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Dear Reader

I confess, I totally stole this idea from Pinterest; and I confess, that as most things stolen from Pinterest, it didn’t go as planned. I saw the idea for sticking toys to painter’s tape and making a toy web and I thought, “oh! this should be fun.” What I didn’t account for is that I should have done it during naptime, because I barely got it set up before the toddlers had to get involved. I think I will do this activity again but I will take my own advice and set it up during naptime. If I do it again, I’ll update!

I had my preschooler fetch toys to stick to the web (she loved that!). Finding just the right toys is harder than you’d think. Painter’s tape isn’t really all that strong, so it doesn’t hold a lot of weight. And I didn’t want anything furry/fabricky because I was worried about how well they’d stick (although as I think about it after the fact, they’d probably have been fine). Fisher Price Little People are a great option, if you have any. They’re hollow and small, easy to grab with little fingers, and stick well to the painter’s tape. The preschooler actually grabbed an eclectic variety, but what did I care?

the “game” lasted all of 5 minutes in reality, but had I had time to set it up better (aka, not been bombarded with toddlers), I think it would definitely last longer. And they did come back over and over, to get more tape off of more toys. One toddler enjoyed crawling under the tape (ironically, she’s the one eager to walk more, and almost runs), and the other enjoyed freeing the toys and would sit and pull the tape off each one.

It was pretty fun, even though it was quick. And watching them try to get the tape off was pretty entertaining. And now I have a whole roll of painter’s tape (I know we have some somewhere, but I couldn’t find it when I went looking, and it cost me all of a dollar ninety-eight to go buy a roll) to do it again. But this time I’m setting it up during naptime!

Dear Reader,

Today we made Bubble Snakes. My kids have always loved bubbles. I think most kids do. Most kids seem to be fascinated with them from an early age, which is why this is a good activity for all toddlers and older.

My youngest toddler did not get to experience this yet, but to be fair he is only just in the toddler stage. We did this while baby was napping.

All you need is an old sock, water, soap, a bowl, and some sort of bottle top. The original place I saw this had water bottles that they cut up, but I don’t have those plastic water bottles lying around. I did however have water bottle lids from a kids water bottle (I also wonder if a sippy-cup lid would work. If you try it out, let us know how it works for you!).

One recommendation I have is to make sure the sock’s heel is all the way on your lid. The bubble snake came out like a blob when I let the heel be off the lid… but it worked like a charm when it was on.

So, once you get the sock situated all that is left is making your bubble solution. Put dish soap in a bowl (I didn’t measure, I just poured a little in) and add water. Mix up your solution and then take it and your kids outside.

While my toddler loved this, it was definitely over her head on the blowing part. Since she is just barely figuring out how to blow regular bubbles I guess this shouldn’t be too much a surprise. She did however love the bubble snakes and would giggle with glee every time.

As your kids get older you will have to be less involved and be able to let them enjoy themselves, but even after they figure out how to blow the bubbles you may want to be the bubble station if you want it to last more than 5 minutes. My kiddos always end up tipping the bowl.

Hope you enjoy!

Dear Reader,

I know, I know. Another classic activity. But I don’t know how you can really go wrong (in your kids’ eyes) by letting them bang on pans… I say that, but all the noise totally made one of my toddlers cry. One more reason I think the poor girl has another ear infection (she doesn’t always get fevers with them, but she does get them a lot). Eventually, she did get in on the fun, so who knows, maybe it just startled her.

As far as prep, well it’s as easy as grabbing some pans (preferably not the ones you’ll need for dinner that night, because I don’t consider toddlers all that sanitary and if you don’t need the pan for dinner it gives you the ability to wash the pan on your terms) and some kitchen spoons and showing them a time or two that it’s okay to bang on the pans. personally, I wasn’t worried about denting my pans because I don’t figure toddlers are really all that strong, and because I figured that either my pans could handle it, or they weren’t really good pans, anyway. And I have to say that even my weak pans are dent free. Not that I don’t think there’s some risk involved (please don’t blame me, do this activity at your own risk), but that I figured the activity would be fun enough without much damage.

the girls all loved it, including big sister! And she was great at showing them what to do.

We won’t mention how creepy it is to “eat soup” with a humanoid figure in it…

Anyway, I hope all is well with you and yours.

Dear Reader,

Today was overcast and not too hot yet, so the perfect day for sponge target. It was already hot and humid at 9:00 so if you are looking for a good activity to get your kids to go out and play in the sun, but still stay cool, this is a good option.

This activity was great for both the older toddler and the preschoolers. That being said I focused mostly on my toddler for this one.

My toddler loved playing with sponges, and what is even better is that it is an activity that I didn’t have to monitor too closely. It kept them busy for a good 20 minutes and they would have been longer had I been willing to add more water to the bucket.

Another plus was that it took minimal setup (busy mom can’t afford to spend all day planning activities). All you need is a bucket (or something to hold the water), sponges, and some way to mark targets. I chose to use sidewalk chalk because it would be easy cleanup for me, (just the bucket and sponges to clean up) but you could use whatever your heart desires. My only caution is to make sure it is easy to clean up after yourself (Painting a target with paint that won’t wash off probably isn’t a good idea)

The steps are pretty simple:

1. Draw a target on the ground or wall.
2. Put out a container filled with water and sponges.
3. Demonstrate what is expected.
4. Sit back and enjoy.

Dear reader,

I don’t know about you, but we’ve had one heck of a week with our brand new toddlers! Between growth spurts and *more* ear infections, we’ve had some crabby babies on our hands. Luckily, babies love a good “game.” Mommy interactions, playing with toys we don’t always play with, and simple skills challenges all put babies in better moods. Or at least distract them from the pain and frustration.

It’s pretty easy, actually. Put a bunch of toys in a container and practice putting the toys in and pulling them out! Babies and young toddlers are fascinated with the concept of where a toy goes when it “disappears” out of their sight, and are excitedly learning the concept of object permanence, so there’s not much prep involved to keep a toddler entertained. First, let them empty the container. Then fill it! Then, maybe a little of both! The think that I love about toddlers is that as long as you’re playing with them, there’s no way to lose!

But honestly, to be real, it’s just nice to have something easy to do to keep toddlers entertained and busy for a few minutes. Next to looking after the terrorizing of everything else in the house, picking up the balls after they’ve lost interest in the “game” is easy. I was worried as to whether I lost my sanity when I bought 1000 ball pit balls from Amazon. But so far (and by only bringing out a few at a time), they’ve been a fun distraction. By all means, though, I realize that most of the world doesn’t have ball pit balls at their disposal, nor am I advocating going out and buying 1000 of them, though if you do, I won’t think you’re crazy. Please, just know, this activity works with any toys and any container. And please, lemme know if you try it!