100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 92: Toddler Fan Ball

Andrew invented a new game that the kids love. He set up a box fan in my parents' living room and set it on high speed (be careful of little fingers!). Oliver would drop some light-weight balls in front of the fan, and then the kids would watch them blow around the room! There's a video of the activity down at the bottom of this post to show how the game works.

It sounds odd, probably because it is. They both got a real kick out of it, though, and Jo ran after the balls and fetched them over and over again. They had the best time!

Here's Oliver setting the ball in front of the box fan:

And there goes Jo, chasing after it!

Happiest and proudest toddler ever?

Chasing after the balls is so much fun! I feel like we're playing fetch with the kids, only without having to do anything.

This next photo is unrelated but cracks me up. We brought out a taller fan for the kids to check out. Oliver covered his ears in case it was noisy. After studying him for a bit, Jo decided to cover her ears, too. You know, just in case!

Here's a video to show how this game works:
                                                         

I give "Toddler Fan Ball" a grade A! It's easy to set up, takes minimal effort, leaves no mess, and gives the kids a way to run out their energy! Possible cons deal with safety: tripping over fan cords or reaching into the fan. I hope your toddler loves this as much as mine does!

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 75: Jack Jump Over the Sprinkler

Temperatures are back up in the 90s.  With no air conditioning, I'm constantly trying to come up with ways to beat the heat.  The pool isn't an option for me during the week because I can't juggle two little ones in water by myself.  So, I decided to hook our new Geyser Blast Sprinkler up to the hose.  

I wasn't sure what to expect.  The little plastic tubes didn't whip around as I'd thought, which was a good thing because they couldn't whack the kids in the face.  The top part spun, which delighted Oliver.  He insisted it was a fan.  

Oliver is a very cautious toddler.  At first, he didn't want to go too close to the sprinkler.  I actually carried him over it a couple times to show him it was safe.

He slowly warmed up.  He examined the whole thing and got comfortable enough to take a drink from the spraying parts.  After testing the water a few times, he finally started to step into the water and the sprinkler itself.

As you can tell from the multiple outfits, we went out again and again throughout the day.  Oliver loved it that much!

It reminded me of when I was a kid.  My sister and I would play in the sprinkler.  We'd each take turns yelling the nursery rhyme, "Jack be nimble/ Jack be quick/ Jack jump over the candlestick!"  Then we'd run and leap over the water.

As I once mentioned, Oliver's music teacher taught us that nursery rhymes really help promote literacy.  She always tells us that using nursery rhymes is the best thing we can do for our toddlers to get them ripe for reading.  I decided to incorporate that into our play.  Before long, Oliver was saying the nursery rhyme himself, and then he ran through the sprinkler.  It was better than I could have hoped!  I took a video of him in action:



This activity is perfect for little ones.  Joanna liked getting her feet splashed in the water.  Oliver loved reciting his nursery rhyme and then trotting through to get sprayed.  He also really liked examining the spinning center of the sprinkler, declaring it was "a fan" and "it's raining."



I nicknamed this activity, "Jack Jump Over the Sprinkler," and it gets an A+.  Try this out with your little ones when you need to stay cool this record-setting summer!

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 74: Exercise

When the weather is nice, I take Oliver outside at least once a day even if it's just for a walk to the mailbox.  If we're cooped up from bad weather, I do a series of exercises with Oliver.  He loves it!  It not only gets him active, but it gives him a chance to show off his counting skills.

I choose what exercise we're going to do.  He loves it when we punch.  He punches his arms and counts each one to ten.  We also raise our arms over our heads ten times, lift our knees ten times, squat ten times, and jog in place for ten seconds.  The repetition of counting to ten over and over really helps get it ingrained. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if 8 month old Jo recognizes the sound of counting to ten.

I don't want exercise to be taboo for my kids.  I want it to be something they feel comfortable doing, even if it's just for a few minutes a day.  Besides, it's really good for me to make sure that I get my body moving a little bit every day, too.  I like that Oliver has fun doing exercises with me.

Moving around and doing these type of simple exercises is easy, fun, educational, and free.  This is the type of thing we can do when we're waiting in lines to keep Oliver occupied.

Planting a Garden

My mom has enlisted Oliver's help in growing a garden.  I absolutely love the idea!  It's exactly the type of project a two-and-a-half year old can help with, and it helps teach kids where food comes from.

A few weeks ago, they planted peas together.  Every time we go to my parents house, Oliver gets really excited about watering the peas.  We probably make half a dozen trips with the watering can each time we're there.

My mom decided to grow more fruits and vegetables, since Oliver loved it so much.  Today, she was ready with pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds, and carrot seeds in addition to a cucumber plant, strawberry plants, and pepper plants.  Oliver was skeptical at first, but when my mom gave him the hose to moisten the dirt, he quickly got into things.

Here he is, getting the soil moistened for planting:

He and Grandma are planting watermelon seeds.  She poked holes into the mound of dirt, and Oliver dropped the seeds in:

Next up: Watering!  Oliver normally loves the watering can, but, today, he was all about the hose.

He was very precise until the end, when he just started shaking the packet of seeds everywhere.  My mom is going to have fruits and vegetables popping up all over her yard!

I told Joanna she might be able to help a little next year.  She was content to hang out in the grass.

After planting the watermelon and pumpkin seeds, I took Oliver over to his peas for watering.  They're looking good!

While we watered peas, Grandma Judy planted her strawberry plants.  Oliver had to come water those, too.  There's no slacking at Grandma Judy's house.  Even toddlers need to do their fair share!

Oliver liked planting the carrot seeds, but they were much smaller than the pumpkin and watermelon seeds.  He dropped the seeds by the handful, and then soaked them in water.  We'll have to see if they sprout!

