Being Purposeful: Activities

There are all these crafts and activities out there, and Teeny Tiny is JUST now getting to like some. Or, I’m just getting to actually using them age appropriately I guess.

Since I started “the routine” we have done the following:

Coloring: she just started liking this. Prefers pens. It is great for working on her colors which she has recently become an “expert” at. “Brounce” and “llelo” are my favorite.

Cutting/Gluing: We made a little book. Very rough, but she loved it. She needed lots of help with the cutting and gluing. Every skill starts somewhere.

Chalk: Sidewalk chalk used outside when it is nice enough. Today, tried to get her to color on rocks. Not there yet.

Fort: I took The Toddler’s Busy Book’s advice and made a tent out of 4 chairs and the fitted sheet on her bed when I took it off to wash it. Not a huge hit, but we played in it and read some books. A few moments of fun is fine by me, or at least I’m working on it being so :0) [The Toddler Busy Book by Trish Kuffner]

Magnets: A bag activity I recently made. She kinda likes it, or at least enjoyed putting the stuff back in the bag.

Sorting (sort of): I had a bunch of flat marbles from flowers My Favorite gave me a very long time ago. Put them in a cottage cheese container with some applesauce cups and voila! Something to play with for a few minutes anyway.

Pull Box: from The Toddlers Busy Book again (pg. 55). Just a plain box with string threaded through a hole to pull around. We took it outside and it has a few rocks and a bug-house in it.

Animal Shapes: I looked up animal shapes in google, freehanded a cat and teddy bear from that, and cut them out. Old style die cuts. Teeny and The Cousin enjoyed coloring on them. Or at least The Cousin did, Teeny was content with the paper I put under the animal to keep ink off the booster tray. Taken from Kids Craft Weekly’s article “No Fuss Craft Ideas.”

Songs: We've listened to Wee Sing Bible Songs from the library, and on YouTube found videos of "Slippery Fish" and "I am a Pizza" by Charlotte Diamond, and a random "Apples and Bananas." "Baa Baa Black Sheep" is a new favorite as well. Now she is singing some of these when she is on her own. No one but My Favorite and I can tell what she was saying, but it is adorable! Songs are great for in the car and potty training. I'm also looking for the real signs for some words, just to add action and learning all at the same time.