Fun things to do with a toddler
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Ideas?
Connor has been so irritable lately. All he wants to do is watch his Elmo DVD. I don't want him addicted to TV, yet I want to be a sane person.
How do you find that balance? And, what things can I do with my toddler that are constructive?
He doesn't say many words, so all he does most of the day is cry, use whine type sounds, or use some sign language. I can't figure out what he wants, so he just keeps being irritable. He's going back to wanting to be held a lot too. I think today is such a rotten day...I'm in such a grumpy mood. 
I just want to be able to communicate better with him. I also think half of the time, he doesn't even know what he wants.
I had a book called "where is thumbkin" that was a toddler curriculum, it was music based, each month had 2-4 songs and activities to go with them.
Also we had a schedule with my kids when times got like this. It helpped to not be stuck in front of the tv. So we would wake up, have breakfast, have playroom time. In a sp ed class (where lots of kids are non verbal) they make lots of pictures of the schedule and then velcro them in the right order, so you could go through your day in pictures with him and then remove them as you are finished. I also set up centers in my house. Mondays would be library day, tuesday was sand table table, etc. I had special toys that I had in my closet that I would only pull out once a week. Also I rotated books monthly by theme (mainly because i just had too many).
Some fun activities that kept them busy. That hammer ball toy from DT. Measure cups with sand. I also have been known to let them play with pinto beans in the kitchen with tupperware containers.
Also what about some sort of activity slide or swing for inside or out? My kids spent hours climbing and sliding on a little tykes toy. We moved the breakfast table out and made it a play room. We also had a play house inside.
ARe you guys still working on increasing signs? We do a lot of signing when I work with my DT toddlers because it really helps the frustration level.
With Natalie...she's really into coloring right now, she actually picks at the crayons and the paper for 15min. and colors for 5, but I don't mind. We've also started painting with watercolors in her high chair. I found a crayola watercolor set that has 4 large paint spots instead of small ones. We sit down together and just play with toys she's interested in. If it's really too cold to be outside, somtimes we play in the garage for a while. There are balls and sports equip. out there, and only one car during the day,so she really likes that. She is loving to play pretend right now with "feeding". She puts her animals and her baby in her booster seat, she has some plastic food, and real bowls and spoons and goes to town. She also has some old flip-top vitamin bottles that she uses for "medicine".
Do you have a toddler time at your local library? What about Kindermusik nearby? We have a great 1/2hr. toddler time on Tues. mornings and Kindermusik (which I HIGHLY recommend!!) for an hour on Wed. mornings. She loves both, and they are great for so many areas of development.
She loves the piano (don't know if you have one of those, but I play), and we've azquired several quality instruments through Kindermusik that she enjoys. She also loves to "keen" (clean) when I'm cleaning. I give her my feather duster or a paper towel and she goes to town while I do the real work! Also, every once in a while we go the pet store for a little field trip. LOVES that!
Ditto Kaye on the hammer ball toy (ours isn't DT). We also rotate toys, but about once a month or so. Natalie is also discovering the sink, so she played in the water yesterday for about 15 min and had the time of her life.
Good luck! There have been a lot of changes for you guys lately, and I'm sure that's contributing to Connor's frustrations. It will get better! 
How old is he?
Thanks, everyone...GREAT ideas! Keep 'em comin'!
He's 19 months old now.
I find when Faith gets a little crabby, sometimes she just needs a change of scenery. Sometimes I just take her to the mall and let her walk around and stop and look at stuff. I normally keep her in her stroller if I have to shop. But, she enjoys getting down and walking in the mall. I dont do this alot, but sometimes just a change makes all the difference in the world.
Other times I take her in the backyard, we just walk around and look at stuff. Doing different things sure changes her attitude. She doesnt say many words either and it does get frustrating when you dont know what they want.
I have an activity book at school...I'll get the title tomorrow. I have used it for years for my kids and the daycare.
These are books:
http://www.google.com/search?q=toddler%2Bactivities%2Bbooks&hl=en&lr=&start=10&sa=N
And these are sites:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=toddler%2Bactivities
There are lots of things you can do with him online too. Kayla started on the computer at one!
Natalie also plays on the computer,with my help of course. I forgot to mention that! playhousedisney.com has great activities, and we print out lots of color pages of things she likes, like Barney and Clifford from various websites. We also have a picture file of animals...she loves to look at that and make their sounds.
Busy Toddler's Book is a great one! It has TONS of great ideas in it.
Does he like play dough? I like to give Lara different things to make imprints in the dough. Big buttons, rubber stamps, kitchen gadgets. I've also given her shaving cream on occasion. She has a little plastic table and we cover it with the cream and set it in the kitchen. She gets little cars and runs them through the cream. I gave her a shallow tub of water and a couple towels so she could clean her cars and herself after. That one keeps her busy for a long time. She likes to make necklaces with the large uncooked pasta noodles, too. I just use a piece of long yarn, tie one on the end for her and put tape on the other end. She threads the noodles on the yarn and I get to wear the necklace! Sometimes she colors the pasta with her markers or paint. We go outside whenever possible. It saves both our sanity! Oh,and like Deanna mentioned, the computer! Lara loves her little sites. Noggin and Sesame Street are two of her favorites. If I think of more I'll come back.
Kim,
Those sites are awesome!
Thanks for posting.
A couple more things, we loved play doh too, but we used it as an outside toy
Also museums. When I just had one, I LOVED going to museums and I thought, well she isn't going to change my world, so we went. It was great. If you start young they get used to it. Now the big difference is I didn't get to stop and read a lot, but as long as I was mostly moving and there were cool things to look at we were okay! In houston there are free museum days once a month (may even be weekly)
Find friends his age and get together for playdates! I love www.matchingmoms.org
I've met a few nice girls from there.
PerpetualPreschool.com has some great ideas.
Sounds to me like he is needing more stimulation and is eager to learn. Mine acted like that when they were bored but didn't know how to tell me. Some neat things I did with mine at that age:
*Keep your day structured. This is the best thing I ever did for my kids.
*Go to the children's musuem, do mom/me tumbling or swim lessons, KinderMusik, etc. Find him an activity that he can go to once a week. Storytime at the library is a good idea, too.
*Let him help you bake a snack. My kids loved to bake. Yes, it took awhile and it wasn't pretty but man, they had a ball.
*Arts and crafts are awesome. I had a craft box of age appropriate items. They would just drag that box out and start making things. Yes, it was messy but they had a ball and kept themselves entertained without TV.
*Our park district offers an exercise/bounce off the walls type class for kids that age. Parents can stay or go to the viewing room and see how their kids interact.
*Age-appropriate computer sites/games. My 2nd grade son is learning how to desing Excel spreadsheets. So, the earlier you start them on the computer, the better they do in school.
It sounds to me like you have a very bright boy on your hands and he is wanting to explore and learn. Good luck and have fun with your gorgeous DS.
Heidi,
Email me: momme at optonline dot net
Thanks,
Ame
You guys are A W E S O M E !!!
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