A wicked cold, snow, and a closed daycare was making me a stir-crazed mama. I needed ideas to keep my kiddo’s brain learning and his body moving. I found a wonderful collection of books from the Library that gave me the boost and inspiration I needed to be the fun mom!
50 Fantastic Things to Do With Toddlers by Sally Featherstone
Simple, no fuss activities to get you through days at home with your moving and learning toddler! I grabbed more than a few ideas from this book – playing with household items like clean recycles and a small egg pan, playing telephone with a toy phone, and putting a hat on my son’s head and letting him put it on mine. Quick, easy, and hours of entertainment!
100 Easy STEAM Activities: Awesome Hands-on Projects for Aspiring Artists and Engineers by Andrea Scalzo Yi
I loved all the activities in this book, which offered a wide variety of projects for multiple age ranges. I tried two activities that managed to keep my toddler’s focus: Googly Eyes Sensory Bag and Calm Down Building Block Sensory Bottle. You may need to purchase a few items to complete these activities with a mixture of items from around the house.
Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids: 60 Easy Creative Play Projects That Boost Brain Development, Calm Anxiety and Build Fine Motor Skills by Mandisa Watts
This book is ideally for kiddos 18 months and up, but they have a few taste safe ideas for my kid who is 13 months old and still obsessed with putting everything in his mouth. One bin used rolled oats and steel-cut oats as bin material. Another favorite for bin material was Cheerios! The rest is pretty much stuff you already have at home! And all the other bin ideas too will have you using items you already have.
Loose Parts 2: Inspiring Play With Infants and Toddlers by Lisa Daly
At 282 pages this book was a visual gem of tinkering joy! Gave me so many ideas of things around our house to encourage imagination and play. A Bundt pan and clothespins, spoons in a wooden bowl, and cheerios in a mini donut pan were just a few items of inspiration from this book. Also check out Loose Parts and Loose Parts 3 for more ideas!
Good luck out there and have fun!
~posted by Kara P.
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