Creative Family Fun

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Toddler Activities

LEGO Washing

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Sometimes all it takes is something simple. I need to remind myself of this often especially when my mind is full of activities and projects I want to plan for the girls.

The other night I needed something for the girls to do while I was cooking. They have a tendency to get directly underfoot while I’m prepping dinner, so on nights when having their help would less than helpful, I need something to keep them occupied.

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This is how LEGO washing was created. I set up a tray with a dish towel and gave each girl a washcloth and small bowl of water. They got right to work and loved every second of it. They washed up all the LEGOs they had in front of them and went back for more.

See how proud she looks! Needless to say, the mission was accomplished. I was able to cook in peace, the girls had fun and now all our LEGOs are squeaky clean. Sometimes simple really is better.

Sorting Puffballs

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Since AJ had a lot of fun learning how to play Memory with our seashell match game, I thought I’d come up with another version. It was also a sneaky little attempt to help her start recognizing her colors.

It was pretty simple. I just gathered up a couple of bowls of puffballs and cut coordinating circles out of construction paper.

Then I set the girls to work. Their goal was to put the puffballs in the correct colored spot. Lizzie thought it was great fun even though it too easy for her.

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I wish I could tell you they had great fun and played peacefully together.

But, let’s keep it real here. This peaceful little picture was taken a few minutes before the hissy fit to end all hissy fits broke out. It seems Lizzie put her organizing skills to work and wanted to each girl to have certain colors… and well, they both wanted red. Sigh. We had crying, we had screaming, we had separate corners. Even the dog decided to hide in some far corner of the house wanting to be as far away form the hissy fit as possible. Then, as quick as it started, it was over.

And now, peace reigns. They still have the game and have learned to play peacefully together. Let’s see how long that lasts!

Ice Play for Toddlers and Preschoolers

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How do you beat the heat (and learn a little at the same time)? Playing with ice, of course!

Yesterday, we set up a couple of ice play experiments to have some fun.

Beat the heat and have some fun with these simple ice play activities for toddlers and preschoolers. You'll learn some simple science and have some fun.

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Ice Play Experiments

The first experiment we did was ongoing as we played with our other experiment. We put some ice cubes in a small glass bowl, set it aside and waited to see how long it took to melt.

We had to keep checking back to see the ice shrinking. It was completely fascinating (at least for the under 5 set)!

Beat the heat and have some fun with these simple ice play activities for toddlers and preschoolers. You'll learn some simple science and have some fun.

We took pictures to track out progress, the ice in the beginning, half-way through, and our bowl of melted ice. It was fun to try and guess how long it would take the ice to melt.

Beat the heat and have some fun with these simple ice play activities for toddlers and preschoolers. You'll learn some simple science and have some fun.

Next, I set up a cookie sheet with a bowl of ice and two glasses of water.The goal was to count how many ice cubes it took to make the water flow over the top of the cup. I was inspired by a game in the book, Math Play!.

Beat the heat and have some fun with these simple ice play activities for toddlers and preschoolers. You'll learn some simple science and have some fun.

We took our time with this ice play experiment.

We added ice, took away ice, played with ice and did whatever struck our fancy at the moment.We practiced our observation skills. What color is the ice? Is it hot or cold? Fuzzy or slippery?

And yes, we finally did get to the point where our water flowed over the top.

So, we took our ice out of the cup and started over again.

Beat the heat and have some fun with these simple ice play activities for toddlers and preschoolers. You'll learn some simple science and have some fun.

When we were done with our experiments, we had a little ice play time. We had a lot of fun with this simple activity and learned a little about ice in the process.

How are you beating the heat this summer?

You may also like one of these simple play ideas:

Colored Ice Fun

Go Outside: Shape Hopscotch

Go Outside: Counting Walk

Math Play: Counting Blocks

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On Monday, I mentioned that we had been using the book Math Play! by Diane McGowan and Mark Schrooten lately to work on our numbers and have fun at the same time. I wanted to tell you a little more about it, because it truly is a great resource for toddlers and preschoolers. The book is designed for ages 2 to 6, making it perfect for my 4- and 2-year old. The activities are fun, easy to set up and require little if any special supplies. We’ve had the book for a couple of weeks now and have already done 8 activities with plans to do more.

 

One game we had a lot of fun with was Tower Counter. The supply list: blocks. Yep, that’s it. Easy-peasy. I started by asking her to build towers with a certain amount of blocks. She’s build it. Then I’d either ask her to add a certain amount or take away a certain amount. After she did that, she recounted the blocks in her tower. It was a great introduction to addition and subtraction for the preschool age. Lizzie had a blast and kept wanting to play well beyond the point where I thought she’d want to stop. What was AJ doing this whole time? She was building with us, just not using the math concepts. She was in the build and knock down mode.

If you’re looking for a great way to introduce or reinforce some math concept, take a peek at Math Play! It’s a great resource.

Making Clouds

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After reading (and reading and reading) Little Cloud by Eric Carle, we were inspired to make our own clouds in the style of the book’s illustrations.

This was such a simple craft project that my little ladies loved doing!

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Supplies:
White paint
Cotton balls
Construction paper
Saucer, plastic lid, or anything with a flat surface to spread out the paint

*Note: Since my girls are young, I drew the cloud shapes with a marker before beginning the craft. If you are doing this with older kids, you won’t need to do this.

The process is easy. Dump some paint on the saucer. Grab a cotton ball or two, dip in the paint and start painting your cloud.

After the initial set-up and a quick demonstration, I let the girls experiment with making their own clouds. We had some dabbing and some smearing and we also had a lot of fun.

Here are the finished products:

Hope you have fun making your own clouds!

You may also like one of these fun kid’s crafts

Cardboard Roll Stamping

Mary Mary Quite Contrary Mural

Straw Printing and Paper Lanterns