Bring your child into the room. Show him the single piece and explain that he needs to find the missing pieces in order to complete the puzzle.
CHAPTER 4
Away from Home
Although it may make your life easier, you cannot tote along all of your child’s toys whenever you leave the house. Whether you are going on vacation or just a short trip to the post office, you can still engage your child in many fun and worthwhile activities. Most of these activities need no planning and few materials. You are sure to find some favorites here along with some new ideas that you can pull out of your hat when you need them.
Air-Travel Activities
Flying with young children can be a challenge. In such a confined space, restlessness and boredom will soon kick in for your naturally active toddler. Here are some simple ways to pass the time that will not disturb other passengers.
Name That Tune
This activity will help develop your toddler’s listening skills while passing the time.
Activity for a group
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
One person softly hums a familiar tune, such as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
The person who guesses gets the next turn at humming a tune.
Who Am I?
Here is a game that everyone can play. An added benefit is that it will promote your child’s problem-solving skills. For older children, you can extend the categories to include people or even objects.
Activity for a group
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
One player thinks of an animal. The rest of the group asks yes-or-no questions—Do you fly? Are you small? Do you eat bugs?—to figure out what the person is thinking.
The person who guesses correctly takes the next turn at being an animal.
Touch Blue
This silly game is a more sedate version of Twister.
Young children will also be practicing color identification.
Activity for a group
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
One person takes the role of leader and calls out a different color for the players to touch.
The players must touch something nearby that is of the specified color. Players may touch objects that are within reach, including each other’s clothing.
The next player takes a turn being the leader.
Car-Travel Activities
“Are we there yet?” This may be the mantra of young children traveling in the car. However, your next car trip can be a pleasant one if you have ways to occupy your children. Set aside a play kit for your child to be used only for car travel. Avoid small pieces that can be lost or become projectiles in an accident.
On the Road
Here is a fun way to prevent loose parts from flying all over your car.
When your child tires of roadway play, he can also use the tray with magnetized letters and toys.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
Adhesive magnet discs
Toy cars
Cookie sheet (or other metal tray that magnets will stick to)
Masking tape (optional)
Attach the magnets to the bottom of the toy cars.
Let your child drive the magnetized cars all around the tray.
If desired, help your child use masking tape to outline roadways on the tray.
Animal Sounds
This is a lively game to play the next time your family takes a drive through the countryside.
Activity for a group
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 30 minutes
Players look out for animals along the road.
When someone spots an animal, she identifies it by the sound it makes. For example, “I see a moo!”
In the Hospital
If your child is hospitalized or even bedridden at home, his activities will be limited. When he starts to feel better, staying in bed can be difficult. Here are some quiet activities that you can bring to him while he recuperates.
What Is Hiding?
This quiet activity can be played while your child is resting in bed.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
Familiar objects, such as a teddy bear, a book, an alarm clock, etc.
Blanket
Hide a familiar object, such as a teddy bear or alarm clock, under the blanket.
Ask your toddler to guess what is hiding under the blanket.
If he does not guess, slowly pull back the blanket to reveal more and more of the object until he guesses correctly.
Yarn Squiggles
Your toddler will be amazed at how the yarn will stick!
To create a new design, he can just remove the yarn and start over.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
White craft glue
1 large sheet sandpaper (big enough to cover poster board)
1 sheet heavy poster board or cardboard
A variety of yarn pieces in different colors and lengths
Glue the sandpaper onto the poster board to form a solid work surface.
Have your toddler arrange the yarn on the sandpaper. The yarn will stick on its own.
Easy Collage
Being stuck in bed does not mean that your child cannot enjoy a simple craft activity. Be mindful that small items may pose a choking hazard if your child still puts things in his mouth.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
Clear contact paper, twice the length of the poster board
1 piece of heavy poster board or cardboard
A variety of collage materials (felt, twigs, buttons, lace scraps, etc.)
Spread the contact paper flat on a table, sticky side up. Remove half of the protective paper.
Smooth the poster board over the sticky part of the contact paper. Fold the protected half over with the protective paper still on.
Let your child arrange the items on the poster board.
When he is satisfied, he can remove the paper from the top half of the contact paper and fix it on top of the design to keep the design pieces in place.
For variation, you can skip the poster board and create a sticky sandwich with the contact paper used as both the base and top of the project.
Paper Chain
You can sometimes find paper chain kits in the store, but it is cheaper and more fun to make your own.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 45 minutes
Scissors
Lightweight bond paper in various colors
Craft paste sticks
Cut out strips of paper 1 wide and 4 long. If your child is adept with safety scissors, he can help you.
Show your child how to apply a dab of paste with the paste stick and close each strip to make a link.
Help your child attach the links together.
When your child has completed a long chain, you hang it up to help brighten the room.
Activities to Do While Waiting
You can never have too many “anytime” activity ideas. There are many times when you need to find a way to occupy your child’s attention. These activities are great fun whether you are waiting for a bus, sitting in a doctor’s office, or you just want to take a few minutes to interact with your child. These are also great activities to share with other people who care for your child.
Favorites
Help pass the time by engaging your child in this simple game. As a bonus, this activity will help your child wi
th categorization skills and will enhance her vocabulary development.
Activity for two or more
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Take turns being the leader with your child. The leader names a category, like television shows, ice cream, or flowers.
Players take turns naming their favorite things within the category.
I Spy
This is the classic guessing game.
Your child will be using observational and problem-solving skills when she plays.
