The pasta tub.
I bought a smaller tub (he is not allowed to sit inside this one) to use in the house through the winter months.
This month it is filled with pasta. Ori
He could live in it, I think.
The "wagon wheel" shaped pasta are his favorite.
We also did pumpkin painting.
Directions: Cut a pumpkin in half, dip it in paint, and stamp.
Very simple and easy. Ori really got into the stamping--especially in the bottom corner.
I would love to hear other ideas of simple, indoor activities (hint: please share!). My little boy spends hours outside, so winter is going to be very different for both of us.
10 comments on "Pasta and Pumpkin Painting"
I heart all yours, Janae's and my sister's ideas, but sadly my daughter doesn't she gets "bored" two seconds in! I wish she would have fun like Ori!
Looks like fun!!! Our favorites are playdoh, painting, (but mine are a little older than yours...) blocks, and basketball on our hoop over the door. We go to the Rec. Center frequently in the winter to play in the gym!!! They NEED that running time! :-)
ooo, i got one! big sack o' potatoes, a scrub brush, a trickle of water in the bathtub (clothes off!). . .put him to work! i do it every time i get ready to do something with potatoes, even though i don't really need them cleaned, hehe. keeps them busy a LONG time.
you could dump activity tub contents in a dry tub for a change of scenery.
once he starts to do scissors, snipping paper makes GREAT busy-work. it's really gratifying if you cut long skinny strips that he can actually cut through all the way. calvin even liked just tearing paper up into tiny bits (maybe because tearing paper was usually a no-no).
easter egg hunts indoors (just empty eggs), also with flashlights in a dark room.
fingerpainting in a dry bathtub. . .peel clothes off, give him paints and paper (and permission to paint on himself and the tub). . . so easy to clean up and so exciting for him! :)
i'm obviously all about using the tub for the excitement, containment, and easy clean up! :)
oh--a scotch tape dispenser can provide lots of entertainment! you know how little kids are obsessed with stickers and can stick them on themselves and take them off, repeat, repeat, repeat. . . same concept, only cheaper! much easier if you tell him he can only put it on himself and not walls or furniture, though. tear off a bunch of pieces--short and long--should keep him busy awhile :)
that's all my ideas right now!
One of my kids favorites in winter...Lots of washrags, small hand towels, even old t-shirts etc. cut into squares. Warm them up good in the dryer, and then dump them ontop of Ori. Roll around in them until they have lost all the yummy heat and then let him fold and sort.
1. a mortar and pestle, kids love grinding stuff, you can use washed egg shell pieces then after grinding into powder put them in the garden, leaf pieces, anything you can think of that can be "easily" crushed, even oatmeal flakes might work.
2. sewing cards, take greeting cards or any cardboard and punch holes, use a plastic large craft needle, usually with a blunt end, colourful wool and you have a nice quiet activity
3. a shoe box sized plastic tub with a couple of inches of water and various small objects, some that float, others that don't....this one kept my kids busy for hours, I set it up on top of a beach towel to absorb the splash which actually was minimal
Take a shoe box top (or other shallow box) and pour about 1/2 to 1 inch deep with elmer's school glue. Then, have him add items of his choosing into the glue (sequins, glitter, safety pins, rocks, confetti, etc.), arranging as he chooses. When the glue dries clear, he can see his little art project!
Thank you all for your fun, indoor ideas. I truly appreciate each suggestion. THANK YOU for taking the time to share with me.
We love to bake bread in the fall, so eay and fun. My little boy is the best puncher downer ever! We also like sink activites and quite often bring snow inside, yeah we have snow, we're from Canada.
We LOVE your pasta tub idea-must do it!
I recently set up centres for Halloween and now I'll do Christmas soon and I'll blog about them. Lots of sorting, mastching and stamping!
I tried the pumpkin stamp today! My daughter wasn't a big fan...but I think it was b/c the pumpkin I cut was a too big for her to easily use it as a stamp.
Some indoor ideas....Oobleck! It's just corn starch and water ( just google it to find out how much of each). My daughter loved to put her hands in it and just feel around and play with it. It's a little messy but if you put a towel down or something it should be fine!
Also, I put my daughter's pretend dishes in a small bin (in the bathroom) and had her wash her own dishes! She really enjoyed it!
Also, there are scissors you can buy in a play-doh kit that aren't sharp and can be used to cut play-doh. It looks like fun for a 2 year old who can't really be trusted with real scissors yet! I think Santa will be bringing some to our house this Xmas! :)
THANKS for this post, and for oprning it up to such great comments! I have a 2-year-old and a new baby, and I'm always looking for things to keep her happy while I'm nursing baby brother!
Post a Comment