keeping a spirited 18 - 24 month old occupied in doors

[Mum-of-Two]

Hi all.

My baby is bored.  And it is still summer time leaving me anxious about the winter already!

He's a semi-spirited boy.  Certainly much much more physically active then his sister.  When he is bored he gets into everything he can, you can't turn your head for a second.  And he's also cranky when bored.

I'm trying to come up with activities for him for the winter.  He will be home with his Grandpa during the day, for half the day his 4 year old sister will be there too.

They aren't playing very nice together right now.  The 4 year old is as bad an instigator as the 1 year old if you know what I mean?  They can color together but the 1 year old enjoys his crayons quite a bit and usually ends up coloring on everything he shouldn't or makes a game out of throwing the crayons, picking them up, throwing them again, repeat.

Any ideas to keep the restless occupied??

[rach321]

Cooking - making pizza's or cookie - my spirited monkey loves that. How about practicing washing up - either some plastic plates or maybe a few dolls or teddies could have a bath? Not sure if you can get them over in the US but how about one of those aquadraw mats - amazon do them here. Building towers and knocking them down is always a firm favorite.

[We Three]

Big legos......with something to put them in and out of...like a dumptruck or wagon?   There are small carpets that have "roads" on them so lo's can push cars along the road.  Play food and plates/cups.  Play-dough.  Paint-with-water books.  Magnets on the fridge...there are ones with letters that sing, and animal "parts" that you put together on the fridge.  More later!

[Mum-of-Two]

Thank you!  We have some of that but not all.  Maybe I need to set up his own station in the house to play -- but then the kids get jealous and want in to each others business.  Or, I could try their rooms -- oh, interesting thought indeed.  Different room too which is a nice distraction from the 4 walls of the living room with the occasional visit to the kitchen.

[RachelC]

Have you looked through this sticky?
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=70743.0

[We Three]

Yes, Jill.....my dd didn't touch her dollhouse when it was in the toyroom...but I put it in her bedroom and she plays with it all the time...no idea why...less distraction maybe? 

[Mum-of-Two]

I have not looked through the sticky, thank you!

We have a lot of toys in DDs room but haven't really converted the baby room into a play room yet.  DDs room is big enough that they play nicely in there before bed time.  I can see an opportunity to make it a bigger part of their day.