Hello, I am looking for some ideas for fun at home activites to do with a 19 mth old. I can't spend much money but I will be off for 12 weeks on maternity leave and need some ideas. They can be arts and crafts, sports anything!!! She is very active and I just want to keep her busy while I am home on leave with things she can do by herself or we can do together.
Thanks for your ideas
For snack time you can use plastic spoons or even the one she eats with and spread peanut butter or something on bread then decorate it with sliced bananas, raisins, etc. My kids love doing this--even the little one!
What will help you the most is a routine during your time-off, so your daughter will know what to expect. We do morning; Breakfast, independent play/cartoons. Once you have your baby fed and everyone's dressed; out in car to run errand w/ a quick stop at a local park after errand(s) are done. Then it's time for lunch and nap. After nap, we often play out front w/ sidewalk chalk, pushing little tikes shopping cart, take a walk. Stock up on some crayons, coloring books and stickers for rainy days. Also look for a playgroup in your area. Sorry, I know you need to squeeze in feeding your new baby,too! Best wishes.
Take an old/plastic table outside and tape paper to it. Get out the paint & brushes and let her go at it! Also, my son, at that age could spend hours outside with buckets of water, cups, dishes, etc. Do you have the game Hullaballoo? That is a great game for kids. Sidewalk chalk is about a buck for a big bucket at the dollar store. Same with bubbles! Have fun & enjoy!
They have a lot of good ideas there for free. :) HAVE FUN!
I will be facing exactly the same age when I have baby #2. I am s SAHM now and my DD is 17 months. When we can't play outside, besides coloring and tv and stickers, i put her in her high chair with some playdoh and let her go to town. Also I tape black construction paper to her high chair and give her some chalk to draw with. One of my other tricks is I keep toys in every room of the house upstairs (office, my room, spare room , her room, and when she gets bored in her playroom, we go upstairs and while I clean, fold laundry, etc. I let her roam with me from room to room and play with all the different toys. It really helps break things up so she is not watching too much TV and motivates me to get things done. I plan to do this with the new baby too, since I can feed him or her anywhere I guess ;) Oh she also LOVES big empty boxes. I bring them in ther living room and she can spend 1/2 an hour filling it with toys, then taking them out again!
michaels.com join the nack (I believe that's what it's called) it has great craft ideas for free! You can also go to classes at the store, I don't believe there is a charge, but it's always best to check.
Story time at the library or if you have a Barnes & Noble near by.
Parks, don't be afraid of taking your NB out with you... they'll do good in the fresh air, just watch the sun.
hope it helps,
R.
When I was on maternity leave with my second son, I needed things to keep my 1st son (then 22 months old) busy. One day I gave him a shallow aluminum baking tray (9 x 12 size - approx.) with dry oatmeal in it at the kitchen table then gave him some scoops, toy cars, small plastic, etc. It kept him busy for hours!! He had a blast scooping, piling and of course spilling the oatmeal! Once he was done, I just swept up the floor and stored the tray away for another time. He is now almost 3 and still likes to play with this. You could use rice or lentils too. I wouldn't use dry beans because of the choking risk.
It may take you some searching, but there are hundreds of Homeschool websites out there with great craft ideas that can also be used for toddlers. They also have great coloring pages for all seasons and interests. Play doh- homemade edible- is always good. Add equal parts peanutbutter, honey and powdered milk, mix and play. Parents just must be aware of peanut alergies. I was just reading how to make soap out of left over bars. Put them in the blender (1/2 cup) with equal oatmeal or cornmeal- blend fine then add 1-2 tbsp water and 1-2 tbsp oil. You can make soap on a rope or just shape anyway you like. Later have a fun bubble bath or give as gifts. I don't know if I can give out specific sites, but I have found many and I am not computer savy at all. Remember it doesn't take much to create great memories. Singing and being silly is a big pass time for my girls. They do alot of dressup. An important thing I found when I brought home a new baby was to have a doll for them to take care of the same way and at the same time you took care of new brother or sister. This really helped. We were given puppets too for the big sister to entertain the new baby. Good luck and have fun. It will go very quickly.
A child that young will be happy with the most simple of things. Draw pictures in the dirt, make homemade play dough, make cookies together, draw pictures on the sidewalk/driveway with chalk, pick wildflowers together, watch cartoons together, go for walks and look at the trees ~ there are so many things to do! Just remember it's the process, not the product that matters at this age. She'll just be happy doing things WITH you. :D
I suggest the book "Preschool Art" by Mary Ann Kohl. The crafts and projects in there are for ages 3-5 but I adapted them to fit my kids ages and abilities.
Hope you have fun!
I was having the same issue and started to allow my son too much tv, so we started some other activities with the tv off. He like to play with dry beans. We use a muffin tin, put muffin paper cups in and fill each cup, he fills a milk jug and shakes it and uses a kitchen funnel. He'll play for at least a half hour. He like to help cook too. I'll cut fruit and he'll put it in a bowl from me or mix anything around. I' let him have sprinkles and anything edible to make his own "recipe". We go out on the deck and play with water and sponges and paint brushes. Sidewalk chalk and paint os great too. We also get huge boxes and decorate them to make houses. We cut windows and holes to peek out of. I stay at home and am 5 months pregnant so money and energy are often an issue too. We try to go find places to play, the park, the lake and I've made some friends with young kids too. Just start to keep old used items such as egg cartons and milk jugs and you can come up with fun free activities. Good luck!
my girls are 27 months apart .. and I tried as best as I could to keep my oldest daughter's schedule the same. I did have her 'help' with the baby as much as possible, getting the diapers/wipes. Helping pick up baby's outfit for the day, helping with washing baby's face and hands (using a wipe .. no soap!), that kind of thing. Check out FamilyFun.com there are so many activities and projects on their website that are totally age appropriate. One other thing I would do would be to have a box or bag with some little toys, small stuffed animals, squishy balls etc for those time when the baby is fussy and you can't spend the time with the older one. Pull that out and let her have that ONLY when you can't spend the time. When the baby calms down or falls asleep .. you put away the 'emergency toys' together and do an activity. My older dd had a doll that she 'nursed' while I nursed my baby .. it worked out great, she would sit next to me and mimic what I did. When my baby got burped, so did her 'baby' Enjoy them both .. they don't stay little very long!
parks, playgrounds, play areas in Mcdonalds or other eating places are free.
coloring putting on music dancing around , have her help set up for the baby, go to library story times.
Congratulations on your expanding family! Some of the activities I do with my toddler are dancing around the room, "dusting" with a plain cloth or feather duster, coloring on a plain table cloth that I have deemed the "coloring table cloth" (my older 2 get a kick out of this, also). Since your 12 weeks will be in spring/summer, how about bubbles outside or chalk on the sidewalk or driveway? Have fun, and good luck with your new little one.
Hmmm, what immediately comes to mind are some things I would do with my son while I needed him quiet so I could make calls for my at-home business...
when it's nice out, toss a handful of pennies into the grass for her to find!
blow bubbles for her to chase in the breeze
rubber stamps, if you have an inexpensive set - I even let my son step on the washable ink pads then make footprints on large paper the kind that comes on a roll! out on the patio, of course
good luck!
