Spice Jars + Toddler (Easy Peasy Activity #3)

One morning this week, Mr. Maverick and I were putting dishes away. When I opened the cupboard to put a mixing bowl away, he saw my spices and (non-verbally) asked to play with them. So I pulled them down and he played for about 10 minutes. He might have played longer but he hadn't even had breakfast, so I cut it short.

In and out, balancing on top, spinning, and clacking.

Muffin Tray sorting (Easy Peasy Activity #2)

This is so easy and Mr Maverick asked for it 3 times on the first day. In fact as soon as he saw this picture of himself he wanted to do it again. I keep it high on the shelf, since it has buttons and I watch him closely when he plays with them.

I used a shallow muffin tray, colored paper taped inside, and buttons (kept in a small lidded plastic jar). You can add others things, too. the first day I also had pompoms and muffin cups; he ignored the pompoms, but used the cups.

When we play with it, I talk about the colors and I will place a blue button in the blue space, etc. I try to let Mr. M put the buttons wherever he wants to put them. Color sorting will come later; for now it's all about manual dexterity.

Box Floor (Easy Peasy Activity #1)

Mr. Maverick loves dumping out his toys. I try not to freak out when he does it, since all I see is a mess. For his first birthday he got a toy storage shelf with these red, yellow and blue bins from Grandma and Grandpa. I soon learned that I had to keep it in his room and only have about half the bins in the living room or I wouldn't be able to walk for all the toys he had dumped out. (And Mr. Maverick plays better with fewer choices and less mess anyway.)

So the activity I wanted to share is one that Mr. Maverick came up with himself: Box Floor. He emptied out all the bins and started playing with them. It immediately reminded me of Lava Floor (which I loved as a kid), but the whole point is to get around while manuovering in and out of boxes. It is so good for balance and practicing lifting legs higher than regular walking; it also helped him learn how to move without tipping the bin over (since he would hold the bins for balance). The picture shows Mr. M at 21 months, but he started doing this since he got them; I just had to help out a little since he had only just started walking without holding anything.

If you don't have bins like these, I recommend shoe boxes, plastic ice cream tubs, diaper boxes, etc. Anything that comes up to your child's knee should work. Mr. M liked to sit down in them as well, so be warned: it might get squished if it can't take you child's weight (we have some plastic baskets he can't sit in, because they bend/crack).