! bI swear by them. I'll be keeping those for a long time...when the twins get older, they'll get lots of use out of them, too! Thanks for stopping by to say hello :)
DeleteI'm a Discovery Toys rep and a Preschool teacher as well. I love Measure Up Cups by DT. There are so many possibilities in using these cups. Thanks for sharing your ideas and uses for them!
DeleteGreat ideas. I actually did the soapy water activity completely by accident the other day with my two year old daughter. I guess I'll have to try it again because she enjoyed it. You've shared some wonderful ideas, and I cannot wait to try them out. Megan
ReplyDeleteThank you, Megan! Yes! Do try it out again! And let me know how it goes ;-) I also checked out your blog. What a great concept for one! I'll be checking back at it from time to time. Thanks for saying hello!
DeleteMy 19 month old b/g twins would just pour the water on the floor. I have done the rice thing though, in their water table on a cool day. It was a huge hit. Most of these activities would work well for my daughter, but my son wouldn't have the patience. My 3 year old daughter would love all these activities though. I also work part time from home, while the twins are sleeping. I'm really looking for more activities for them, they get quite bored while my 5 year old and 3 year old are out of the house. I'll be keeping an eye on your blog. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response! It's nice hearing from other mothers of twins! I gotta make one of those sand/water tables, too! I hear those are great. I will have to find more toddler ideas and boy ones, at that! I'll definitely be posting some in the future. Thank you for stopping by and saying hello ;-)
DeleteGreat ideas! I've made a list too. You can see it here
ReplyDeletehttp://craftsbycj.blogspot.com/2012/06/25-activities-for-toddlers.html
CJ
Thanks for sharing your list! I'll have to try some of those, too! You can never have too many!
DeleteLots of great ideas. These are also great skill building activities!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Desaree for your feedback and stopping by to say hello!! I try to find educational projects and activities for my daughter :)
DeleteAwesome ideas! My two year old daughter thinks your daughter is her. They look a little alike :)
ReplyDeleteThanks!! That's sweet :) I checked out your blog and site, too! Great stuff!! And I started following you on Instagram!
DeleteI use pasta (the rotini and bowtie). Easy to clean up and great for teaching about shapes and sorting.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea! I'll make a note of that and try that next time. Thanks!
DeleteI absolutely LOVE the puppet theater! By any chance is there a tutorial posted anywhere?
ReplyDeleteThank you! My daughter LOVES it too ;) I will have a puppet theater how to, in the future. I've been meaning to share it! So stay tuned!
Deletewhat are these cups that you have - they look great!
ReplyDeleteThe cups you are questioning are the Measure Up Cups that can be purchased from me at www.discoverytoyslink.com/michellebigley
DeleteThey are wonderful and have many purposes. Take a look at the site and contact me if you have any further questions. My information is located on the website as well!
Yes, my mother got them from Discovery Toys! Check the link ^ above ;) You won't regret getting them. They're so useful for some many things. They're fairly cheap and totally worth it!
DeleteHi! Love these! I wanted to add the 1st pic and a link back to your blog on my blog. Would that be ok?
ReplyDeleteSure! Thank you for asking. Much appreciated! Thanks for stopping by :)
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