Tag: Toddler

Dear Reader;

One of my toddlers has really been making me feel like pulling my hair out lately! Everything she gets her hands on, if it crumbles, she crumbles it. Bread. Crackers. Noodles. Her sister’s slow-rising squishy toys. It has been such a struggle.

And then, in a rare moment of enlightenment, it hit me! She needs some sensory input. You’d think with a quote unquote neurodivergent preschooler, I’d get that by now. And I’m constantly left in awe at how new a concept sensory seeking is when it is suddenly so prevalent in my own family. I look back on my own habits, and quirks and I realize I have my own sensory needs, but without parenting my kids, I’d never have recognized them in myself. Really, who doesn’t just need to compulsively do something sometime?

So I broke out the sand dough. It’s perfect for “crumbling.” and squishing. And running it through little fingers. I have had this sand dough for a while and honestly if I had to choose between sand dough and playdough, I choose sand dough, hands down. First, it’s way easier to clean up compared to playdough. Plus, from a sensory input, I think you cover a broader spectrum of textures and muscle movements. it squishes but it also crumbles.

Whenever I buy sand dough, I always either buy the tan (not colored?), pink/red, purple, or blue dough so that when it mixes together it’s still purple. Because I know it’s gonna get mixed in. And that way I can keep it all in one big tub. Our sand dough has some cosmic moon and star confetti in it too! Because when my preschooler dumped it in, I was not in the mood to pull it out, lol. We have quite a few different sets of toys for the dough, but if you don’t have any, I recommend getting a scoop, a slicer and a little bucket. A cookie scoop, a dough slicer, and your smallest measuring cup will work just fine. A knife will work for a slicer but it isn’t nearly as satisfying.

I had packed all the sand and playdough up and stuffed it in the top of my closet because I was so sick of the chaos spread far and wide. This time, I gave each kid a metal cake pan in hopes that it’d help corral the mess and I was pretty happy with that choice! I put all our toys in the middle of the table and kids could use any toy that was not in their siblings’ pan. If a kid was still playing with their toy, it was safe as long as they kept it in the pan. I was surprised at how well it worked.

I was really glad I listened to my intuition and pulled the sand dough back out. I gave my crumbly-loving toddler a few crackers with lunch, just to test the theory, and she ate them instead of playing with them! I don’t know if it’ll really stick, but it was definitely an improvement! And if we go back to crumbling, I can pull out the sand dough again!

Dear Reader,

I’ve had a pin saved forever on pinterest for an activity for my toddlers that works on their pincer grasps and hand/eye coordination that involved pulling pompoms out of a whisk. I kept the pompoms close by, telling myself that I’ll use them for this activity sometime. This last week I got frustrated with myself for always just cleaning around them and continually reclaiming them from a couple of toddlers who sneak them into the front room and making a huge mess, that I set them in a different spot so that I could have them handy in order to do this activity with the girls this morning.

And then this morning came and I could not find those darn pompoms anywhere! I was getting so frustrated with myself, because I knew I was the one that moved them and lost them. I called my mom and asked where an overworked, exhausted mother would have set something so that she could go back and find it later, no joke. She wasn’t any help.

so I gave up and looked through my house for something little and pliable to stick in my whisks. Eventually, my eyes caught on these Lucky Charms marshmallows in my pantry. Perfect! we can totally work on shapes, too! I mean, they’re not the standard shapes, but they’re fun ones! Heck, colors, too!

The girls loved it! In fact, I had a heck of a time getting a good picture because they devoured the marshmallows too quickly. Granted, I don’t give them marshmallows that often (tmi but marshmallows go straight through these kids), so they were probably just scarfing them down because they couldn’t believe their good luck.

I found the pompoms about an hour ago. In a basket with a lid on it. Hey, it kept the kids out of it, right?

some days I don’t know what to do with myself.

Dear Reader,

How’s your weather? We have had nothing but storms, with no hint that it’s gonna let up any time soon. My little girlies don’t have much experience with this new white stuff, so of course they were dying to go out and play in it. They didn’t last long, but they had fun while we were out. I’m glad I invested in these silly adorable snowsuits. Aren’t the little pointy hoods just the cutest?

I’m sure that playing out in the snow is good for you, but I’m glad they’re still little and don’t last long because I’m a wimp, lol.

Okay, I know that outside play is good for kids. Not only is it some vitamin D, especially with the reflection from the snow, but it’s also a giant sensory bin in their back yard! They get to learn about the world around them, and science of the principles of water, and so much more. Kids really do need outside… so I guess I’ll deal with it for their sakes.

Dear Reader,

Kids love bubble wrap! My preschooler belted out her first belly laugh as a baby when her cousins popped all the bubbles in front of her. Her fascination with the popping plastic has never ceased from that day. But as babies and toddlers, the idea of plastic means having to spend time watching them so they don’t put the plastic in their mouths. Especially one of my twins! She loves eating plastic. I have to keep a close eye on her. I spend so much time getting things out of her mouth. And time around the holidays is pretty sparse. I was having one of those, “nothing is getting done,” days and decided I needed to just regroup, and so did my kids. Everyone was just cranky. So I decided while I was sitting, there was no harm in letting them have a good time and playing with the bubble wrap that came in the package we got this morning. My toddlers loved it!

They focused on each bubble, lined up their fingers and pinched! It was fun watching the focus! It’s crazy that something we don’t focus on too much requires so much focus. Plus, not only is it good for the hand-eye coordination, it’s also great for the pincer grasp.

When their hands get tired, they went back to stomping on it (something they already knew how to do. It’s definitely the easier way to pop bubble wrap) and I still superficially pat myself on the back because now they’re working on balance. Take your victories where you can! Especially on those spinning-tires days.

Dear Reader,

Younger toddlers love to play the pick up game. This activity takes advantage of that.

The gravity slide is just a slide for toys. This can be made with any toy and long item to make a slide. I used the lid to a big storage tub.

My younger two really enjoyed this activity, so much so that they fought over it. My suggestion is to have one for each toddler or to try to help them learn to take turns.

My youngest toddler didn’t quite grasp this but if I tried again when he is a little older I am sure he will be able to do it. He will also have more of an attention span for it as well and I won’t have to be as much a part of it.