Please help me come up with more activties for my situation - Page 2

[Emalin]

Build a fort with sofa cushions and sheets, puppet shows, make up stories together (can use stuffed animals or puppets), get some costumes (can often find these at consignment or thrift stores or very marked down after Halloween), go to a nursery and let him pick out a few plants for a planter box then check and water every day, gymnastic moves (sommersaults, ect.), dancing (esp. silly dancing), hide and seek, stuffed animal living room picnic or tea party, theme days (book about bunnies, carrots for lunch, pretend to be bunnies, ect., whatever he's into), weekly trips to the library so you always have fresh books & cds at home, pop-up tunnel, act out stories (princess and the pea, ect.)...
 

[Choose2Reuse]

Well, my DD isn't that old yet, but here are some things I remember my mom doing with me when I was little (3-ish)...These are all indoor things since it sounds like that's what you need most.

--I know he doesn't like crafty things, but maybe window crayons or bath crayons?  Or those markers that smell like different things, if he can be trusted with markers?

--The "mother may I" game to get across the room & back--my mom used to play this while she was cooking.  The kid says "Mother, may I go out to play?" and the mom says, "Yes, if you do xxx all the way"--fill in the blank with hop, walk backwards, run, crawl, etc.  The kid does that to the other end of the room and back.  Repeat add infinitum.

--Tickle monster games, tag games, etc. in the house

--Building forts

--Helping cook (way cooler than just "chores" because you get to eat it afterwards)

--Jumping on the bed.  My parents let me do it and it was awesome!  And very good for using up excess energy on rainy days. :)

--Homemade play-doh

--Playing dress-up

--Cranking up the radio and doing silly dances

[EmbraceLife]

Great thread!  Thanks for the honest post and sharing.  My boys are a little bit younger than yours.  We limit "screen" time and I do feel guilty about it if I use it too much.  We do not have cable and or a "box" for the tv.  So, the tv can only play dvd's or vhs which we can select and control.  We also use Netflix and Hulu online so we can all sit and watch the computer screen or smart phone screen.  I would prefer to have NO screen time but have not gotten there yet although we're getting closer.

I love some of the ideas that have been posted.  I also love the book Unplugged Play!

Some of the things our boys love doing: 

*Playing with empty plastic containers that I've filled with different objects.  They love these things better than toys from the store and they fight over them!  It's hilarious.

*Helping water plants, helping cook, helping clean up a mess, helping put laundry in the dryer, helping carry laundry to the laundry room ... helping gets huge smiles and they look so proud of themselves.

*We have a tub of musical instruments and we sing action songs.  This is a big hit around our place.  We also dance to any kind of music ... theirs, mine or daddy's!

*We also rotate toys around everyday, sometimes two or three times a day - especially if we were stuck inside.

We also add outdoor time, zoo, park, walks, water play ...

Again ... I love this thread and you all gave me some great ideas to help keep the screen off more!!!

[lotusrising]

I know you are looking for indoor activities at your home, but don't forget some of the free indoor, climate controlled places that you can go to in your city: the YMCA, public libraries, indoor pools. Malls usually have play areas too.

Depending on your beliefs/comfort level with fast food places, there are chick-fil-a, mcdonalds and burger king playplaces that can provide a chance for exercise too. You can just order a cup of coffee or juice and forgo the food.

[FlutterbyCZ]

1) One of the activities I do with my son is to make a collage of the 'letter of the day'

 Although I state "letter of the day", we don't do this activity every single day...our schedule has been hectic lately that it has been almost every three or four days at a time.

      If it is a nice day, my son and I would arm ourselves with a basket and collect items from the park/garden...such as pine cones or leaves or rocks...sticks even.  ((My son gets some fresh air and he has a hunting activity to do while we wonder around and talk about what we see.))    At home I would draw the letter of the day and we would stick the item we collect to form the letter.  LOVE Elmers glue...easy to clean and it dries clear.  Then he helps me find the letters in old magazines.  I would cut the letters he finds and he would glue them on.

   We are slowly working through the alphabets.   This is perfect for either a sunny day or rainy day.  All you really need to find are things that you can get in large quantities.  I am planning on using uncooked pastas, dried beans or lentils, yarn/strings, scraps of fabric, and even sand...for a messy day!  :-) 

 2)  Once we complete the alphabet, my next thought is for us to find pictures of items that starts with each letter.  On an odd day we would make pictures of whatever he is into.  Lately he is fascinated with space & rockets.  He has several pictures of space ship in his room! LOL

3)Another activity we like to do is go for a short hike.  He loves to climb so I make sure we go through trails that has boulders for him to climb....sometimes with mommy's help.  Last week we stumbled across blueberry bushes!  He had a blast collecting them and we made blueberry yoghurt popsicles.

4) Our other project that we are working on is creating characters for our shadow puppet show.  I use cereal boxes to cut out images/characters and twigs to stick the silhouette on.  My son helps me to draw...as best he can...and I cut out the image.  Next weekend we will be camping with my nephews so we are planning on bringing our flashlights and our characters so we can create our story.   So far we have a fire breathing dragon, two pine trees, and a goofy looking robot.  They are not perfect cutouts of dragon & robot but my son loves them.  :-)  He wants a car, castle, and a rocket.  :-)

I hope these help you.

[Prena Sinha]

Hey, Thanks for sharing some amazing ideas!! Really helpful!! :) This is such an amazing forum I have joined!! I have a small sister named taarya, earlier i was really confused of how to engage her in activities !! because of age gap, I really didnt know of how to play with her, I really just cant play doll house with her, and whole day she is after my life to play with her!! So while surfing, I found this site called hushbabies, and Man, there were so many games, puzzles, Cds , Dvds available, that I was so confused of what to buy, everything was available!! when i showed it to taarya, she just wanted everything!! but atlast i made a choice, and I got brainy baby fun learning pack for her, That pack made learning so much fun, that even I too enjoy with her, And she totally loved it, and calls it the best gift of her life, It teaches her fruits and vegetables, It has some magical sounds as well, introduces seasons, and a great way to teach her body parts as well!! And lately she has been calling her friends too, and showing it to them as well!! And i am happy that she has found a friend and teacher in it, You can also try other cds and Dvds as well, and engage them in something useful for them!! guys, keep on sharing your ideas, this way we can try something new and learn from each other!!

 

[Stevi]

I haven't read all of the replies, but some things toddlers enjoy are...

play dough

coloring/water color

flash light or laser light

blocks/lincoln logs/legos

[Stevi]

Other non-toy fun...

the old wooden spoon and pots and pans drum set.

A piece of string and something tied at the end of it, maybe a feather, or something else light that won't break things if swung about,

A big pile of sponges

A big pile of popsicle sticks

A pile of paper that can be crumpled/torn/scattered

A pool inflatable floatie, these make great boats for the living room!

[Alex89]

I know he is not into crafts, but something I love is creating an "Imagination Station" on your kitchen table. Save up recyclables- old tissue boxes, the cardboard cylinder from paper towers/toiletpaper, milk and egg cartons etc- as well as collecting old buttons and misc. items. Find a pair of scissors, scotch tape and markers and turn those old recyclables into new inventions! 

This is great for staying busy as well as enabling creative play and fostering a LOs imagination!