At first the snow is magical. It's majestically silent and it's breathtakingly beautiful. What's also magical is the feeling of euphoria and awe that a snow day creates. Adults are out walking around with frostbitten noses and blue smiles. The sparkle of the snow matches the gleam in children's eyes as they run out to sled, make snow angels and build a snowman. Also, let's just be honest and say that everyone is glad for a break from the daily work and/or school routine.
However, this feeling quickly fades like perfect, untouched snow in a busy neighborhood. Everyone gets over being cold and shoveling the fallen snow. Cramped quarters result in strained relationships among family members. In general everyone goes stir crazy. I feel like having a toddler in the house escalates the process of becoming stir crazy exponentially. In order for us to maintain our sanity I've pushed my mom creativity to the limits to come up with plenty of activities to fill all nine hours that he is awake in the day (not like I'm counting or anything). I wanted to pass along 20 ideas on how to keep your toddler entertained and how to maintain your sanity on days when you are stuck at home.
1) Bubbles- These glistening soapy spheres are an easy and cheap way to provide endless entertainment for your toddler. I know that a lot of people don't like using bubbles inside but I use it on the hardwood and do a quick mop of the area afterwards. This activity is sure to get your little wild one running around and using their eye hand coordination to pop those bubbles. It's like watching a cat chase after a lazer pointer.
2) Outside Snow Play- Take advantage of mother's nature's free toddler enrichment. We took our son, Calvin, sledding around the neighborhood. He loved being out with the other kids and watching them go down the big hills. Calvin, himself, preferred the safety of the small and short hills. We also taught him how to make and throw snowballs. He watched and participated in his first snowball fight, which he thought was awesome. Looking back it probably wasn't conducive to teaching him not to throw things at people....whoops. He learned the art of making a snow angel but he did not enjoy laying down in the snow. We also took him on several walks around the neighborhood and observed the snow.
3) Snow Sensory Bin- Eventually the newness of the snow wore off and Calvin learned that he didn't like to be cold and wet. He stopped enjoying going out in the snow so I brought the snow in to him. I filled up a large Tupperware container with snow, cups, bowls and scoops. He loved getting to play with the snow and stay warm at the same time. This activity came to a halt once he tried to have an indoor snow fight. It kept him entertained for about thirty minutes, which is an eternity for a toddler. It also wasn't that messy of an activity since we quickly stopped once he began throwing the snow.
4) Simon Says- This is one of my favorite activities to do with my son because he is constantly amazing me by being able to imitate me in ways that I didn't think he would be able to. He has fun trying to copy me and learn new coordinated moves liking jumping and snapping his fingers. He finds it equally as humorous when I copy him. This has also been a great way for us to teach our son to freeze, which is a necessary tool once Calvin is able to book it when he sees a ball or hears an ice cream truck. You can't beat a free, no set up or break down activity that really strengthens the bond between a parent and child.
5) Music and Dancing- Just get up and then get down with your kiddo. We immerse him in a variety of music. Sometimes we use instruments like shakers or whistles. Sometimes we dance with scarves or pom poms. And sometimes I hold him and dance. Just switch it up. Get your kid moving and immerse them in the arts. Calvin loves to dance...unfortunately he has his dad's dance moves as of yet, but he still has time.
6) Magic Carpet Rides- Calvin absolutely loves to be pulled around on a blanket. I will go slow and fast and use those words as I alternate speed so he learns their meanings. This activity seconds as a workout for the parent pulling their heavy demanding toddler around. This same concept works great with an empty laundry basket. You can even have your little wild one help empty and refill the hamper before and after playing. This is an easy free activity sure to cause a backache, result in a workout and lead to lots of laughter.
7) Puzzles- We love working on one piece puzzles or the shape sorters. He is finally starting to get the hang of them. These puzzles help hone his fine motor, patience and problem solving skills.
8) Books- Calvin is super in to reading right now, which I love. We read a variety of books including: peek a boo books, textured books, books with sounds and soft fabric books. These books provide many different textural and visual learning experiences for him. He loves to flip thru the book and read to me and point at words and objects for me to name. The secondary benefit to this is I get to snuggle with my son, which doesn't happen very often as he is a squirmy toddler. I enjoy teaching my son words and seeing him excited to read.
9) Songs- I find a great way to teach him that holds his attention is thru songs. We spend a lot of time singing songs. I have a terrible voice but luckily Calvin doesn't care. Since he loves to mimic he prefers songs with hand gestures like "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Baby Shark" and "The Wheels on the Bus." I know...the dreaded Baby Shark song. I too told myself that I would never listen or play that song but he heard it once while we were out and he loves it.
10) Talking- I like to talk to anyone that will listen. Sometimes, when in the mood, Calvin likes to listen. I talk to him even if he's not listening; but if he is engaged we will go around the house and point out things and I'll teach him about those objects. It might make you feel crazy walking around the house talking and pointing but it is surprising to me how much he takes in from those talks. This goes a long way in language development so keep talking.
