I have a toddler now! What activities should we try?

[nstewart]

Ok, maybe this seems like a silly question to you moms...but I don't have experience with children other than my DS and I am wondering what types of activities are appropriate/fun for a one year old!  Your ideas and experience are greatly appreciated!

DS has been walking for about 1 month and is very sturdy on his feet. He is starting to have some words as well.  He loves animals, books, any type of vehicle toy, being outside, and slides and swings.  He is very, very active and is always on the move.  Our typical activities are going for walks, playing at home with his toys or water table, spending time with me in the kitchen (he likes to close the dishwasher and raid the tupperware drawer) etc.  Are there things I should be trying to help him learn or do (ex. where his nose is, or sorting shapes or colors)?

What do people do with toddlers?! 

Thanks so much!! 

[Xavismom]

You sound like me =) I have no experience with children prior to my DS either!

I'm currently setting up a 'preschool' area in our house, so I've been on the hunt for activites too.

Some easy ones that DS really liked at around 12 months:

Helping me fold laundry (he isnt actually a help, but he thinks he is, and he likes it. It takes at least three times longer to get it done with him 'helping', but it still entertains him! We started this early, and he still gets excited about laundry now at 20 months

Transfering water between two cups on the kitchen floor.

Spooning dry rice or beans between bowls.

I went to the craft store, and bought brightly colored felt, embroidery floss, and used some dry pinto beans to make bean bags with. I made a game of it for him to toss the bags into a box.

I got a round metal magnet board at IKEA, and some wooden animal magnents for him to play with. We made a game of him finding the animal I would name for him, and he also got a lot of independent busy time out of it too.

I think DS would live in his pool outside if I let him. We also go out and dig in the dirt a lot.

I tried to make picking up toys before nap time and at night a game when he was around 12 mo, and its paid off big time now.

Dance, sing songs, read books, be silly. Incorporate him into what you do.

As he starts getting a little older, it gets easier to do a lot more with him. I am loving this 20 month time period with DS!

[cyclamen]

Play ring around the rosie!  I discovered that if I sing the first two lines of the song over and over, DD will spin indefinitely.  At least, I always get tired singing before she gets tired of spinning.

For several months now we have been telling simple and repetitive stories about daily life and simple nature stories. Like, "once upon a time, there was a little girl named DD and she was going on a walk with her mama and dada!  Mama put on her black shoes, and DD put on her blue shoes, and Dada put on his brown shoes!" etc.  She loves those types of stories.  She is just now at 25mo enjoying a story about a little chick growing in an egg who runs out of room and pecks and flaps and kicks until the eggshell is broken, and then cuddles with mama hen.

We also sing a lot of songs and say rhymes.  Around 15mo, a friend of ours taught DD "isty bitsy spider."  DD thought it was the coolest thing. 

I also fill up a tub of water, put it on a towel and let DD go to town on it.  She usually just takes her clothes off and gets in.

[jdg]

14 month old DD loves books, so we read a lot of board books. We also use the books to work on words (her repeating them back to us), recognition of the words we say ("where is the kitty cat? can you point to the kitty cat in the picture?") animal noises (love the books Moo, Baa, La La La and The Very Busy Spider for this), body parts (Where is Baby's Belly Button is a great lift-the-flap book), and sign language (Baby Signs board book series).

Stacking cups are a great, cheap toy for practicing sorting, colors, stacking, nesting.

Small balls (about 5" diameter) are fantastic for working on throwing. Slightly larger balls (small soccer balls) are great for kicking. The colorful big bouncy plastic balls that are about 12-18" in diameter are great all-around fun, and you can find them for a few dollars in just about any big box store.

She loves watching us blow bubbles, though she can't blow them herself yet.

We incorporate following simple instructions into her activities, so she learns "can you put away this book before getting the next one?" and "can you lie down to be changed?" I consider these precursors to being able to teach her more complex rules for games as she gets a little older.

Climbing comes not long after walking, so getting a stepstool to put near the couch to work on getting up and down safely.

Singing songs - old macdonald has a farm, itsy bitsy spider, there was an old lady who swallowed a fly, baa baa black sheep

Turning on the radio and dancing

Ride on toys - the simple kind you push with your feet only, that have chair casters for wheels so they move very easily in all directions. The Wheely Bug is my favorite.

Swimming. We never set up the baby pool, we take her in the big pool. She stands on the steps and splashes, wants us to carry her around in the deeper water, likes to walk around the edges and throw toys in and make us get them.

Wooden peg puzzles can be fun, though DD mostly likes taking the pieces out and not putting them in.

A shape sorter can be fun. I really like this one better than most: http://www.amazon.com/Tolo-Toys-Rolling-Shape-Sorter/dp/B00005UFC1

Laundry. She loves to help move things from the washer to the dryer (we have a front-loader, so it's all right at her level). And then she takes the dry things out of the dryer one at a time and hands them to me to be folded.

Bought a MagnaDoodle recently on clearance and she LOVES it. She also likes for us to tape a big sheet of paper to the hard floor and give her crayons to scribble with.

Finger paints were a ridiculously big hit, but messy enough to be a rare occurance.

[Jewels*]

I'm subbing!

I am completely in the same boat! Lots of great ideas!

[FrugalGranolaMom]

We do a lot of the same things mentioned by the PPs.

Outside DS likes to help with the yard work and garden. He has his own small watering can along with a rake and shovel that are his size.  Bubbles and sidewalk chalk are also fun outside activities.

Picture books with colors and animals have always been a big hit and we would say the animal sounds together, now he does them on his own.

He loves his toy cars and trains and we use those to help teach counting and colors. He has several wooden puzzles and will actually put the pieces back now.

He always wants to help with whatever I'm doing so he has his own sponge & dusters (makeup brushes) that he uses to "clean" all over the house.

Alphabet magnets for the fridge keep him busy for a little while when I'm in the kitchen and he has his own drawer for his own kitchen items (spoons, cups, oven mitts, measuring cups, etc.)

[nstewart]

Lots of great ideas!  Thanks so much!  (Oh, but do keep them coming!!)