| ACTIVITIES: NOT MESSY |
| WATER MATH |
| Age: Baby+ |
| What You Need |
|
Various size containers and funnels |
| What to Do |
This is a great bathtime
activity! Let your child discover the basic math concepts, such
as empty/full, shallow/deep, small/big as he or she pours water
in and out various containers.
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| FLANNEL TRAIN PUZZLE |
| Age: Toddler+ |
| What You Need |
 A
large piece of cardboard or foam board
One yard of green flannel
4-5 small pieces of felt (can be found at craft stores)
Duct tape and scissors |
| What to Do |
|
Make a flannel board by wrapping a foam board or cardboard with
flannel and securing it with a duct tape in the back
Cut out several felt shapes: one large rectangle, one small
rectangle, one square, one triangle, and two circles (making each
piece a different color will encourage color differentiation)
Assemble a train engine with your child, and then let them build
a train on their own
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PILLOW JUMP |
| Age: Toddler |
| What You Need |
| Pillows |
| What to Do |
| Give your child several pillows to jump into. (Toddlers usually figure out how to do this on their own!) |
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| OBSTACLE COURSE |
| Age: Baby |
| When your baby starts crawling, you can set up a mini-obstacle course that will add even more excitement to their new mobility, while helping to strengthen the muscles. |
| What You Need |
|
A large cardboard box
Packing tape
A pillow (you can even use several pillows of various sizes) |
| What to Do |
|
Make a tunnel out of a large cardboard box by opening both ends of the box, then taping them together to form a tunnel. For even more fun, cut a few small "windows" along the tunnel
Place a large (but not too thick) pillow near one of the openings of the tunnel. Let your baby crawl over the pillow and into the tunnel (or the other way around!) |
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SHOPPING TRIP |
| Age: Toddler+ |
Shopping for groceries is just one of many daily routines that you can use to help your child learn. Shopping is especially good for teaching your child new words and for introducing him to new people and places.
What You Need
A grocery shopping list
What to Do
Pick a time when neither you nor your child is hungry or tired.
At the grocery store, put your child in the grocery cart so that he faces you. Take your time as you walk up and down the aisles.
Let your child feel the items that you buy-a cold carton of milk, for example or the skin of an orange. Talk to your child about the items: "The skin of the orange is rough and bumpy. Here, you feel it."
Be sure to name the objects that you see on shelves and talk about what you are seeing and doing: "First, we're going to buy some cereal. See, it's in a big red and blue box. Listen to the great noise it makes when I shake the box. Can you shake the box? Now we're going to pay for the groceries. We'll put them on the counter while I get out the money. The cashier will tell us how much we have to pay."
Encourage your child to practice saying "hi" and "bye-bye" to clerks and other shoppers.
Leave for home before your child gets tired or grumpy.
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BOTTLE BOWLING |
| Age: Toddler+ |
| What You Need |
| Clean, empty plastic bottles without lids (if you
keep the lids, make sure they are securely attached with glue for
safety)
A ball |
| What to Do |
| Set the bottles in a row or in a group
Let your child try to knock down the bottles by rolling the ball
towards them (throwing the ball instead of rolling is okay, too!)
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BOX CAR |
| Age: Toddler |
| What You Need |
|
A large cardboard box |
| What to Do |
| Give your child a large cardboard box to push around the room. He may want to take his stuffed animal or toy for a ride in it. If the box isn't too high-you'll most likely find your toddler in the box as well. |
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TABLE TENT |
| Age: Toddler+ |
| What You Need |
|
A large sheet |
| What to Do |
| Cover a table with a sheet that's big enough to reach the floor on all sides. This makes a great playhouse that's particularly good for a rainy day. |
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| MEMORY GAME |
| Age: Baby+ |
| Although this seems like an activity suitable
for older babies (that can point), you can play it with kids as
little as 5-6 months old. Just make sure to pay attention to the
non-verbal cues your baby is using instead of pointing! |
| What You Need |
|
A favorite toy
Three cardboard boxes (preferably of the same size)
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| What to Do |
|
Put three cardboard boxes upside down in front of your baby
Show him or her their favorite toy; slowly put it under one of
the boxes
Ask, "Where is... (the toy)? Where did it go?", and wait for the
baby to respond by cooing, pointing, or other means
Lift the box your baby points at, and say, "You found it! Here
it is!" (or, "It's not here, where else can it be?")
Continue looking until the toy is found
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| WHAT IS IT? |
| Age: Toddler+ |
| What You Need |
|
A large cardboard box
A light blanket or a blindfold
Various items, such as small toys |
| What to Do |
Put several small toys in a large cardboard box
Cover the box with a blanket, leaving just a small opening
enough to put two hands through (or you can use a blindfold instead)
Let children take turns picking up a toy while blindfolded and
trying to guess what it is
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| PUZZLE TREASURE HUNT |
| Age: Preschool+ |
|
This is a variation of a traditional treasure hunt. For younger children, use just one or two puzzles with the minimum number of pieces. For older children, you can add an extra puzzle or two, depending on how long you want the search process to be. |
| What You Need |
|
Several small (9-12 pieces) puzzles
A treasure (can be a birthday gift, or a prize if several teams are competing)
Small boxes |
| What to Do |
|
Put the puzzles together, flip them over, and write clues on the back of each puzzle (with each clue leading to the location of the next puzzle)
Take the puzzles apart, and put each puzzle in a separate box
Hide the boxes and the "treasure"
Let the search begin! |
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JUMBO COINS |
| Age: Toddler |
| What You Need |
| Metal lids from
the frozen juice containers
An old purse
|
| What to Do |
| Rinse out several lids from
frozen juice containers (they don't have sharp edges), dry them off
well. These are the "coins"
Fill up an old purse with "the coins" and give
it to your child. They will love taking the "money" out of the purse
and putting it back in.
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| FISH TANK |
| Age: Toddler+ |
| What You Need |
 Three sheets of
cardboard or construction paper: blue, light blue, and
green
Stickers with fish and/or other sea life
Glue and scissors |
| What to Do |
Prepare the fish tank "setting" in advance
(older children can make it
 themselves): use a light blue sheet
of cardboard as your base, and glue blue and green cutouts on
top of it to create water, seaweeds, or any other objects
appropriate for a fish tankGive your child a sheet of stickers
with fish, corals, etc., and ask them to place them
wherever they'd like. Try not to interfere, and let the
child's imagination do all the work.
You can frame the finished masterpiece and hang it on a wall. This
will boost your child's confidence, and show them that you
appreciate their talent and creativity. |
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| TREE MOBILE |
| Age: Baby |
| What You Need |
|
A blanket |
| What to Do |
On a warm spring/summer day, take
your baby to a park
Put a blanket under a big tree, and put your
baby on their back on the blanket. The leaves moving in the wind
will be just as fascinating to him or her as a commercial
mobile.
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