Author Topic: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?  (Read 8377 times)

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Offline C&B&E

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What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« on: February 25, 2013, 19:55:58 pm »
I posted something similar for preschoolers/kindergartners, but I thought we could have a thread for younger lo's too.....

I love hearing about the fun things that people have been doing with their kids as it helps me to think up stuff to do with mine!  So I thought we could have a thread where we tell each other something that our children have enjoyed today/this week - can be a craft/activity/toy/trip out/anything really - the more simple the better!  If it helps to put a picture up or a link to a blog/website then that would be great.  Oh, and the aim of this thread is to help us think of activities when we are stuck for ideas, not to make us feel bad for not doing more with them  ;)!!!

So, I'll start us off....

DD is 19 mo and really into water play (mainly with her beaker at dinner time  :P).  So today we got out some water beads which are always a big hit here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aqua-Crystal-Expanding-Storing-Crystals/dp/B007K6HEJM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361818525&sr=8-1 I just set her up with a container, an egg cup to scoop and pour, and she was thrilled!

We also spent about ten minutes playing with some buttons.  I had some pink ones and some green ones that I'd picked up from a charity shop.  I quickly lined the bottom of two small boxes with a piece of pink paper in one, and green in the other.  Then we sat together and sorted the buttons into the two boxes.  She didn't really get the concept of sorting the colours (still think it's a little early for her) but she really enjoyed playing with and pouring the buttons :)

Would love to hear some snippets of what other people have got up to, or any blog links that you like  :).
Claire x



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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #1 on: February 25, 2013, 22:16:55 pm »
Ooh so glad you started this thread here too.  I saw the one on the preschoolers board and was tempted to join in for the ride and to get some ideas, but DS is only 2 so I have nothing to share for those older kids.

We had a few things this past week as it was half term and our regular toddler groups weren't on so I had to entertain DS a bit more than usual.  DS had asked if we could go to a restaurant so I set up a couple of lunches out across the week which helped
- lunch in a supermarket cafe.  Sounds dull but he had a GREAT time.  We just had sandwiches but he eats so well when we are out that he even ate an egg sandwich, no question.  Another day we went out for a pub lunch in a child friendly pub.  Another day we did the tourist thing and went to a chip shop.
- ride machines (without putting any money in it!) you know the sort that kids nag about going on.  Mine is more than happy to just get on and off a hundred times and pretend to be the bus driver, the ice cream man etc.  We had a happy 10 or 15 min play inside a supermarket (nice and warm) and could have spent a lot longer there only it was coming up to nap. Another day about 30 mins outside a supermarket, basically in the car park so on full alert even though DS is great with car park safety (this was a really cold 30 mins! Again DS would have been v happy to stay much much longer. I made a note to go back in the summer!).  We also went to one of the awful cheesy amusement arcades (we live in a tourist town on the coast) which DS loved, at least half a dozen ride on machines there and again he was happy to play on them without me paying for any of them to actually move.  Whilst we were there he went on his first fairground ride on his own, £1, and what joy on his face!!
- pet shop.  We've been once before.  Funny there were a few other families in there doing the same thing, just visiting the animals!

We did a few other things too, and on the whole had a great week (v cute he keeps talking about his holiday even though we didn't go away :) ), although I'm grateful for our regular toddler groups which mean I don't have to do all this every week :)


Offline anna*

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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #2 on: February 25, 2013, 22:38:00 pm »
Audrey's fave 'toy' at the moment is a little shoe box (from her first shoes :-*) and some huge buttons. The shoe box has a slit cut in the lid, she posts in all the buttons, then takes off the lid and tips them all out again. I love your pink/green idea Claire but I think she would still just put the buttons in her mouth. Yesterday me and Stan made her another toy from a drinking chocolate container and some lollypop sticks, with slits cut in the lid so she can post all the sticks in but they don't go through iyswim, just stick out like a porcupine.

Her other mission today was to steal tiny Lego guys from Stan and trying to 'run' away fast enough that he couldn't catch her and grab them off her. Lots of screaming when he (of course) did and (of course) reclaimed his Lego.





Offline C&B&E

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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2013, 19:29:39 pm »
I love the ideas ladies! Keep em coming  :)

Creations - we love going to the supermarket cafe too - we're so rock n roll  ;)!  Your post inspired me to take a trip to our corner shop this morning which both of them *loved*!!  E loved mooching around looking at all the fruit an veg and choosing an apple to buy  :)

Bought a little pot of cocktail sticks which I tipped into a box and she enjoyed poking them all back through the little hole in the lid.  Anna, I love the buttons idea - I am going to try that tomorrow. 

