Activity Work Bench

There have been some pretty neat activity boards posted on Pinterest with lots of little things for little fingers.  Combine those with a tool bench and VOILA!  Alex's Activity Work Bench!
Made by Papa for my son's 2nd Birthday - what a huge hit with him and all his birthday party buddies :-)

my son doing some fixing on his work bench :-)

Items on here include:

Light switch

toggle switches

little latched doors

padlock with keys attached by chain

pulley

items that move!

Then there are holes drilled along the front to screw things into it.  The work bench came with a toolbox and it provides ALOT of entertianment for many ages!

Toddler Sewing Kit

Something Ive been thinking about creating is a

Toddler/Preschooler Sewing Kit.

Sometimes I have sewing projects and my daughter wants to help so badly. Since there is no way I can trust her with a needle (even a totally blunt one), Ive been thinking of some alternatives.

This is what I plan to make a kit up of once I round up the supplies:

- Shoelaces (the ends work great for threading)
- Pipecleaners
- Strawberry Basket
- Postcards (that Ive put a line of holes in with my hole punch)
- Large Beads

Helping Make Meals

My toddler wants to be a part of what Im doing all the time. If I can find her jobs to do this makes life easier for both of us - although it does slow the process somewhat :-)


holding mixer or helping stir items



shucking corn - quite messy but took her quite a while

Other things she can do:
* Put items into the garbage for me
* Unload dishwasher and bring dishes to me to put away
* Feed the cat
* Pull potatoes out of the bag and hand to me to peel
* Wash potatoes, carrots, etc.

Salt Dough Recipe

Use this for Halloween Decorations, Christmas Ornaments & Decorations, Gift Tags, Placecards, Necklaces, Lapel Pins, Magnets, etc. Could hot glue small ornaments to Greeting Cards too!

Toddler can help mix up the ingrediants, make some 'creations', and/or paint your creations. A project for any age!

½ cup salt
1 cup flour
½ cup water

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

2. Mix together, salt, flour, and water until dough is formed.

3. Knead the dough on a floured surface until the mixture is elastic and smooth.
If dough is too sticky, sprinkle with flour, continue to do so until stickiness is gone. Do not add too much flour, this will dry out the dough and will cause it to crack before you get a chance to bake it.

4. Roll out the dough to about ¼” thick with a rolling pin that has been dusted with flour.

5. Use cookie cutters to cut out as many shapes as you want.

6. Use a toothpick to make a hole toward the top of the shape. Poke the toothpick into the shape, then holding toothpick straight up and down, make a circular motion as if you were stirring something. Keep circling until the hole is the size you want. Or insert a paperclip.

7. Place all shapes onto an ungreased cookie sheet and place into the preheated oven.

8. Bake for 2 hours.

9. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

10. Paint.

11. When paint is dry, use glitter glue or glitter paint to put a sparkling cover coat on your ornaments.

12. Spray with varnish

13 When dry, thread ribbon through hole and tie in a knot in the back.


Tips, Techniques, Ideas:
http://www.angelfire.com/mo/creativeclutter/saltornaments.html

TIPS ON COLOURING DOUGH:
* Food colouring (red, green, blue, or yellow). Two or more food colours can be combined to make different colours and shades or for a marbled dough effect.

* Add spices that act as natural dyes e.g. cinnamon, curry powder, saffron or paprika.

* Add cocoa powder or instant coffee for different hues of brown.

* Wearing protective gloves add a little paint to the mixture then knead the dough until the paint is uniformly distributed through the mix.

Some pictures taken from the internet as ideas & examples:

Activities While Staying at Someone's House

It is such a challenge to keep a toddler busy when you are staying at someone's house.

If they have kids then it is much easier as the kids will occupy your toddler and they'll have toys your child has never played with.

If there are no kids where you are staying - good luck! Even if I cart a whole lot of toys along, she will be more interested in all the new surroundings - including knick-knacks, books, souvenirs, and anything else that she shouldn't play with.

We're going to my father-in-laws next week. He's 86 and not fond of his granddaughter getting into everything. I'm desperately trying to figure out which toys & activities will keep her occupied the most.

