monkey with the attention span of a fish

I must admit, i've been trying not to make this blog about kids, but more about 'cherry rockette' the brand and the craftiness/sewing that goes with it. but let's admit, i AM a mum and i have days when i just have total brain death and can't think of how to entertain the monkey with the attention span of a fish. so i've been doing a bit of hunting around to try to find some ideas i can pin on the fridge for when i need an influx of new ideas. now there are many many bloggers out there with ideas of great things to do, so i'm not even going to try to compete with them on a regular basis by any means. but a one off post to pass on some info i've collected/thought of in the hope that someone else out there finds it helpful, well i think i can manage that! to be honest i'll admit that i'm hopeless at the link backs(very un-profesh blogger that i am), so if you see something on here that was your idea, please do let me know and i'll give you the link and the kudos.

*water play (use last night's bath water if you have restrictions)
an obvious one, but a few household items thrown in the kiddy pool to play with can keep him amused for longer. the current fave toy is a short length of garden hose with a funnel shoved in one end. a squeezy bottle, sieves, balloons, whisks etc... you can also add food colouring and clear containers for a new twist.(or beetroot juice if you want to avoid food colouring)

*painting/scribbling
for those kids(like Kingston) who still eat the crayons, try painting with food items such as beetroot or tomato/soy sauce on newspaper. or food colouring added to flour paste.

*indoor obstacle course
an especially good location is a hallway if you have it. put a quilt down on the floor first if you have hard floors, then fill with anything soft in the house (pillows, toys, blankets) and let them crawl and climb and go crazy. add a sheet over two chairs as the start/end tunnel, and anything you have that adds more fun, such as a hoola hoop to jump into, a tunnel to crawl through, a drum to hit at the end. let your imagination to wild. haf the fun is getting them to help you!

*playdough
personally i found that at 14mo, kingston was not really interested in using playdough, but i did find i could amuse him by putting blobs of it on the kitchen floor for him to step on and squish between his toes and fingers. putting bangles of dough around his wrists/biceps, ankles etc was great too, as he instantly became more aware of those parts of his body, although very briefly before ripping them off! but using it as a sensory experience for the younger toddlers is another take on it if they're not ready to create/construct yet.

Sticky stuff. give them a cheap fridge magnet and they can go around trying to see where it can stick. avoid this variation if tired though, because they can get frustrated if the magnet won't stick to something. instead you can put a bit of tape on the back of photos (usually photos of the cat) and let them walk around sticking the photos to various objects. or tape a piece of contact paper to the wall and cut out different shapes from construction paper so they can make a collage.
scoop and sort:
place bowls and cups and plates on the coffee table and sort through different kinds of pasta, different coloured pompoms, felt squares, scraps of fabric, large buttons etc. Measuring spoons and whisks make it very fun.

SENSORY BOX - take a big under bed plastic storage box and use it as a sensory box in the kitchen. Lots of possibilities - Bubble Bath and water to make a box full of bubbles; water and sponges; dry beans, rice, or pasta; ice and shaving cream; so on. feathers, sand, dirt, leaves, wool, etc... anything you would normally tell them off for touching! anything they don't normally get to feel every day. Need to provide lots of little bowls, shovels, tubes, and funnels, plastic cars, balls, boats, etc. to play with in the tub.

playing with a flashlight. either close the curtains/blinds during the day or make a tent or, in the winter when the sun goes down early, just close the door to the bedroom and shine the flashlight on things. great for the button mad stage.

box car:
let them colour in a big box as any type of vehicle they love (car, truck, unicorn) and then drag them 'round the house in it.

make an animal and make it the theme of the day. Read about it, play it, make a mask of it, dress up like it, make up a story about it, eat like it, bath like it, maybe even sleep like it.

some more great ideas here.

what's your favorite toddler activity?

xxxCherry