CARDS, TEES & LIDS
Gather your incomplete old decks of cards, applesauce squeeze pack lids or pompoms, golf tees and a container with a lid!
This activity seems super silly and easy and it is. You can fancy up a container with washi tape or keep as is. Make a slit in the lid or bottom (if it’s an oatmeal cardboard bottom) and leave out cards for kiddos to put in the slot. This works well with babies just learning to sit and passing objects from one hand to the other.
You can also poke a little hole and have them poke golf tees through the hole to work those little hand muscles (note: not for babies! Intended for kiddos who are a bit older and not mouthing objects, due to choking hazard)!
Lastly, you can make a quarter-sized hole for them to push applesauce lids through, or pompoms! Again watch, because these can be a choking hazard for some.
Over the years, these simple containers have been a mailbox, wishing well, cash register, garbage can, and even on occasion a “work project” where they would hammer the golf tees through with their pretend hammers!
BALANCE BEAM BLOCKS
Balance beams are a great way to build coordination, work foot muscles and core strength. The thing is, balance beams take up space. They are heavy and bulky! If your little person is, in fact, little… then cardboard blocks and Velcro may be the way to go!
Super easy hack. Buy pre-cut pieces or a roll of Velcro. Peel and stick on the ends of a few cardboard blocks. If you don’t have cardboard blocks… get some! They are awesome! You can still build all the things even with Velcro on the ends. Enjoy!
Velcro: https://amzn.to/3yy6Q6u
Blocks: https://amzn.to/3YNPopy
WOODEN RAINBOW
What, may you ask, is so important and fun about a wooden rainbow? Well, my friends, let me tell you… wooden rainbow play is endless! Over the past 5 years, this rainbow has been a house, a garage, a tunnel, a bowl, a cage for zoo animals, a frying pan, a phone. The list is endless. Also, so helpful for making balancing towers and incorporating into any sensory play. It’s a must for any aged kiddo!
Link to rainbow: https://amzn.to/3mNx2HV
BOX PLAY!
Boxes. I don't know about you, but Amazon, Sam's Club, and diapers are our life right now and have been for a long time and will be for the foreseeable future! We have so many boxes! They add clutter... take up space... can be living room obstacles... but we definitely love them and welcome them and the creativity they invite.
What can you do with a box?! I’m sure you have used boxes to make your own creations, and I’d love to hear some of those ideas in the comments below! We have made them into anything from pretend air conditioner units to space shuttles! One of the best things that we have used to decorate our cardboard boxes with are paint sticks! They are so easy and smooth to draw with and dry extremely quickly.
Some of our box creations have lasted only a few days and some have lasted weeks at a time! I hope you can use a box in a fun way to add some entertainment in your kiddos’ busy days!
Links to paint sticks:
DEMOLITION DERBY
If your kiddo is a fan of messes and cars, this activity is for you!! Super simple and fun! Cover any surface with butcher paper or even a plastic tablecloth and tape a piece of paper down to secure. All you need is finger paint and cars (I used yogurt for my toddler still mouthing everything)! Start with a few dots of finger paint on the paper and a splat or two on the cars themselves. Kiddos love to watch the car make tracks and to smash cars into each other as well!
Butcher Paper: https://amzn.to/3n9K3Mr
Finger Paint: https://amzn.to/41LrBsB
COLOSSAL PIPE CLEANERS & GEARS
Playing with lots of gears and colossal pipe cleaners has so many fun benefits! My preschoolers can work on their fine motor and coordination skills, along with color matching, sorting, and color identification as well!
Colossal Pipe Cleaners: https://amzn.to/3LrIdzj
Gears: https://amzn.to/3riX9ZN
Big Lacing Beads: https://amzn.to/48k6LUE
PRESCHOOL 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗘 FAVORITES!
𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗝𝗨𝗠𝗣: Time to work on those gross motor and listening skills! Draw a huge tree with apples of different colors (chalk on cement works best!) Call out this jingle and tell kiddos they need to jump to whichever Apple color you call out!
“Apple Pickers…one, two, three… pick a 𝘳𝘦𝘥 apple from our tree!” (Tune of Twinkle, Twinkle)
𝗣𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗠 𝗣𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚:
Set up a container of mixed “apples” pompoms in the center with two trees of different colors on the sides. Provide tongs. Tell kiddos they can either “pick” the apples and put them back in the bushel bin, or they can sort the apples from the bin and put them back on the trees. Encourage use of tongs or spoon for fine motor practice!
ABC FASHION HACK!
When school is starting up, you may have a little person or little people who are starting to learn and recognize letters and sounds! When I homeschooled my kindergartener and his buddy, we focused on one letter a week and to reinforce our learning, they wore these letter bracelets! We referenced them throughout the school day and also discussed the objects on their bracelets that started with the letter focus! We switched out letters and buttons every Monday and it was a huge hit along with a fun component to learning! This would work perfectly for pre-k kiddos or early elementary and to pair with what your little ones are learning in the classroom.
Charm bracelets: https://amzn.to/3sZuVnh
Charms:https://amzn.to/3Ltjo6f
BIG KID CORNER
It’s all fun and games when you have a baby sibling until they become mobile! For us, this is when things got tricky with bigger kiddos. Baby was trying to explore new spaces and new toys , yet big brother or sister was NOT interested in having their space intruded. Instead of constantly moving baby or siblings’ items, having big sibling meltdown over sharing everything, and having baby cry because toys are constantly being returned to their owner, we decided to dedicate a corner of our living room to the “big kid”. This space was blocked off with a baby gate(s) and was cozy— just for him. We added a little rug and a surface to play on. He could stash anything he wanted to keep safe and for his hands only in that space. This really eliminated a lot of refereeing on my part, and created a safe space for all siblings so each could co-exist as peacefully as possible!
