Dear Reader,
I have had the idea of putting small objects in ice cube trays for quite a while, but I couldn’t find the pompoms I have somewhere in my craftroom-mess-that-is-now-storage. I did, however, come across a box of halloween trinkets! That discovery is both helpful now and will save me a ton of trouble in a few weeks, when I can hand them out to trick-or-treaters. I thought for sure our city would follow all the neighboring cities and ban festivities, but they’re still allowing trick-or-treaters.
The spiders are bigger than I wanted for this activity, so I’ll probably still do it again with the pompoms when I find them, but it’s still a good activity for finger control and hand-eye coordination. And it’s festive!
In case you need instructions, get an ice cube tray and a pack of plastic spiders. Place the spiders in the tray, and hand them to your toddler!
I gave the trays to the girls first thing this morning, while I was making breakfast. It kept them pretty distracted, actually! I had time to finish breakfast and come sit and play with them!
When they started getting bored with that, I turned the trays over and showed them that the spiders could fit between the trays, too! Truth be told, I think these spiders are much more entertaining with the back of the ice cube trays, because they’re thin so they fit between and can slide around the little mounds for the ice.
One twin played with the spiders and trays until naptime, eagerly coming back after her breakfast was all gone. I’m glad she enjoyed it, but it goes to show that even the simplest things that you don’t think will entertain a toddler can hold such mystery and exploration. I think that’s my favorite thing about toddlerhood – the general fascination with and ability to learn from anything.