He lives in Winnipeg so one afternoon will be spent at the Zoo and should be lots of fun for all of us. Another activity will be the Children's Museum at the Forks.

I've packed the following toys:
- crayons & coloured paper
- a few small blocks
- stacking cups (good for bath, sand, or livingroom play)
- baby doll with bottle, cup, spoon, dish, blanket)
- small ball
- many books (that I put away a few weeks ago)
- small etch-a-sketch
- cellphone

So what else can take up some precious time and keep her out of trouble??

• Water Play at sink or with a bucket on the balcony
• Sidewalk chalk (we have no cement in our yard so she should enjoy this I hope)
• Colouring
• Playground - hope to find one nearby
• Indoor Swimming Pool
• Paint with Water Book
• Paint Brush and cup of water for outside painting of deck or concrete. (see pictures below)
• toddler friendly websites such as

http://www.fisher-price.com/ and http://www.kidscomjr.com/ and http://www.noggin.com/ and www.nickjr.com

*this kept her busy for a good hour the first time I let her try it. she had fun "painting" everything in sight*

Summer Outdoor Fun

SIDEWALK CHALK PAINT:
- liquid food coloring
- box Corn Starch
- water
- 8 oz individual containers for each color

- Measure 1/4 cup cornstarch into each cup.
- Add 1/4 cup water to each.
- Drip in 5-10 drops of food coloring.
- Stir it up.
At first it will seem as though the cornstarch just won't mix in, but all at once it comes together.
- Add more color for intense colors, less for pastel shades.

Pre test on the driveway, fence, and brick to see if paint will come off - It should though.


ICE TREASURE:
Using a ice cream pail, put a small amount of water in bottom.
Add treasures. Freeze.
Add another layer of water, add treasures, freeze.
Add another layer of water, add treasures, freeze. Etc.

All these layers will ensure treasures throughout the ice block rather than them all frozen on the bottom.

Treasures:
Marbles, stones, shells, coins, plastic animals, etc.

Put in a shallow plastic bin and let the kids excavate their treasures using toothbrushes, spray bottle, eye droppers, spoons, etc.

Great cool activity for hot summer day!

Frozen Paint:
Water down some paint, pour into ice cube trays. Lay foil over top and poke toothpicks through to act as holder. Freeze.
Let kids hold their paint cubes and paint their pictures outside.

ICE CUBES: coloured or plain, they’re fun to watch melt

Edible Peanut Butter Playdough Recipe

1 cup Peanut Butter (smooth)
1 cup Milk Powder
1 cup Oats
1/4 cup Honey

Mix all together!

(Makes enough for 3 kids to have a good size chunk to play & snack)

If you are tempted to add more dry ingredients, STOP! It needs to be a bit sticky and once it's all mixed thoroughly it won't stick to your hands.

**
This is my favourite edible playdough recipe. The majority of peanut butter playdough has icing sugar for the second dry ingrediant (rather than oats in this one) and since Peanut Butter is made up of lots of sugar, that is just way too much for my little one. This one is healthy and still quite yummy - trust me cause I like to eat it too!

link for ideas on tools & accessories with edible playdough: http://123mytoddlerandme.blogspot.com/2009/04/playdough-tools-from-around-house.html

Edible Playdough Recipes (without Peanut Butter)

Got these from http://www.familycorner.com/:

Oatmeal Play Dough
1 part flour
2 parts oatmeal
1 part water
Mix ingredients together and form into shapes.

Note: The items made from this play dough recipe can be painted when they are dry.

**************************

Cream Cheese Play Dough
8 oz. package of cream cheese
1/2 cup non-fat dry milk
1 tablespoon honey

Combine cream cheese, milk and honey in a bowl and mix until well blended. Mold sculptures on was paper.

Storage: Unused portions MUST BE STORED in an airtight container and kept refrigerated!
Use the expiration date on the cream cheese package as your guide for how long you can keep this play dough.

Note: The shapes can then be placed on crackers or bread slices, decorated with edibles (celery or carrot slivers, raisins, dried fruit pieces, nuts, or seeds for a healthy snack... then eat!