Baby Playyard Gates: https://amzn.to/3RAVqKb
HANGING WATER PLAY & BED BIN!
Hanging plant pots make awesome containers to hang off of bunk bed rails and double as a fun water play container for little people! We have had bunk beds for over 5 years now, and while these plastic plant hangers are no longer in stock, these similar ones (check links) are awesome for hanging over the bunk rail to hold books, trinkets, stuffies, water bottles, etc. Also! When my little people were toddling around and in walkers, we hung an extra planter over the arm of a deck chair, filled it with a bit of water on a hot day and the baby was able to play and not dump the water!
Planters:
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FAMILY READING TIME
It’s your turn to make reading magical! A few years ago, we started a family tradition called “Family Reading Time“. It sounds so simple, and it actually really is. It just takes a little bit of prep and some creativity and intention. I picked out a book bin for each of my kids (even the baby at the time). I intentionally placed books that would be of high interest to them within the book bins. Sometimes the books are from our bookshelf, sometimes I make a surprise library visit, and sometimes they are holiday related or seasonal! I try to rotate them out once a week. The kids are only allowed to use these books during our family reading time each night! Sometimes, I throw in some special things— a stuffed animal reading buddy, a plastic figurine to read to, or sometimes I set up the living room like a camp fire circle and everyone has their cozy nook. During this time, we play soft music and no one talks. Daddy reads, mommy reads, kiddos read. Uninterrupted 5-10min (sometimes longer, but rarely). At this stage, reading for kiddos may look like browsing through books, looking at pictures —and that is okay. This is an awesome time for kids to learn that everyone needs a healthy, solid 5 or 10 minutes to quiet down and focus on literacy!
Book Bins: https://amzn.to/3LJ1TPu
MESSY PLAY SPACE
We all know they love to get dirty and messy. This includes digging, scooping, building, burying, and, of course, demolishing! Our old backyard was small. We found that the kiddos were wrecking all parts of the backyard. I felt bad redirecting them every time we went outside— it got old quickly! So… we decided to just give them their own space so that they could be messy, dirty, and do whatever they wanted to with it! It started out as a small pit of dirt, which extended into a mud kitchen, and a bench made out of tree stumps. The corner of the yard became our haven! It gave them a space where they could be kids, and we as parents, didn’t need to clean up the entire yard each day! Win, win all around!
CUSHION CORE WORK
Here’s a simple way to help your child work on core muscles while having fun and playing. Did you know that just adding a cushion underneath your little person’s feet to stand on while they play, is super beneficial to stabilizing their core? They have to work all kinds of muscles to balance and they hardly notice the difficult work their bodies are doing while they are distracted with play. This trick is awesome as well, if you have a little person who is super active or a sensory seeker. Standing on cushiony surfaces provides a lot of sensory “feedback” to kiddos who need it. Try this when your child is standing upright or kneeling and start with short spurts of time before lengthening! You’ll find they will be more fatigued as well, which is never a bad thing!
BATH MAT = CLEAN FEET
This is still a hack I turn to each summer— one never to forget! Keeping a bath mat outside your blow up pool is the best way ever to keep grass and dirt out of your kid pool. My little people love to jump out, run around and get hot and then jump back in. We tried this one day and the new rule was that they needed to brush the grass off of their feet on the mat before jumping back in. They LOVED the fact that the water stayed so clean for so long. I tend to use the same water the following day, so this saved us so much time and water and complaints!
PAPER RING PRESENTS
A tiny bit of paper and some staples/tape can go a long way!! This hack worked SO well when I had to leave my kiddos during my c-section with baby #4. Bigger kiddos were feeling all of the big feelings about mom and dad being gone for an extended time. What I did was plan a little “paper ring present” for them to open each day we were gone. I made a paper chain with three links— one for each day we’d be gone. Inside each link was a quick little message for them and then a clue about what their toy or activity was! One day was plastic animals to play in kinetic sand/dirt with, the next day was a secret ink notepad and invisible marker and pair of glasses to play detective, and the final day was outdoor art supplies— chalk, paint, etc. This was a solid way for the kids to have a visual of how many days we would be gone, along with something to look forward to and play with each day, and a pep talk on paper from mom and dad!
𝐇𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 ТԻḘᾸṦṲԻḘ 𝐁𝐚𝐠𝐬
We have found with our kids, that hiking and walking goes a lot more smoothly when we set a purpose. They become so interested in "the mission", that they forget about their tired feet, chilly hands, hungry bellies, or any other complaint that may hinder a nice hike. I started creating "Treasure Bags" that are easy to hold, open and close and will not rip! We use them
over and over and the kids LOVE filling them with whatever we can find! Sometimes we set a goal of finding all green items, or assign a number (I.e. let's find 4 yellow things). We have even tried to collect items that start with different letters of the alphabet! You can turn a "Treasure Bag" hike into anything!
All you need is a gallon plastic bag that zips or closes at the top, a piece of duct tape, a hole punch and some twine or string! Looking at the front of the bag, put a piece of duct tape around the top left corner to wrap from front to back. Then write your kiddo's name on the tape. Punch a hole into the duct tape square and tie twine through the hole to make an easy handle to carry your bag with! Super quick, super cheap, super doable! You can even have your child decorate their "Treasure Bag"!