Activity ideas for 22 month old on rainy/snowy days

[UK mummy]

Hi, was wondering if people would post me some possible ideas of things to do with my 22 month old when stuck in the house.  We have snow here in the UK so are stuck in plus I have a 4 week old so can no longer go out and about as we used to.  He loves TV but I want to try and cut down his TV time but the problem is he gets bored so quickly and can not concentrate for long (I am worried this is due to too much TV).  He does not like arts and crafts activities (though I have tried painting and making paper snowflakes with him today :-)) and does not like to be read to.  He does like to 'help' me do things about the house though, sorting laundry, etc.  He is a very active child who loves soft play, being outside, football etc but obviously all of this is out of the question with the weather at the moment.  I would love any ideas anyone has.

Thanks!

x

[LynnS6]

Take the couch cushions off the couch and put them on the floor and let him jump off them.

Create an 'obstacle' course with couch cushions to climb over, chairs to climb under, make a tunnel out of a sheet and two chairs for him to go through. He'll have a lot of fun rearranging things too.

Create 'sensory bins' from dishpans or pots. You can put in some rice or beans and a few cups for him to dump and fill with rice. Put some different toys in the rice (cars, spoons, blocks). Or let him engage in water play -- put a towel down, put some water in a pot/dishpan and add some small cups/spoons and let him dump and fill. You can mix it up by adding dishsoap sometimes. You could also let him 'bathe' dolls in the water.

Give him an empty laundry basket to play with. He'll climb in and out, put things in it, drag it around.

Bake bread. He can help you knead. (Yes, it'll be a complete and total mess, but it's fun).

[crunchy_mommy]

My DS is 22mos too, but he's very into reading tons of long books & loves crafts so maybe my ideas won't be as useful to you since he is a different personality! Anyway some other things he likes:

-playing with dried beans (and/or uncooked rice, pasta, etc.) -- he'll pour it, scoop it up with a spoon, pretend to eat it, get an unopened spice jar & 'spice' it, etc.

-play pretend with his little animals, though he wants me to be very involved in it so I have to do funny voices & put on a show with them

-listening to music (he plays much better sometimes if I have music on in the background!)

-song/activity-based books -- so things with nursery rhymes, songs, simple actions he can perform

-'cooking' at the counter, he stands on a chair & plays with the blender (minus the blade!) and puts food in it, or tries to pick things up with the spatula or tongs, but he loves it most when he can actually help us make a real meal or snack!

-playdough, but he most likes to cut it with a blunt knife, so just playdough alone isn't especially exciting to him! 

-putting stickers on a paper (takes a while since he has to remove them from the sticker sheet himself first)

-cutting paper -- with real (but round-tip) metal scissors

-threading wooden beads -- he especially loves the Melissa & Doug grilling set where you put 'food' on wooden skewers...

-'tasks' (that's what we call it for lack of a better name!) I give him an action & he does it & comes back for his next task: "Go touch the door" - "Turn around" - "Touch your toes" - "Crawl under the table"

[ollyoxenfree]

How about an indoor parade? Make up some goofy hats and some musical instruments (shakers made from rice in yogurt containers, bells attached to ribbons etc.) and put on some marching band music and parade around the house, even over the sofa and benches, if you don't mind getting up on the furniture. 

Create your own new sport, using rolling tennis balls or tossing bean bags and some crazy rules - eg. best shot off the baseboard and down the hallway, or aim for empty ice cream tubs set up in a row etc.   

Fill up the bathtub with a bunch of toys, different sized containers for pouring and some bubble bath.