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Chocolate Play Dough
8 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup plus one tablespoon light corn syrup

1. Melt the chocolate in a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (a double boiler). Stir the chocolate with a spoon until smooth, then stir in the corn syrup.
2. The chocolate will stiffen almost immediately but stir completely combined.
3. Transfer the chocolate to a sturdy plastic bag and refrigerate until firm; the consistency will be that of Play Dough.
4. When firm, the dough can be worked by kneading. If it is too hard, cut off small pieces and knead until pliable.
5. If the dough sticks to the counter when rolling, lightly spray counter or breadboard with vegetable spray or lightly grease with vegetable oil.
6. Hand shape the dough into a rope or braid, making two or three long ropes and twist or braid them together -- can be used as the outside edge on top of a cake or around the base.
7. Make ribbons to cover the cake. To do this, pat your dough into a disk shape and roll dough out to desired thickness using a rolling pin or else use a manual pasta machine.Flowers, too!

Storage: When not using, MUST be stored in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Im Bored Jar

Saw or read this idea somewhere of writing out various activities onto small pieces of papers and putting them in a small jar. When your child comes whining "Im Booored!", they pick out an activity from the jar. Maybe things like Create a Storybook, Draw a picture for a relative, Make Cookies, etc.

For a toddler version, I figure it would be more of an "Im Stressed" jar for me when my childs getting into everything she shouldn't because she's bored. Hers would have various activities like Make a Cave, Craft Ideas, Sink Play, etc.

Sorting Fun with Pasta

We had some fun this afternoon with different pasta shapes. I put them in a muffin tin and she transferred them into a bowl. I also gave her a spoon to scoop them up.

She needed supervision though cause she was always trying to eat them.

Im thinking that in the next few months she might get into sorting the shapes from the bowl into the muffin tin compartments.

I put the pasta into a ziploc bag for the next time we do this activity.

We'll see if this can keep her occupied while I cook supper and keep her from hanging off my legs :-)

Playdough Tools from around the house

Here are some tools we like for playing with Playdough.

• Garlic Press


• Potato Masher


• Cookie Cutters


• Rolling Pin (Im going to find a small dowel and make a mini rolling pin for her)


• Dip Spreader (not sure the actual name but it's not sharp but could be used to cut the playdough)


• Juicer piece (I never use this and she likes the shape in makes in the dough)


• Toddler Fork (nice blunt ends but makes indentations in the dough)

PLAYDOUGH ACCESSORIES:

If using edible playdough, have the accessories edible too! Give the child a plate with a few of each of the following (or whatever is in the pantry):

cheerios - coconut

pretzel sticks - fruit loops

raisens - goldfish crackers

This could be what it takes to complete their masterpiece to perfection and then eat it all up :-)

recipe: http://123mytoddlerandme.blogspot.com/2009/04/edible-peanut-butter-playdough-recipe.html

Some Boredom Busters

Create a Cave! Bed sheet over the table with some pillows underneath. Good place for playing, snack time, and reading

Reading Books – instead of just reading the book, I would read the page and then ask her to point out objects ‘where’s the mommy’ etc. Now she’s got that down pat so I ask ‘where Mommy’s hat’ for a little more complicated question for her. Also, if the book is on animals, ‘where’s the cow’, and ‘what does cow say’ etc.
It helps each book take a little longer to go through because otherwise she’ll have me read a dozen of her little books in one sitting

Musical Band – I have my child's musical toys sorted into one bin. A shaker, mega blocks piano, fisher price guitar etc. Pull them all out and have a jam session!

Toy Library – If you have one in your area, sign out toys (works like a library) for your child to have something new to play with for awhile.

Kitchen Chalkboard – saw an idea somewhere about hanging a small chalkboard on the side of your kitchen island or lower cupboards. This is at their height and they can draw while you’re cooking or cleaning.

Her Play Album

One of the things that interests my daughter a lot these days is photos of friends & family. I had created it a year ago because many of her family members live far away and she doesn't see them often.