Another hit here is playdough (make a big batch in about 3 minutes - or 10 when E is 'helping'  :)) - especially with some cut up pipecleaners to stick in, or I've got some silicone muffin cases and birthday candles that are fun for making little playdough cakes with.  I love this site for playdough ideas - she's so creative http://www.theimaginationtree.com/search/label/Play%20Dough
« Last Edit: February 27, 2013, 19:33:08 pm by Claire (&B&E) »
Claire x



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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2013, 19:36:10 pm »
Bubbles!
Short+sweet!






Offline C&B&E

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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2013, 19:44:13 pm »
^^ ah, yes - a classic  :)

Thought of something else which we did last week.  I took some string, some (stale) cheerios and a pair of scissors to the park and we made some simple bird feeders.  Just tied a twig onto the end of the string to stop the cheerios from coming off and the kids threaded them onto the string.  We then hung them up in the trees  :).  Of course the kids ended up eating half the cheerios  ::), but I won't mention that bit  :P
Claire x



Offline anna*

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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #6 on: February 27, 2013, 20:05:18 pm »
Audrey stood up on the step stool at the sink while I did the washing up. Put an apron on her, gave her a brush - she loved it. In fact, I left the warm tap running and she kept on playing for a good 15-20 mins after the washing up was done while I had a nice coffee and checked BW! The floor was soaked but it needed washing anyway, and she needed a change of clothes, but it was warm water so she wasn't cold.





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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2013, 06:23:11 am »
That was my favourite game as a child anna!
Unfortunately,it didnt carry through to adulthood!






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Offline Khalam's Mama

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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2013, 15:29:19 pm »
Balls and balloons. Keep mine busy for ages.

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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #10 on: March 02, 2013, 09:46:39 am »
take a trip to our corner shop
Ooh we do this lots when there is nowhere else to go.  I always made a point of taking him to the shop when I had nothing or just one or two items to buy so he had my full attention.  He is a DREAM at the big supermarket shop (and helps get the shopping and push the trolley), I'm sure it's from our regular practice runs to the local shop.

Anna you reminded me of a toy I made.  An empty pringles tube, slit on the lid. Covered the outside with decorative paper and made a set of letters on lolly pop sticks, using both upper and lower case stencil set and felt tip pens.  Kept him occupied for about an hour initially.  Lining up all the letters in order, then posting them through the slit, then working out how to get the lid off etc.

Claire love the bird feeder idea too - how creative!

Yesterday I was just recovering from an awful D&V virus, DS had already recovered so of course wanted to run up and down like a loon.  It was DS's idea, we played skittles with a ton of toilet roll tubes and a ball.  Could use balled up socks if you have a no balls house rule.  Took me a while to decipher his request of "make it a sh!t house" as being "making it skittles" lol

Off out to feed the ducks now.  Make him giggle so much!


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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #11 on: March 08, 2013, 13:02:13 pm »
We've been playing a bit of "I spy" when traveling and F really enjoys it - instead of saying the letter name, I say the sound, so for example "buh" for ball, or "sh" for sheep. That kept her amused for aaaaages this morning. And she's getting super fast at guessing, too! She also likes "who am I" - I give clues describing a person (or toy) she knows, and she guesses who it is.
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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #12 on: March 09, 2013, 11:05:42 am »
Love the I spy - we sometimes did it with colours when B was younger. 

Ev has been enjoying digging in the garden this week!  We've got some soil and gravel and she gets her little spade and likes to make piles with it  :).

Also, playdough with boogly eyes - she spent a good hour making "cute" (in her words  :D) creatures. 

She liked threading (with assistance) some dried pasta onto some string. 

Oh and I bought a sticker book from the £1 shop which is a big hit since she is c.r.a.z.y. about sticking!

Claire x



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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #13 on: March 09, 2013, 13:56:37 pm »
Claire we used to make those bird feeders with Cheerios lots when C was younger and she loved it, she loves threading and will sit for ages doing it. Love the googly eyes and playdough creatures idea, am going to do that this afternoon after her nap. She loves playdough too.

We played a good game at tumble tots this morning with a ball. We did the usual rolling, bouncing, throwing, etc. Then we had to stand with our legs apart and the DC had to kick the ball through our legs. So simple but C loved it and it was quite a challenge if they were far enough away. We also rolled it through and then swapped over and we kicked it through their legs, which C thought was hysterical! Especially if I missed. :P



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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #14 on: March 10, 2013, 13:09:31 pm »
Then we had to stand with our legs apart and the DC had to kick the ball through our legs.

F LOVES this. It's the only thing she ever wants to do with a ball - "Mama make a tunnel. Mama make a tunnel!"

DH and I were busy assembling furniture today, so F spent a fair bit of time "helping" - sorting through the screws etc. She always wants to use DH's tools, so she's allowed to use an allen key and she follows along behind us, pretending to tighten the screws that we have just put in.


