Help with Daytime Activities

Hey B., the Colorado Parent Magazine and Activities Guide are awesome for finding activities, free or otherwise. A membership to the Children's Museum is $75 for an annual family pass, which is awesome. Also, I know the Englewood Library has alot of good books with craft and activity ideas for toddlers. I stay home with my 2-yr.-old who never sleeps unless I run her ragged. We started scheduling our day to include certain times for crafts,outside, etc. She loves having a schedule, and she tires out!

There are some great age-specific books at the library that give ideas of activities for toddlers. Also there is a book "The Preschooler's Guide to Denver" with ideas about places to go, how much it costs, ideas of special things to do once you get there, etc. We have LOVED our zoo membership--been going ever since my oldest was about 18 months. Sometimes we go twice a week and only for 45 minutes just to look at the monkeys or the polar bears. It's a fun way to get out of the house, get a little excercise, and have fun!

I also have a 2 year old and I am not at all creative so this is a challenge for me too.

Some things that have worked wonderfully for me:
- Playground - anything anywhere that he can climb on.
- Arts & crafts - see references mentioned below.
- Regular chores - I find ways that he can "help" me do my chores... I let him load & unload his dishes into/out of the diswasher. I let him put clothes into the washing machine. I let him scoop the dog food into their bowls. I let him help measure, pour, and stir when making meals. His favorite - painting the chicken (brushing bbq sauce on).

Of course, for all of these things, he requires constant attention. I have to remind myself not to be worried about messes - I can clean them up later or he can help me clean.

Also, he is just so curious about how things work. One of his favorite games (has been for a long time) is "what's this". I point to things asking him "what's this"? He says "yah". I then tell him a little bit about it - what it's called, what it does, how it works, what it looks/smells/tastes/sounds like. Alot of it doesn't seem very entertaining but it keeps him occupied :)

For a little bit less involvement from me, he does really well with legos, word whammer (refrigerator magnet toy), cars & trucks, puzzles & books.

I love to read to him, but he's just too busy during the day to sit down for that. It seems I can only work that in before bedtime. His little body just doesn't want to sit still for books during the day.

Every once in a while, we'll indulge him w/ 5-10 minutes of computer time. We have found some free games on www.fisherprice.com and www.sesamestreet.com. We keep his time limited and we are with him the entire time.

Some books that have helped me w/ ideas (can check out from the library):
Toddler Play
The Toddler's Busy Book
The Preschooler's Guide of Things to do in Denver

Hope some of this helps,
P.

Sorry it took so long to respond. At that age there are a number of things to do. you may email me if you wish. I used to work in the 2 year old room at a daycare near us.