I found this pin from Rookie Moms on Pinterest months ago and then forgot about it. Then, today, I took the kids to Target to shop for presents for two birthday parties we're attending this weekend. Large bags of play balls were on clearance for $7.50! They were on an end-cap in the toy section at my local Target. I picked up a bag for us and a bag for our friend turning 1.
As soon as we made it in the door, the kids started begging to play.
I set up the play yard and dumped all 150 balls in there. As an FYI, this ended up being enough for the kids, but I'd imagine you could easily add a second bag unless your kid is really little.
At first, Jo hated the toddler ball pit. I set her inside, and she started crying and stood up for me to pull her out.
Oliver had a great time throwing balls and rolling on them and kicking them!
After nap time, we tried again. First, Jo watched Oliver play. When she seemed comfortable, I stuck her back into the ball pit. Success!
Jo banged balls together, kicked at them, and squealed with joy!
I grabbed a mixing bowl and pitcher and handed them to the kids. They filled them up and poured the balls back out. Oliver even filled the bowl according to color.
This activity was a major success! I have a feeling our ball pit is going to stay set up all weekend.
Pros: Easy to set up, no mess, and tons of fun!
Cons: Possible injury (especially if you have two kids in the pit) and it costs money to do
I give this activity an A-
Here's a video of their toddler ball pit fun:
6 comments:
Hi there,
My name is Erica and I'm from NZ. I love reading your blog and just had to comment when I saw this post!
My son turned 1 in December and his aunt and uncle gave us a blow up paddling pool and 400 balls! We set it up for our next coffee group and all the babies loved it! My boy thinks it's hilarious to throw the balls out and watch me chase them around the house and throw them back in. I agree that it's a great way to entertain - although a bit difficult to store 400 balls!! We keep them in a huge laundry hamper in our garage.
Thanks for your awesome activity ideas :)
I love that idea! I'm part of a moms group, and I think I will host a baby ball pit play date and put all the balls in the empty splash pool now!
We bought my daughter a Dora ball pit for christmas last year sit has a little run way but blows up and is flimsy... This homemade versio looks like a better sturdier way to have some ball pit fun!!!!
My daughter is 16 months and hates (HATES) the playpen... when I put the balls in hers she flipped out. It went much better when my husband inflated her baby pool and put them in it! We only have 100 balls, and we just keep them in the pool for now. She loves them!
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I wanted to do this with my daughter, but the balls are pretty expensive for a quick fun thing. I got some water balloons and filled them with air and put them in a box. She LOVES her balloon box, and its better than the balls I think because the pressure and textures change in the balloons and static electricity makes them stick to you sometimes, which is oh so funny. Plus, sometimes they pop and you get to yell BOOM!
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