Author Topic: Indoor activities for the "new" toddlers  (Read 1766 times)

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Offline GG

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Indoor activities for the "new" toddlers
« on: April 04, 2006, 02:23:16 am »
I've been racking my brain trying to come up with some indoor activities to do with DS who is now 13 mo. The weather is getting warmer but it's been very windy or rainy or just plain yucky outside, so I haven't ventured out yet (plus, I'm getting closer to the very pregnant stage and can't lug him around as much).  I found some ideas on the Web and thought I'd post them on here for others. If any parents have comments on these (positive or negative) or additional suggestions, please feel free to post.

* Hide-N-Go-Seek: Your toddler will not only have fun playing with you and testing out their new found walking legs (works just fine with crawlers, too) but they will also learn that, just because they can't see you, it doesn't mean you're not coming back for them.

* Point and Name: Help your toddler's eventual verbal skills as well as their exploration of the world around them by pointing to objects and then naming them. Eventually, your toddler will be able to point to the object when you name it.

* Pudding Paint  (you can do something similar with flavored gelatin)
  Materials: Instant pudding, food coloring, small containers for pudding, long sheet of bulletin board paper or heavy craft paper,
               soap and water.
  Description: Prepare pudding and tape paper to a table. Give each child their own container of pudding, then let them use
              their fingers to do the rest. Talk about how it feels between their fingers, about the taste, and the smell.

* Bowling
  Materials: Empty 2 liter soda bottles and balls.
  Description: Set up plastic bottles like bowling pins, have toddlers use a lightweight plastic ball to roll from a short distance
               to knock the bottles down. This will be best accomplished by showing them, the first time, what you want them
               to do. The bottles do not have to be set up in a specific way so try to get the toddlers to help set up as well as bowl.
 
* Feelings and Emotions
  Materials: Felt circle for face, eyes, nose and different mouths for feelings (mad, happy, sad, etc.),
             eyebrows for mad = straight lines at angle, sad etc.
  Description: Create a face board and use the different faces to show toddlers; happy, sad, mad, scared, etc. Felt works really
             great because it sticks and is easy to get off and on quickly.

* Color Glove
   Materials: White work gloves;  red, yellow, green, blue and orange paint.
   Description: Take the white gloves and paint the fingers only of both hands. Paint them red, yellow, blue, green,
             orange, so that you have two of each color.  Then, sing this song.

     Tune: "Where is thumbkin" or "Are you sleeping?"
        Where is red? (bring one hand up with all fingers showing)
        Where is red? (repeat with other hand.)
        Here I am,  (wave one hand)
        Here I am (wave other hand)
        Show me if you can, (Hold hands up)
        Show me if you can.
        Where is red?
        Where is red?

       Repeat this with all the colors allowing the toddlers to show you the colors.
Georgia, mom to 3 sweet babes: touchy Foti, spirited Lena & not-so-tiny Joanna




Offline SophieB

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Re: Indoor activities for the "new" toddlers
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2006, 10:46:55 am »
Fabulous suggestions - thanks.  I had some more, but seem to have lost them. Will post again if I can find them.


Eleanor - 13/12/04

Offline Mum to cool dude

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Re: Indoor activities for the "new" toddlers
« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2006, 12:36:55 pm »
Just what I had been looking for, thanks !

Apparently, DS also likes playing with jelly at nursery but we haven't tried it yet

Recently, I made pizza dough and DS played with it, then we finished the pizza, cooked and ate it !

Offline ~Angie~

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Re: Indoor activities for the "new" toddlers
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2006, 19:15:10 pm »
We have a sensory box that my DS loves. It is just a large plastic storage box and each month we add different things to it. Right now, we have rice, measuring spoon/cups, and muffins tins in it.
Here is the link where I got the idea from and ideas for each month.

http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/activites_for_2_s.html#AugustSensoryTub
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Offline esmith

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Re: Indoor activities for the "new" toddlers
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2006, 18:56:47 pm »
I have not done this yet, but my friend got lots of pictures of family and kept them in a drawer that her toddler could reach.  Her daughter would take the pictures out and look through them over and over again.

I even thought that laminating them could make them safer for my 18mo and last longer.

Offline Nicholas & Steven's Mom

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Re: Indoor activities for the "new" toddlers
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2006, 03:28:21 am »
My 2 boys, aged 2 /12 and 13 months, love to crawl on cushions on the floor and roll their cars and trucks on them.
We origianlly had some varied size foam pieces that I covered with kid looking fabrics. But were moving and we've sent all of those away. So today I took the couch cushions off and they played just as well with those.

My 13 month old probably likes this more than the bigger one. Could be that he's more into it because of the big brother but it's a good rainy day/cold weather activity all the same. I don't think I ever tried anything like this with my older kid when he was 13 months....it amazing what the 2nd and subsequent kids get to do earlier because of older siblings...

HTH - Kristin
Kristin
Mom to Nicholas - Sept 2003
and Steven - April 2005