This album is just for her use, my albums of her are not yet trusted in her hands :-)

I used a simple 4x6 album that holds about 30 photos. I put in photos of her toys, our cat, a wedding picture, our house, and various photos Ive taken over her lifetime of friends & family.

This would be great for learning sign language as well if you used pictures like milk, bottle, bath, sleep, mommy, daddy, etc.

This comes with us when on road trips or flying as it holds her attention for more than 2mins.

Simple Matching Game

I made some matching games for my toddler although at this point she just likes to look at them and I ask "where's the kitty?" etc.


Using Word, I found various clip art and pasted them on the sheet. Two of each shape/animal. I then printed it off and cut them into squares. Simple!

One I made using shapes of different colours and then another with pictures of items she can say the words of (kitty, doggie, milk, cookies, etc.) I also used the laminator at work (ssh! don't tell) and laminated all my little squares to get a bit of use out them.

Easy to bring with you on travels in a small ziploc bag.

Creating a Tickle Trunk

Remember Mr. Dress Up? I was a huge fan and am going to create a Tickle Trunk for my daughter who is just starting to enjoy dressing up.

Items Needed:

• A Trunk - perhaps a basket w/ lid or rubbermaid bin


• Adult Clothing such as scarves, ties, vests, hats, gloves


• Items from Halloween (purchase after the holiday for a great discount!) like Hats, Tiaras, Masks, Wands, Wings, etc.


• Costume Jewellery - I found some great necklaces at the dollar store with big colourful wooden beads on an elastic necklace


• Purses

I think I'll have to check out a second hand store at our next trip to the city, Im sure there would be all kinds of neat things there!

Activities to Keep a Toddler Busy

My place of employment has announced a two month shutdown. This has upset many employees but for me & my spouse, it's a blessing in disguise! We'll get to spend some much needed quality time with our little girl. So now I need to find ideas to keep her busy & entertained, that means a list! Yay!

Hopefully we'll be able to take trips to our local Toy Library to see other Moms & kids and maybe spring will show up soon so we can head to the park! But for all the other days, this is my compilation of ideas:

• Dancing - she loves when we put on music and dance around the house


• Crafts: Paint w/ Water, Colouring, Painting


• Finger Painting with Pudding OR Yoghurt - yummy!
  
• Playdough - regular or homemade (see recipes)


• A sink full of bubbles and some tools (sieve, spoon, measuring spoons & cups, funnel, towels, smock)

  

• Balloons - inflate a couple and toss around
  
• Spray bottle of water & a dishcloth - help mommy clean the house! (I clean my windows with water and a special microfiber cloth. She gets to help and it is actually helping the windows get clean)
  
• Toy Wash - basin of soapy water (on a big towel), a scrub brush and some plastic toys. Fun for her & gets her toys cleaned up!


• Shaving Cream Fun: Fill a large ziploc bag with shaving cream foam. Add a few drops of food colouring. Seal & tape. Let child mix & manipulate. Later at bathtime, clip off the corner of the bag and they can have fun squirting in in the tub and drawing pictures in it.


• Greeting Card Puzzles: Using a few used greeting cards, cut out a square in each picture. Now the child needs to figure out which square fits with which greeting card.


• Flashlights in a dark room

• Indoor Sand Box: Tub of oatmeal or Rice (uncooked of course!). Play with it using small cars, spoons, funnels, etc.
  
• Sorting Laundry into same colours, matching socks, etc.


• Nature Hike - wonder around with a pail, picking up leaves & rocks & such. Perhaps making a collage later at home.

• Build a Fort - couch cushions, blankets, chairs, etc.


• Homemade Paint w/ Water using contruction paper & paint brush dipped in water


• Works of Art created and then mailed to family members

Im also going to try to put away some toys that she doesn't play with and then perhaps rotate them in a months time with others she's growing bored of.

There's also trips to the library, grocery store, swimming pool in a nearby town, playdates with friends, visits to Grandparents, and going for walks.

Do you have some more ideas for me??

Recipes for Paint, Playdough, and FUN!