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 71: Car Wash

Like most of the country, we've been enjoying a few days of warm weather. I decided to make the most of it and took Oliver outside to do a little car wash. I filled one bowl with soapy water and another with fresh water. I grabbed a spray bottle with a vinegar-water mixture for the windows, and we headed outside.

Oliver looked really excited when he saw me rinsing towels. It was everything a toddler could hope for:

I showed him how to wash the car. He looked so interested!

But, when push came to shove, Oliver didn't want to wash the cars. He wanted to spray the vinegar-water into the bowls:

And soak the rags in the water and fling them about:

It wasn't what I'd planned for, but Oliver had a great time. After we (I) finished washing the outside of the cars, he climbed into the passenger side to push buttons and play with the air vents while I cleaned the interiors.

Of course, I had to keep an extra close eye on him, since our cars are parked in a lot. It was a good time, productive time, and a good way to spend a warm afternoon. If you don't have a toddler, I highly recommend getting one to help with your car cleaning. Your toddler probably won't be able to help much, but he'll make it a fun time.

Our "car wash" gets an A-.

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 51: Nature Bracelet

I decided to take Oliver outside today to make a nature bracelet (idea courtesy of The Toddler's Busy Book). When I'd first read through this book, back when Oliver was 18-19 months old, I hadn't even bookmarked this page because I'd decided it was too old for him and that he wouldn't be interested in it.

Fast forward a few months later to today, and I decided that Oliver was possibly ready for this activity. It's a nice fall day outside, so I decided we couldn't stay cooped up. I took out some thick tape and cut a strip for Oliver and a strip for me. I wrapped Oliver's around his wrist, sticky side up, and he started to cry. Toddlers often don't like anything new and different, and this bracelet was enough to set Oliver off.

I assured him that we were going outside, as I'd promised, and I told him, "I'll show what we're going to do. I'll show you!" I put my bracelet on and carried him out back. I took one leaf from our patio and stuck it to Oliver's bracelet. That was all he needed! The waterworks stopped, and he eagerly joined me for our short nature walk.

I pointed out some of the leaves on the grass to Oliver. I handed him one, and he stuck it to his bracelet:

Oliver really got into the nature bracelet. He picked up some leaves himself, and others he pointed out for me to pick up. A few items, he stuck onto his bracelet himself, but he mostly wanted me to put them on for him. Here are a few photos of him finding leaves and sticks and sticking them onto his bracelet:

A few shots of our nature walk:

In all, we were outside for about twenty minutes. I truly had as good of a time as Oliver did. When we were all done, we went back in, and I stuck our bracelets to a sheet of white paper so Oliver could check out all of the items we'd collected:

He wasn't as interested in the items once they were on the paper, but he looked at them briefly and touched them a bit. We'll keep the paper to show off to Daddy when he gets home, but then we'll discard it.

"Nature Bracelet" was a really enjoyable activity. The cost is negligible, as all you need is tape. The activity was fun and relaxing for us both, and I can imagine doing it again on warm days later this fall with a baby strapped to my chest. There really is no to very little set up and clean up. It's a really good activity for Oliver's age group (nearly 2), and I felt good about the activity. I give it an A+!

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 26: Basket Ball

When Oliver was still crawling, I used to play a version of basketball with him. I'd set out our laundry basket, and I'd toss a ball (usually his stuffed soccer ball, but sometimes his foam baseball) about 5-10 feet away. He'd crawl after it as fast as he could, and he'd crawl back and dump it in the basket.

We hadn't played it for months. This morning, I was looking at the laundry basket, and I remembered playing that game. I wondered what it would be like now that he's older and running around. I mistakenly used Oliver's bowling ball. Once Oliver saw it, he insisted on playing Monster Bowling. It's pretty cute to watch him bowl. I set up all the pins, and he holds onto the monster ball and whacks all the pins down with it. Once they're all down, I yell, "Strike!" He can play that game over and over. I was able to convince him to play a few games of "basket ball," but he kept wanting to go back to bowling.

I'm not sure what he's doing here:

Fast forward a few hours, and I decide to try to play "basket ball" with Oliver again. This time, I use his stuffed soccer ball. Oliver plays the game this time, but insists on climbing into the laundry basket himself. After a while, he doesn't bother to get out. I throw the ball in, and he throws it out. He enjoys yelling, "In!" and "Out!" each time. We play for a good fifteen minutes.

Basket ball is fun, even if it doesn't turn out as planned. Oliver enjoys the interaction with me and seems to enjoy practicing his words as we play. There's a risk that comes with letting him climb into the laundry basket, though. Any time he leans over, the basket tips. It's definitely not a good idea to play it near sharp corners. I have a feeling this game will get more and more fun in time. I give it an A-.

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 16: Zoom!

Oliver tinkled during his nap today. It's been his only pee accident all day! Unfortunately, it meant I had to go through the work of hauling his mattress out of the crib to strip the sheets. Oliver thought it looked fun and enjoyed diving onto the mattress a number of times. I started to move it around as he was on it, and that proved to be a great game!

I didn't realize that I was yelling, "Zoom!" as I pushed him around the room until he started saying it, too. "Zoom!" he yelled. He laughed and yelled and cheered me on as I shot him around the room. I had to be careful because he rolled off a few times. I didn't want him cracking his head against the corner of the wall or furniture or something.

I didn't have a lot of energy to make the game last long, but we played it a few times. Oliver *really* enjoyed himself and continued to say "Zoom!" long after we stopped playing. I'll have to get some photos of us playing later tonight or tomorrow. This game definitely gets an A+ because it was so much fun for the little man. I can't think of any activity or game that he's "talked" about afterwards like this. I have a feeling we'll be playing it for many months to come!