Tape City

We had a lot of fun with tape this morning. We made roads for my daughter's cars! We even made a little parking lot. You could get really creative with this by accessorizing with toys (doll houses, little people, trees, animals...)


Idea from The Toddler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner

Basketsock

This may be a given, but I thought I'd post it anyway. We played our own version of basketball, but with socks and a basket. Both kids found it to be great fun (and mom and dad as well!) and really, how much damage can you do with socks?

Sticky Feet

Today, I took some clear contact paper and taped it to the floor, sticky side up. My kids had SO much fun walking on it, dancing on it, just playing in general. Their feet (and hands) not only stick to it, but make fun sounds coming up!

We got it out again later, (this time I put it on the kitchen floor, and it stuck better) and the kids had even more fun. They got pretty creative rolling toys across it and stuff. They're still in there playing- I'm going to have a hard time getting them to go to bed! :)

Idea from The Toddler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner

Painted Bread

We had fun this morning with some bread. Just take a little milk in some small containers, add a few drops of food coloring to each, get some clean paint brushes, and design away! We then toasted ours, or you can use them to make sandwiches.

Flying Fish

This is a super easy activity that even I enjoyed. When you throw the fish into the air (or drop them from a higher point), they kind of flutter and spin down. Then we took them outside where it was slightly windy... boy did those things fly! It was hilarious! My daughter stood on top of her slide and would let go, and they'd take off and we chased them all over the yard. Good times. Here's what ya do:

Cut 1 inch strips from the page of an old magazine (long ways). Cut a slit halfway into the strip at each end about 1 inch from the end. (At one end of the strip cut from the top halfway down to the middle, and at the other end cut from the bottom halfway up to the middle.) Bend the strip into a loop and push the slits together so that the loop closes and it looks like a fish.

This idea came from "The Toddler's Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner

Cereal Box Flip Flops

Many thanks to Valerie for this idea! I've gotten a little behind with all the sickness in my house, so here's an idea she did with her son. I think it's so cute. Take any cereal box and lay it out flat. Trace your kids shoes on it and then cut them out. (Valerie had her son cut them out so he could practice cutting) Then cut out strips to use as the straps. Just tape them on the back and there you have it. Homemade flip flops.

JELL-O Jigglers

Remeber these gems? I used to love it when my mom made these for me! I was trying to think of something my daughter could eat while being sick, and these came to mind. She loved them.

Here's the recipe, which you can also find on any JELL-O box:

4 small boxes or 2 large boxes of Jello gelatin

2 1/2 cups boiling water (do not add cold water).

Stir boiling water into gelatin. Dissolve completely. Pour mixture slowly into 13 x 9 inch pan. Chill at least 3 hours, Jigglers will be firm after 1 hour, but may be difficult to remove from pan.
To cut Jigglers dip bottom of pan in warm water for 15 seconds to loosen gelatin. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. All the way through the gelatin. Lift from the pan with index finger or metal spatula. A tip for even easier removable, lightly coat pan with Pam cooking spray before pouring in gelatin mixture.

(I didn't need very many, so I used one big box and cut the water in half and put it in a 9x9 pan).

Magnets on a Cookie Sheet

My daughter has been miserably sick for three days, and I was desperate for anything to help her pass the time. When she's sick, I don't mind her watching tv, but for three days straight? No. So I found a cookie sheet, and gathered all the magnets from my fridge, so she could sit in bed and play with it on her lap. She loved it!

Tissues?

One of my piano student's mothers told me that when her daughter was a baby, she gave her a box of tissues for her birthday. I thought that was a funny thing, until my son came along. Guess what was in his stocking at Christmas? A box of tissues! He sat there and pulled them out, one by one, happier than anything. His big sister wanted one too. :)

Spin the Bottle

I've said before that the simplest things are often the best. My daughter LOVED this. We read a lot at our house anyway, but this put a fun spin on it (no pun intended. Seriously.) and made it into a game. We just took a bunch of board books and stood them up in a circle, took a bottle (from baby brother since we have a lot of those around) and spun! Whatever book it points to, you sit down and read! After we had gone though all of these books two or three times, she brought out a new set of books and we started all over.