Happy Tuesday!
I have a different kind of post for you! I had someone reach out asking what I did with my girls while I worked on things with my son. It got me thinking and I thought I would highlight some of our favorite, easy prep activities for you to do with your toddler.
These are quick activities to keep your littlest ones busy while you focus on your bigger kids. I suggest that these be set up close by so you can still supervise, but easy enough that they can do them on their own.
Paper Tearing: This one is easy to set up and the paper scraps can be used for other projects (glue the pieces to a different pictures). I cut about one inch paper strips and let them tear them into pieces. This is a great fine motor activity too! The toddlers ripped the paper and my preschooler used it for
this!
Water Bin: This one can get be a little wet, but it is a great sensory activity! Fill a container with warm water. Add spoons or small cups and any other plastic toys you have. Your little ones can have fun adding the toys to the water or scooping the water into other cups!
Coloring Books: You're probably like that is not a brilliant idea BUT when your toddler is whining and you are about to lose it-coloring book. It is that simple :)
Object Transfer: This one can be done with any objects but we we like to use mini erasers, pom poms, and small plastic toys. Obviously use toys that your child knows how to use safely. They know not to put them in their mouth and like I said above we are always close to them while doing any of these activities. We take our objects from one container and put them in another. It is really that easy. Once their baskets are full they dump them in the empty bin and do it all over again!
No Mess Markers: This one is a great one if you aren't ready for the mess of "real" makers. These mess free markers only work on the special paper, so you can be confident your walls or child will stay clean :)
Stickers: This is a great fine motor activity and keeps them busy. I give them a sheet of stickers and a piece of paper and have them put the stickers on the paper. Sometimes when they finish their sheet of stickers they start pulling the stickers off the paper again. It is a continuous cycle :)
Tape: You can just put painters tape on the wall for your little ones to take off OR you can tape their small toys to the wall for this one. A great fine motor and *hopefully* after they pulled everything down, they will play with it!
Water Paint: This one we do for almost every season and theme. I print off a picture on a piece of construction paper and we use water to "paint" it!
Balloons: If you feel your child will be safe with it, we like to use a fly swatter to hit our balloons around the room. A great gross motor and fine motor activity.
Pom Pom Tubes: We made tubes out of paper, but you could use rolls from paper towel to do this one. Tape them to the wall and let your little one put their pom poms down the tube.
Pipe Cleaner Strainer: I took a strainer and put pipe cleaners in some of the holes. The little ones pulled each pipe cleaner out. Super simple, but fun!
Scoop and Pour: This one you can do if you feel your child will use the materials safely. I put some dried beans in a container and added some spoons. We used the spoons to scoop the beans and dump them into small bowls. Once our bowls were full we dumped them back into the bin.
I hope you can use some of these with your little ones at home. Again, only use these activities if you are close by and you feel confident your child will use each supply safely :)
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