Activity for two or more
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
One person picks an object in the environment that is in plain view to all players. Then she recites the following chant, “I spy with my little eye something that is…” (red, tiny, fuzzy, and so on).
Other players try to guess what that person has spied. The first person to guess correctly then takes a turn “spying” something.
Here Comes Daddy!
This is a great game to play when you are waiting to meet someone,
like Daddy, in a public place. Depending on whom you plan to meet, this game might be called
“Here Comes Grandma!” or “Here Comes Mommy!”
Activity for two or more
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: Variable
While waiting for Daddy, watch the other people who are walking past. Start the game by pointing out someone who is clearly not Daddy—the less like Daddy, the better. Enthusiastically, say “Here comes Daddy!”
The other person responds by pointing out someone who looks even less like Daddy and exclaiming, “No, here comes Daddy!”
Continue until Daddy arrives.
Handy Dandy
Here is a new version of a simple game.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 5 minutes
1 small object you can hide in your hands, such as a coin
Show the child both of your hands. Place a small object such as a coin or a piece of candy in one of your hands. Remember, don’t let your child have the object if she is still putting things in her mouth.
Put your hands behind your back, and tell your child that you are moving the object from hand to hand.
Close your hands into fists and bring them back to the front of your body. Hold one hand higher than the other.
Recite the following poem and ask your child to guess which hand is holding the object: Handy dandy midley moe
Which do you pick, the high or the low?
When your child picks the correct hand you can either give her the object to keep or let her take a turn at hiding it.
On the Spot—When Child Gets Fussy
Here are some quick and easy activities that you can do anytime and anywhere. Whenever you see that your child is starting to get fussy or you feel a tantrum could be around the corner, try one of these soothing ideas.
Cobbler Cobbler
Hold your child on your lap, or let him lie on his back so that you can play with his feet.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 12–40 months
Duration of activity: 5 minutes
Chant the following words and use the corresponding actions:
Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoes
(wiggle his feet to and fro)
Have it done by half past two
Stitch it up and stitch it down
(tap lightly around the edges of his feet)
Now nail the heel all around
(hammer his heel gently with your fist)
Drumstick
This activity is built upon the classic toddler pastime of banging on pots;
your toddler may have already discovered this activity on his own.
Close supervision is needed, and you should be sure to talk about why this is only an outdoor activity.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 12–40 months
Duration of activity: 5 minutes
Give your child a drumstick to use as a tapper. You can make one by super-gluing a wooden bead onto a dowel rod. Or in a pinch, you can use a wooden spoon or even a popsicle stick.
Take your child outdoors and encourage him to tap on different things. Talk about what he hears. Possible items to tap include bricks, a tree trunk, and a rain gutter.
Real Finger Puppets
Add some pizzazz by taping some yarn or felt on for hair and clothing.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 12–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Washable, nontoxic markers
Simply draw a face on each finger that you wish to use as a character. You may also wish to involve your child and use their fingers as well.
Create a simple play or act out a rhyme like “Little Miss Muffet.”
Tape Pulling
Be sure to avoid industrial tape that will stick to the skin.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 12–18 months
Duration of activity: 5 minutes
Tape (any kind)
Give your child a strip of transparent or masking tape. Let him loop and stick and unstick the tape.
Beach Activities
It may not take much to entertain you when you spend a day at the beach. You may be content to lie in the sand, feeling the warm sun on your skin and listening to the sounds of the crashing waves. Your toddler, on the other hand, is not easily amused. Once she tires of digging in the sand, she may be ready to call it a day. Try some of these activities to make a day in the sun fun for everyone.
Beach Obstacle Course
All you need is a shovel and a stick to create a fun beach activity for your child.
Activity for an individual child or A group
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
A stick
Small plastic beach shovel
With the stick, draw a winding line in the sand to create a path for your child to follow.
Use the shovel to create ditches or gullies along the path for your child to jump over. You can also build up mounds for her to climb over or walk around.
Beach Towels
Here is a chance to let your child show her creativity and create something that she will enjoy using.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Fabric paints in a variety of colors
Pie tins (one for each color)
Scissors
Sponges
Large light-colored towel
Empty each color of fabric paint into a separate pie tin.
Cut the sponges in beach-themed shapes (shells, starfish, fish, or suns).
Show your child how to dip the sponges into the paint and then press onto the towel to create a design.
Let the towel dry completely and follow the fabric paint manufacturer’s instructions before using.
Beach Cast
This is a wonderful way for your child to preserve memories. Beach casts also make great gifts.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes to prepare, 3 days to set
Small shovel
Wet sand
Pie tin or other small container
Seashells, driftwood, and other medium-sized beach items
Water
Plaster of Paris
Have your child shovel wet sand into the container to fill it about one third of the way.
Let her select items to add to the cast. Limit the items so that there is some space in between them.
Show your child how to press the items so they are securely stuck into the sand without being buried.
Mix
water and plaster of Paris according to package directions.
Spoon the mixture over the sand and shells so that it reaches the rim of the container.
Let the cast dry for a few days then gently remove from the container and rinse off.
Zoo Activities
There is so much to explore at the zoo. Take your time; your child will enjoy his trip much more if you allow him to linger where he wishes. Many zoos now have interactive features for young children. Seek out the exhibits that offer hands-on learning opportunities.
Zoo Lotto
Enhance your child’s interest and observational skills with this fun game.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 1 hour
Ruler
Marker
8” x 8” section of poster board
Small magazine pictures of animals
White craft glue
Clear contact paper
The Everything Toddler Activities Book Page 5