11) Sensory Bins- I get inspirations for my sensory bins from the dollar store. I stroll thru the aisles to find different themed toys or different mediums that would make a fun and engaging bin for my son. If there is a holiday I love to make a bin that celebrates that particular holiday. My bins are designed to support discovery, independent play and develop fine motor skills. Here are a couple of Calvin's favorite bins.
12) Stickers- I have an obsessive amount of stickers from my scrap-booking hobby. Recently, Calvin has gotten super in to stickers. He likes to explore the difference between the sticky and non-sticky side. He enjoys adhering them and trying to take them back off after he has stuck them on to something. This is such an easy and cheap way to provide your child with a busy task.
13) Coloring- We have recently started exploring coloring with washable crayons and markers. The first couple of attempts consisted of me preventing my son from being a marker sniffer or a crayon eater. Once we moved past that and he started to understand and enjoy the concept of coloring it has become more enjoyable for everyone. It doesn't entertain him for very long, and I have to keep a close watch so he doesn't color on something besides the paper or box, but it's fun to let him explore a new art form.
14) Toy Rotations- Switch things up! Calvin gets a new group of toys and books from his collection every week. This helps to ensure that the toys he plays with don't become old too quickly and that he feels like he has new toys to discover we rotate thru all of his toys. If I need some quick Mommy time or I need to complete some chores having toys that are easily accessible to him that he likes is a great way to promote independent play and to let him explore on his own.
15) Play-Doh- This is a fun, timeless and messy activity. Play-Doh is a blank canvas of creativity. Sometimes we will just feel and play with the play-Doh. Other times we will roll it out and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Another thing that we like to do is to take various shapes or textures and press them into the dough. The ideas are endless, but my patience sometimes is not, when I've told him not to try and eat it or smear it off of the splat mat we are using for like the hundredth time. I would definitely recommend closely monitoring your toddler while they play with Play-Doh to ensure that they don't eat it and that your house doesn't become decorated with smears of it.
16) Magnets- Calvin likess to take off and stick the magnets to different surfaces like baking pans, muffin tins, the fridge and the washer. He also tries to stick them together and pull them apart. As long as the magnets are big enough and you feel comfortable, this is a non messy activity you can give your kiddo to entertain themselves while you do chores or go to the bathroom.
17) Sorting- Let them sort whatever you want them to sort. Some good things to sort are large pom poms, colored pop-sickle sticks, colored balls and beans in muffin tins. The choices are endless. It's a good way for them to learn about similarities between objects whether it be size, color or type. It just takes a few minutes to throw some stuff together for them to sort and a couple of sorting bins. This quick idea will keep your little ones busy for a few while you take a breather. If you are not a natural at chatting it up to your little one it is a great way to spark an easy conversation with them.
18) Bath fun- Our little merman loves the bath. We do weekly toy rotations in the bath to help prevent him from getting bored with the toys. Sometimes I will add different scents to his bath like flower petals or lavender. We've also done glow stick baths. He loves to get his rave on in the bath. In addition, I like to do some messy activities in the bath tub right before bath time. It's easy to clean up, they don't make a mess of their clothes and the mess is contained. I'm kind of a clean freak so this works wonders for me. Calvin loves to paint with edible paint like colored whip cream, yogurt or rice cereal, in the bath. He also loves to play with bubble foam. Bubble foam is just whipping up some bath soap so that it's thick and foamy. You can add in some food coloring to dye it. My goal during bath time, besides cleaning up my messy toddler, is for him to have fun so that he loves getting clean.
19) Water play- Calvin likes any excuse to get wet and splash around. This is an easy activity that is quick to set up and doesn't require you to purchase anything. It is also one of the activities that occupies him the longest. I just fill a large bin up with water and add in different cups, spoons, sponges and vessels to create a pour station for him. I do have to closely monitored him so that at least half of the water remains in the general vicinity of the pour station. He loves water play and even though it gets messy it is just water and it's easy to clean up. You can add in ice to give your little one a temperature variable. You can also throw in a couple of toys that float too so they can explore that.
20) Clean up practice- Every lady loves a man who cleans! I'm teaching him right and putting him to work early on. But in all seriousness he loves watching me do household chores and he enjoys assisting so I welcome the not so helpful help right now. Calvin likes to dust, load and unload the washer and dryer and sweep. Sometimes I will put big pieces of "trash" on the ground and use tape to mark an area for him to sweep it all into. I want to encourage him to be a clean, helpful person and right now cleaning practice is his favorite thing to do, which suits me just fine.
I hope this guide helps you to survive home imprisonment with your busy toddler. Sometimes it's hard to get creative and to have the energy to think of a variety of engaging things for your kiddos to do. Especially when you have the added pressure of them looking at you with their big cute eyes that say "what's next" or their mischievous eyes saying "I wonder what's in here since I'm left to my own devices." When this happens just go to the basics of what they like to do the most. You can also let them take the lead on what they want to do by exploring where they go or by letting them select the toys they want to play with. If all else fails get on the internet to gain some inspiration. And remember that you are doing a freaking amazing job and you will have earned your mommy drink for the evening.
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