Need some easy, but fun activities...

Abinormal · January 2013

DD is home with me during the winter break and I've found that we've watched far too much TV. She has plenty of toys and I do make a point to turn off the TV for periods of time during the day, but she gets bored easily with playing and asks to watch a show. I need some easy and fun structured activities. I think that she's so used to following the structure of her daycare day and having other kids to play with that she's a little lost as to what to do at home.

ETA: She did get an easel and lots of art supplies for birthday/Christmas, so we typically do an art project of some sort a couple times a day. We also have been playing some board games which she enjoys. I got her a 24 piece jigsaw puzzle, but she's not very interested in puzzles, never has been...

J+MS · January 2013

Window markers, rice box, go for a walk, let her "wash dishes", make cookies, play doh, give her a dry wash cloth and let her "clean". Izzy will seriously spend 30 minutes walking around wiping down random objects.

bumpuser260585 · January 2013

DS loves playing with baking soda and vinegar. I cover the bottom of a pie pan with baking soda, put vinegar in small tupperware containers with a few drops of food coloring, then give him some medicine droppers and spoons and let him go to town. He likes watching the bubbles, then once the mixture is ph balanced, he pretends it is soup.

RondackHiker · January 2013

Do you have any cardboard boxes? Have her tell you where to cut doors, have her decorate them with markers, and hide in them and climb on them and crush them and tip them. Boxes are awesome.

Wufroggy79 · January 2013

Another vote to check Pinterest. Several pins have ideas of what to do with toddlers. I did several different ideas from there over the summer when it was crazy hot to go out to do something.

RondackHiker · January 2013

MollusksWrangler:
RondackHiker:
Do you have any cardboard boxes? Have her tell you where to cut doors, have her decorate them with markers, and hide in them and climb on them and crush them and tip them. Boxes are awesome.

I second this

We have a cardboard home in the basement it's a big hit. She colored on it and picked where windows went.

And it doesn't need to be fancy. I'm a horrible artist. I've made him planes and houses and trains and cars and such under his direction. They look nothing like they should. I consider it an opportunity for him to stretch his imagination.