Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Non-Crafty Toddler Ideas

Hello Friends, I'd like you to meet our resident 3 year old.

He enjoys running, playing, long walks on the beach and peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

This year I am teaching school to my oldest two children.

I am in serious need of ideas for this little guy to keep him entertained and busy.  I'm not opposed to the black marker mustaches he is fond of creating on his person while my back is turned, but I'd like a few other ideas to go along with that. 

I am so not the crafty type mom-I'll just go ahead and lay it out on the table.  I pretty much hate play-doh, paints, anything crafty.  Sigh, I know.

I am crossing my fingers that you can help me with some non-crafty ideas for 3 year olds that don't require hands on direction from me.

I'm coming clean.  I eat white bread, my kids eat sugary cereal and I'm OK to let him play on the Internet for a little while each day.  With that said, do you know of any educational sites for toddlers on the Internet besides Fox News?  Or do have you heard from a "friend" about Internet games their kids play?

He will color for awhile.

I can read a book during certain times of the morning.

He can come with me to fold clothes.

I try to put in a 30 minute video but they never hold his attention.

I'm hoping all you creative Mama's come through for a sista with some ideas :)!!

9 comments:

Jennifer said...

Ok, I have a girl, so I don't know if this helps or not... but Anna likes to "cook" with a bowl of dry beans, a few measuring cups and other utensils, some empty spice containers, etc.

Little Oak Table said...

Jennifer- I LOVE that idea! THANK YOU!

Wendy Thibault Kane said...

What about jigsaw puzzles? There are plenty made for younger kids. Also, why not give him some worksheets that have him color certain numbers certain colors, or something like that? He can do "school" while his big brothers do. Maybe blocks and tell him to build specific things?

And THANK YOU that you feed your kids white bread and sugary cereal! I've got several dear friends (whom I dearly love!) who make uber healthy meals and I always feel good about my cooking until I read their blogs. lol! Pop tarts are our standard summer breakfast around here. :) Not during the school year, though! (see, I'm not all bad....) lol!!!

Jennifer said...

Or, get 5 tubs and fill them up with toys from garage sales, Rhea Lana's, etc. and label them Monday through Friday, and he can ONLY play with them during that school time. The newness might keep him occupied for a while, since he can only play with each set of toys once a week.

Heather said...

PBSkids.com has LOTS of games for kids and they also have free lesson plans for all different ages. I've looked a few times at those. Hollis is still a little young to play games on his own but he likes to watch me play, especially the Curious George games.

Becke' said...

I liked giving little ones a paint brush, a pail of water, and tell them to go paint the driveway...or in your case, the back porch. For some reason, that held their attention! I like all the other ideas listed too!

Angela said...

www.starfall.com It's a site my mom recommended for me to help my 3-year old with the alphabet. If you click on the ABCs, there's lots of great little games that he might enjoy... and maybe learn something, too.

Kim Tallent said...

www.pbskids.org
It's got all kinds of fun games! Curious George, Martha Speaks, Clifford, etc. My kids love it!!

Little Oak Table said...

noone has mentioned running around in their underwear sword fighting with glow in the dark light sabers-but come to think of it that's probably a no-brainer...THANK YA"LL for the great tips!!!