WATERCOLOR PAINTS
1 T. vinegar
1 T. baking soda
Stir for 1 minute and add:
Food coloring
4T. cornstarch
1T. corn syrup


GOOP Mix:
2 c. white glue
1 1/2 c. water
Stir in separate bowl: 1/3 c. water and 1 T. Borax
Add Borax mixture to glue mixture and mix with hands. It will take a bit. This becomes like Silly Putty and will even take imprints from newsprint!

Edible!! PEANUT BUTTER PLAYDOUGH
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. dried milk
1/2 T. honey
Knead together well. Good dough for small children as it's good to eat too! Store airtight.

SILLY PUTTY
2T. white glue (glue all type)
food coloring
1T. liquid starch
Pour glue into a small bowl. Mix in food coloring of choice. Cover with liquid starch. . .pulling away the sides of the glue. DO NOT STIR! Let this sit for 5 mins. Squeeze out the starch and knead until the right consistency.

KOOLAID CLAYDOUGH
1 package Koolaid (the kind where you add the sugar yourself)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp alum/cream of tartar
1/2 cup hot water
Dissolve everything except the flour in the HOT water. It has to be hot to dissolve all that salt. Then add the flour, mix, and knead. Resist the temptation to add a little more flour because it's too sticky just keep kneading.

SQUISHY BAG:
3c Water 4T Cornstarch
Food Colouring Ziploc Bag

Boil water. In separate bowl, add cold water to cornstarch to make a paste. Slowly add to boiling water. Cook and stir until thick. Add food colouring and allow to cool. Pour into Ziploc bag and seal.
OR: non-cooking alternatives are Ketchup, Mustard, Relish, Hair Gel, Lotion, Shaving Cream etc.

MAGIC MUD:
Put into bowl: 1 Box Cornstarch
Add just enough water to be able to stir. Add in food colouring.


Face Paint:
1/8 C. Baby Lotion
1/4 Tsp Powdered Tempera paint
1 Squirt liquid Dishwashing Soap
Mix Up. *test small amount to be sure of no reactions* Remove with soap & water

Bubble Mix:
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Liquid Detergent
1 Tblsp Cooking Oil

PUFF Paint:
Mix equal parts of FLOUR, SALT, & WATER. Add food colouring or Tempura Paint to colour. Put into a squeeze bottle and paint away. Drawing will puff as it dries.

Rainy Day Activity Box

Last weekend I was needing a unique birthday gift for a little 4yr old that loves crafts. I grew up with a Rainy Day Activity Box that always seemed so special & exciting when I actually got to use it. Ive started one for my daughter but it was fun putting one together for an older child.

My first stop was at the dollar store where I got the box (the big christmas cookie tins are also great and they do double duty for playing with magnets), puzzle, craft items, and some small figurines.

Key is to only bring this out when it's absolutely needed! It'll lose its appeal if it can always be used.

Here are the items I put in it and a few others that I think would be neat to have.

1. Jigsaw Puzzle


2. Mini colouring books


3. Sticker Book


4. Unique Craft Items & list of ideas for them **since I picked up a package of multi-coloured large popsicle sticks as one of my craft items, I googled project ideas for them. I pasted the pictures on a small page and added it into the box


5. Items to decorate (ie. wooden box, plaque, claypot, etc.)


6. Print outs from Internet: Bingo Game, Matching or Memory Game, Mazes **there is such an abundance of free printables on the internet**


7. Recipes for play activity items like playdough & goop *see separate post for recipes*


8. Small cars or figurines


9. List of activity ideas (ie. Finger painting, charades, sink of bubbles, instructions for creating a candy necklace etc.)


10. Balloons


11. Magnifying Glass


12. Pretty much anything that the child enjoys but rarely gets to play with. For my daughter, the added interest is if it doesn't look like it's something she's allowed to play with.

Here's my daughters currently - it'll change & expand as she grows:

The tin was left from christmas cookies, I need to find her some more magnets. Ive got a couple wooden items for her to colour and then give as gifts. There's fingerpuppets, stickers, playdoh, pipecleans, popsicles sticks and ideas of what to use them for. I also have some blank white labels that I figure she could colour and make her own stickers.

Please leave comments with other ideas!