1. Bake cookies (or muffins or cupcakes). If possible, pick a recipe that has multiple steps and make sure to let your toddler help. I know it’s easier to just mix it yourself, but savor the moment and let him spin the spoon around a few times.
2. Turn on music and dance. It’s good exercise and it’s sure to produce lots of giggles.
3. Pull out the blankets, chairs, and odds ‘n’ ends – and make a fort. Pack lunch in a basket and have a picnic in your new hideout.
4. Pretend you’re a famous photographer. Set up backdrops, lay out different outfits, and use your toddler as a model. If you know how to use your camera’s auto-feature, use it and try to capture a few silly shots of the two of you! Otherwise, just put your toddler in cute outfits and follow her around like the paparazzi.
5. Let Your Toddler Make A (Supervised) Mess. Buy some washable paint and make “prints” of your toddler’s hands and feet. He’ll love the colorful chaos and you’ll end up with some cute keepsakes to display in your house or on your refrigerator…or to present to grandpa & grandma.
YOUR TURN: What indoor activities do you do with your baby or toddler?
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Damselfly says
June 16, 2008 at 9:07 pmMixing cake batter, oh boy! You’re brave.
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Adventures In Babywearing says
June 16, 2008 at 5:42 pmOk. Now I want a cupcake…
Steph
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Peggy Gorman says
June 16, 2008 at 10:35 amScrapbooking but on a level with crayons and pictures, the kids love them and its so much fun.
Count me in to win
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Brianna says
June 16, 2008 at 10:04 amWe love to collect as many musical instruments together as possible and become a marching band, parading around the house or when drums are involved, put on a concert (much like the park concerts we attend in the summer). This has become such a hit, it is a nearly daily event at our place!
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Caryn Bailey says
June 15, 2008 at 11:03 pmI LOVE these ideas!!!!
We try to go to different classes so I guess that’s an indoor activity that we have to go out to do! haha!
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Kelli says
June 15, 2008 at 8:50 pmThose are all fun ideas! My kids and I LOVE to dance. They also like singing into the microphone on our karaoke machine. Another fun thing we do is have a “picnic” in the house or on the screened-in porch if it’s raining. One day, the kids had a “beach party” on the porch. I have a picture on my blog under “Random Ramblings – Marvelous Monday”. So cute!
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Kristinia says
June 15, 2008 at 3:16 pmWe sing the ABC song, we also place ABC magnets on the fridge or on his magnetic chalkboard, and read ABC books. I’m really into teaching him his ABC’s can you tell? We do this everyday, along with number 1-20, also we build stuff with Megablocks, he loves it!
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Emily N. says
June 15, 2008 at 1:06 pmThese are wonderful ideas! We love to dance and sing too. We also like to play with Tinker-toys. My little boy is just learning to “build and construct” and he is so happy when we build things together.
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marissa says
June 15, 2008 at 11:27 amMy son loves to run and “hide” from me and then have me find him. He thinks it’s so funny. He also loves to watch me dance for him. And he loves me to throw a ball across the room – he’ll fetch it and bring it back to me to throw again. Thanks for all the great suggestions, we’ll definitely try them out!
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Becky says
June 15, 2008 at 10:50 amGood ones! I’d never thought of trying to include *myself* into photo shoots – I’m sure my kids would love that!
You mentioned painting – one of our favorite things to do is let the kids loose with washable paints in the bathtub – naked, no water. They can paint the tub and tiles on the wall, and experiment with mixing colors, but all the mess is contained in one place, and you can easily clean up with a bath when you’re done! (Although do be sure to wash the paints off of the tile grout in a reasonable amount of time afterward, or you’ll have a much harder time ridding the grout of lovely red coloring.)
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Andrea McMann says
June 15, 2008 at 10:01 amGreat ideas! My kids have blankets, some chairs, and a sleeping bag out as I type this. They’re “camping.”
Since we just got back from our first camping trip, and they’re already prentending to camp, I guess you could say that camping was a hit! :)
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Michelle M says
June 15, 2008 at 9:12 amWe, well I just say I, like to color. He still wants to put the crayons in his mouth, though. We also empty his toy box to find the toys that we forgot he had, and to him it’s like having a new toy. We dance sometimes, and also do some reading.
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stacey moore says
June 15, 2008 at 7:06 ammy little ones love to read, color, and play games together!!
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the mama hood says
June 15, 2008 at 4:27 amWe love to do these activities! This might sound funny but my kids also love to help with simple chores, around the kitchen or living room. Their favorites are rinsing or drying dishes, dusting, vacuuming and cleaning windows. I know they won’t love it forever, but it’s fun for them and I am also teaching them living skills.