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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #15 on: March 10, 2013, 13:29:57 pm »
Well the playdough creatures were a massive hit to say the least. We sat at the kitchen table and DP and I sat with DD at first making models. Then we kept getting up and pottering about then coming back and DD sat there busy for an hour and a half!!! I was amazed. We used googly eyes, plastic jewels, pipe cleaners and coloured Lilly sticks. She made 2 spiders, a fish, a beetle, a butterfly and a ladybird. They were really good and it was great fun, especially putting the sparkly jewels on for decorations! When we has tidied up DD said "we have had so much fun doing that haven't we mummy?" Bless her she loved it. Thanks for the idea.



Offline anna*

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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #16 on: March 10, 2013, 20:03:15 pm »
I was cleaning out the pantry cupboard and got a load of out of date rice/dried pulses etc (I know they would still keep) and emptied them into a big pan and put it on the floor. Gave Audrey a few utensils (a small scoop, a mini balloon whisk, a pastry brush) and a little bowl and she was kept busy for 20 mins scooping, pouring etc. There was a lot of mess but it took all of 3 mins to vacuum it up quickly. I put most of the grains in a tupperware tub to play with again next time.





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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #17 on: March 10, 2013, 20:19:50 pm »
Play doh aliens here.  He loved it for a while before turning it into a pour and dump game with the googly eyes instead.  Which then led to a big bowl, couple of smaller tubs and a plastic bottle with a load of popping corn (not cooked) for pouring practice.
Skittles with toilet roll tubes again today.


Offline *Liz*

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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #18 on: March 10, 2013, 22:39:44 pm »
Megan enjoyed washing rice  ::) ::). Glass bowl, water and rice. Stuck hands in and messed about with it, then we poured away the starch water and repeated again.

She enjoyed it, although the aim was to wash the rice for dinner really  ;), and to allow her to help when there wasn't really any jobs for her to do. Kept asking 'what is Megan playing with?'. Simple sensory stuff basically... But she did like it  :P.

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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #19 on: March 11, 2013, 10:29:06 am »
Rice sounds fun - I'm going to do that next time we have rice for dinner!

Ev is currently sticking pieces of cut up paper and small pompoms onto sticky back plastic that I sellotaped to the easel (works just as well on the back of a door though).  I'm planning on drawing a simple scene (ocean/jungle or something) underneath it tomorrow, and giving her some fish or animal shapes to stick on top. 
Claire x



Offline Khalam's Mama

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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #20 on: March 12, 2013, 22:20:43 pm »
My boys enjoyed playing with shaving foam with pans and spoons.

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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #21 on: May 04, 2013, 21:36:04 pm »
Pond dipping!! Or rather, 'stream dipping' in a very shallow stream. Wellies on, fishing net, a plastic container and magnifying glass = lots of fun  :D!  Only downside was that the "cuuute" (Ev's description) little creature that we held on a pebble for ages actually turned out to be a leech  :-X :-X.  I was fine until I googled it when we got home and then felt grossed out!
Claire x



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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #22 on: May 04, 2013, 22:36:27 pm »
Over the past couple of weeks we've done a series of postal activites.
Made a post box from a recycled cardboard box, I did the cutting out of the slot and made a door in the back, we painted it together.
Used alphabet stencils to pick out the right letters then drawn them onto another card for 'collection days and times' and stuck in on the front.
This led to a flurry of letter writing (scribbling and using stickers), card writing, writing envelopes, putting stickers on for stamps and posting the letters...then collecting them and handing them out to people.

Then another day I cut another box up so it stood up on it's own and had a service hatch or widow to look through and called it the post office. We didn't even get to paint it yet because he was so excited to play post offices that we just dove right in.  With the service hatch set up on his little table I provided a couple of tubs for in and out trays, pens, stickers, post it notes, a bunch of small pieces of coloured paper and various sized envelopes etc and we took it in turns to put on funny accents and role play customers coming to buy stamps etc.  If I asked for 14 stamps he had to stick 14 stickers onto a piece of paper to give to me, then write out a receipt for the transaction.  Then I remembered I had a date stamper and ink pad so that was added and he just loved stamping it over and over all officially :)
I'm going to save up any application forms or return forms from junk mail to add to it so he has boxes and forms to fill in too.

My heart melted when one morning we had just got up, he dashed to his table 'wrote' a letter with scribbles and stickers, i could see how precise he was trying to be in where they went even though the end result looked haphazard and just random, a lot of care went into it.  Then the envelope, then folding the paper so it would fit in the envelope and eventually he presented it to me, 'letter for mummy'.  I asked him what it said, 'I love you'  ;D


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Re: What did your 1-3 year old enjoy doing today?
« Reply #23 on: May 05, 2013, 22:03:48 pm »
It's been really hot and dry he, then all of a sudden we had rain rain rain. So our front lawn has mushrooms all over it. Z is LOVING them, he collects them, smells them, counts them. Looks for small ones et . It's provided him with over an hour of fun!

Love how toddlers enjoy the simplest of things.
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