100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 45: Short and Tall

I got today's activity from a website that I think is written by the same woman who wrote The Toddler's Busy Book, but I'm not certain of that. I found the activity online at this link.

The activity is called, "Short and Tall." You use leftover paper towel and toilet paper rolls for the activity, which is what appealed to me. I prefer using things from around the house for fun because it's free and, in my unprofessional opinion, fosters more creativity. Anyway, I took one empty toilet paper roll and one empty paper towel roll. I cut off approximately three inches from the paper towel roll to create a small roll. So, I had a short, medium and tall roll, like this:

The activity recommends encouraging your child to stack them, in order, by height. I stacked them with the plan of showing Oliver their increasing heights, but he was so excited to see them stacked that he ran over and knocked them down. Within a few minutes, it became obvious that the activity would not be a lesson in size but, rather, a game of standing up and knocking down. That's OK, too. At least he had fun! Here are a few photos of Oliver standing up the rolls and knocking them back down:

I'm hopeful that I can teach Oliver about height eventually using this game, but it will take enough exposure for the novelty of knocking down the tubes to fade first. In the meantime, I'm not sure how long I will appreciate having empty rolls strewn about the kitchen floor!

I like that the game was free and used items that almost all households have. I liked that Oliver found the rolls entertaining. On the downside, it didn't keep him occupied for long (maybe 5 minutes). Also, I didn't cut one of the rolls perfectly straight, and it couldn't stand up on one end. Oliver got a little angry about that. In the end, I think I have to conclude that there's nothing really wrong with this activity, but there's nothing very special or long-lasting about it, either. I give it a B-.

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 39: Toilet Paper "Threading"

The Toddler's Busy Book recommends teaching a toddler threading as an activity. Using either sections of an empty paper towel roll, hair curlers, or large empty spools, toddlers are supposed to have fun figuring out how to thread them onto a shoe lace.

A few weeks ago, I tried a similar activity with Oliver that I didn't post on the blog. I gave him a pipe cleaner and showed him how to thread jingle bells on it. He understood the concept but wasn't good at manipulating the small bells onto the thread.

Today, I brought a new pack of toilet paper downstairs to stock the toilet paper holder in the bathroom. Oliver saw me and was eager to help. I realized we were doing the threading activity but on a larger scale. So, I grabbed the camera and took a few shots of him putting the rolls of toilet paper on to the holder.

After we were done stocking, Oliver insisted on taking all the rolls back off and on again. We played for about twenty minutes! Later, Oliver insisted on playing again with Andrew.

Threading Toilet Paper was a great activity. First, it was free. If you don't have a stand-alone toilet paper holder, you can probably just use a broom. Second, it got him thinking and problem-solving. Third, it kept him occupied and happy for a good amount of time. Finally, I think Oliver really enjoyed helping out (I know I like when our activities are constructive instead of destructive!). This activity gets an A+!