DIY Toys: Water Play

This is something we've done a few times to keep my little guy busy and in the kitchen so I can keep an eye on him while I cook.  It can get a little messy, but hey, it's just water!

I put the stopper in the sink, turn the water on at a trickle, and give him some kitchen tools to play with.  I also toss a towel on the floor between the counter and his chair to catch the drips.  When the water level reaches a few inches, (never give them more than you want to clean up!), I turn off the water and let him continue to play.

When it started getting really messy I took his clothes off.  This picture also shows the towel on the floor.

This is a great free game that keeps my little guy busy for a good 30 minutes.  Hooray!

DIY Toys: The Sunday Paper

When my son was an infant he never wanted to be put down.  I think it's a pretty common challenge parents face and so I hope you can relate!  Reading the Sunday sales ads and clipping coupons are important to saving on groceries and household supplies in our family.  My son sat with me while I read the ads and we talked about the pictures.  Colorful, shiny sales ads are fascinating for babies.  I'd say that just like it is never too early to start reading to your children, it is never too early to start this activity with your little one.

Here's my little guy at 14 months enjoying the Sunday paper.  If I find more pictures I'll be sure to add them!

At 18 months we now use this opportunity to practice vocabulary and it is a great tool for eliciting language.  My son points to and labels objects, and I ask him questions like, "where is the blue shoe?" and "how many dogs do you see?"  Many times he asks me "what's that?"

Here are some of the things we talk about.

Pet Stores - These have lots of animals!  We look for dogs, cats, sometimes birds and fish. We talk about the sounds they make.

Drug Stores and Dollar Stores - Because they usually highlight seasonal items, this is a good opportunity to talk about holidays and weather.  With Easter just around the corner we have been spotting lots of bunnies!

Supermarkets - We talk about food, of course!  Pictures of produce, meat, and bread are the most recognizable.  Prepackaged food is more difficult to identify but we try.

Sporting Goods Stores - My son loves shoes and boots so he gets pretty excited about these ads.  We count shoes and talk about what color they are.  He also likes playing with balls so he loves to see pictures of basketballs and soccer balls.

Big Box and Department Stores - These are a little more difficult, but we do point out the things he loves like babies and toys.  Sometimes in the ads for kids clothes and toys we will spot a character he knows like Elmo or Pooh.  These are also good for learning the names of types of clothing.

It isn't all educational!  Eventually we get to the point when it is more fun to wad up the papers, tear them, and listen to them crinkle under his feet while he stomps on them.  Today he got it in his head that he wanted to hide.  He would lay down and ask me to cover him, then throw off the paper and yell "boo!"  What a goofball!

Trash to Treasure: DIY toys

My little guy is a busy kid, so I'm always looking for ways to entertain him and keep him out of trouble.  Here are some fun toys we've "repurposed" from things we would have otherwise thrown away.

This has been a favorite for a while.  I think we started around 8 months and he is still interested in this at 18 months.  It is just a plastic baby wipes container and a collection of caps.  We saved the caps from milk jugs and other bottled drinks.  It helps to have a family member or friends save caps for you if they shop at a different store or buy a different brand.  This will help you get a greater variety of colors.  This is a totally free toy (made from stuff you'd usually toss) and what I really love about it is that as my little guy grows we can adapt how we play.  In the beginning it was just a tool for practicing fine motor skills.  Now we talk about the colors of the caps and count them as they are dropped through the slot.  As he gets older I plan to use a marker to write letters, numbers, and maybe even sight words on the caps.

Update: we are now practicing our letters and numbers!  I also made a set of caps with the letters of his name so we can practice recognizing and spelling his name.

Here's another favorite at our house.  When we have boxes to recycle, we use a little packing tape to reinforce them, and then let our son play with them like big blocks.  He likes to stack them up and knock them down.

As the boxes wear out we put them in the recycling bin and bring in new ones.  Our collection is constantly rotating!