Thursday, September 13, 2012

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 83: Chalk Shapes



I've tried playing with chalk with Oliver many times. He's always interested in it for about one minute and then moves on to bigger and better things (like rocks, sticks, and leaves).

Today, I decided to use chalk to make a game. I call it "Chalk Shapes." I went outside and drew a purple triangle, a red (OK, pink) square, and a blue circle.

I gave Oliver simple directions to follow. I asked him if he could sit in the purple triangle, and he did:

I asked him to put his hands in the red square, and he put his hands on it (not bad!):

And I asked him to jump into the blue circle. Yes, Oliver (kind of) jumps now. He jumped in it and back out a couple of times before deciding my game was not very much fun.

He decided to ditch my "Chalk Shapes" game in favor of crunching some leaves. Then, a neighbor girl who is two years older than Oliver came by and played with the chalk. She told Oliver the name of all the shapes and drew some herself. Oliver gave her some sticks. So, apparently, my "Chalk Shapes" game is fun for some kids!

Because we already have chalk, I didn't lose anything by trying this game. It just didn't excite Oliver nor keep him busy. I give it a C grade.

6 comments:

Jasmine said...

I saw this exact same post on another blog involving tape and carpet. While you may be trying to reach more people and get "pinned," it's not a great idea to be copying other blogs or even "modifying" their ideas so they appear fresh and new.

whirledpeas1129 said...

I appreciate your feedback! I'm actually not sure what carpet post you're referring to, but I always give people credit when I reuse any ideas I find online, in books, or any place that isn't my own mind. I hope you enjoy the activities I find and create.

If you look back at past Toddler Activities, I think you'll be happy to find that I link back to a multitude of other blogs, books, and pins on Pinterest.

whirledpeas1129 said...

I decided to go back to link the last few activities we tested out that I either found online or adapted from other people's ideas. Mommies are creative people, and I love testing out some of the unique ideas they come up with. Here are links to the last few entries that tested out other people's fun ideas for kids:

Grocery Store:
http://becky-shattuck.blogspot.com/2012/03/100-attempted-ways-to-entertain-young_09.html

Toothpick Shaker:
http://becky-shattuck.blogspot.com/2012/08/100-attempted-ways-to-entertain-young_7.html

Vinegar-Baking Soda Explosion:
http://becky-shattuck.blogspot.com/2012/08/100-attempted-ways-to-entertain-young_13.html

Water Pinata:
http://becky-shattuck.blogspot.com/2012/08/100-attempted-ways-to-entertain-young_30.html

Shadow Puppets:
http://becky-shattuck.blogspot.com/2012/03/100-attempted-ways-to-entertain-young.html

Crafting Play said...

Your story makes me chuckle because I've been there before too. I think my little dude would crush leaves over chalk too.

whirledpeas1129 said...

Sometimes, you can plan for fun, but your kids have other ideas!

I actually took him out earlier today just to play with the leaves (there aren't many yet!). He had a great time!

Anonymous said...

Woooowww, you're very naive. She probably has never even seen this blog you speak of. Get off your high horse.