Toddler Activities

I have this huge dug out circle of turf in my backyard.

It looks a little crazy.

I dug it out to make this:

I’m so excited to play in a huge circle of sunflowers.

Oh, but my quirky girls think the ditch itself is a heap of fun! We stayed out there for quite a while doing this sort of thing after I dug it.

Another sensory activity with a little science thrown in for fun.  Watching these expand blew our minds!

Water Beads are strange polymers that grow huge to fill a vase when water is added.  I think they’re meant to water your flowers.  My husband says they feel like frog eggs, but I’ve never felt frog eggs.  They’re super slimy and they bounce!

The girls had a blast…  but this made my normally pretty laid back self crazy!  For some reason, I just couldn’t let them throw them everywhere!  So I was micro-managing.   Bad idea.  Don’t do that… let them play

We also tossed about a liter of these in the tub.  They had a ball with them.  But if you do it… make sure that your drain is a smaller diameter than the beads so you don’t have to fish them all out :-p

Cloud dough?

What on earth is cloud dough?!

That’s what I said too.

It was easy enough to make: 4 cups flour to 1/2 cup oil.

So I tossed it together and put it in a plastic bin on the back porch.

I could hardly keep my hands out of the stuff while mixing it together.  If you squeeze it, it keeps that form until pressed on again.  It feels like soft sand.  It was so soothing.

Apparently the girls thought the same thing.

They played with the stuff on the back porch while it drizzled rain

for THREE WHOLE HOURS!

I couldn’t believe it.

We had a playdate the next day.  Just a picnic in someone’s backyard.

I bought two bags of flour worth.  I filled a swimming pool.

All these kids couldn’t keep their hands out of it either.

And they played quietly and kindly.  Rare for this age group.

Do yourself a favor: go make some cloud dough for your toddlers right now.  Just make sure you keep this outside… or on a huge tablecloth.  🙂

We were all feeling a little bit under the weather this week.  It started with Sedryn and trickled down to the girlies.  Started with snot… and ended with vomit.  Lots and lots of vomit.  Mommy included.

So we had a few days cramped up in the house and made the best of it with two fun activities this week.

We made three types of playdough: chocolate, gingerbread, and coffee (recipe included).

The girls helped stir the first batch (don’t worry, I the burner was off for the picture).

And then were on kneading duty.

I wish you could have heard their voices singing their beloved Noodlebug song “Play Dough Day”

Squeeze it! Squash it! Squishy Play!
Mash it! Smash it! Play dough day!

Sadly, I was up to my elbows in flour and salt so I didn’t manage to grab the video camera.  But I did make a snowman (also featured in the Noodlebug song).

 My girls love play dough.  And their concentration is epic.

I don’t like coffee, but I love the smell so I made them some coffee play dough.

• 1/2 C Salt
• 1 C Flour
• 1 Tbs Oil
• 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
• 3/4 Cup Instant Coffee Granules
• 1 Cup Water (or in place of granules 1 cup very strongly brewed coffee)

Mix Dry ingredients in a saucepan. Dissolve Coffee Granules in the water then add the oil.   Over Medium-low heat, stir the liquids into the dry ingredients.  Stir until forms a pretty solid lump.  Have your toddlers knead it.

For our second and super fun Toddler Activity, we gave the girls some glow sticks in the bathtub.  Hysterical fun!

And the best part: Sedryn absolutely adored the glow sticks, too!  I never would have thought to give my baby a glow stick without toddlers in the house 🙂

Dirt, sticks, and worms?
I thought I was raising girls?!

I guess I am: curious, nature-loving, and dirt-covered mud princesses. I wouldn’t have it any other way. They were so so so excited about putting the peas down for “Nap” so that the could grow and rise up again. But nowhere near as excited as they were about daddy unearthing worms. And the pleasure of holding those worms: priceless.