Bored Afternoon with a Toddler

One of the hardest things that you can do is have a toddler bored. It might seem silly to worry about a bored toddler; however, they can get into a lot of trouble when they are bored. Here are some activities that you can do with your toddler on those stuck inside days.

Play Dough

Play dough is one of the favorites of most toddlers. There are so many recipes for play dough, some edible, and some not.

Here is a yummy recipe that many toddlers love. Peanut Butter play dough is one that is fun to play with and safe to eat. The Imagination Tree has many great recipes. This recipe only takes three ingredients. The three ingredients are powered milk, peanut butter, and honey.

Another recipe for play dough that is not as yummy but still safe if your toddler does lick their fingers. The play dough can be colored. You can use natural coloring or food coloring to change the tints. No cook play dough is a great recipe that toddlers will enjoy making and you can feel safe with them enjoying the fun.

Messy

Sometimes as parents, we hate the idea of getting messy. As parents, it can be important that on those stuck indoor we offer them some fun messy activities. Messy play can help to expand a child’s fine motor skills, concentration, and even their coordination. Offering different types of sensory activities can give your child wonderful experiences.

Rainbow Sensory Rice Bags is something that can offer bright colors, fun, and no messes. All that is needed is rice, food coloring, ziplock bags. Remember that not only the feel of the rice can be educational. Using different types of rice can offer different scents to peak your toddler’s interests.

Hands on as We Grow has a great sensory activity that involves leftovers. You can simply cook some new spaghetti noodles, or use ones from last night’s dinner. Add food coloring to the noodles. Add some oil to the outside of the noodles; this will help to keep them shining and slimy.

Sensory bags are something that can be very helpful. This is a wonderful activity for those individuals that have occupational therapy. You will need a plastic bag, some hair gel, and some small toys or little balls. Mama OT is a great place to get some ideas on other occupational activities.

There are days when you cannot find anything to do. When those days hit it can be very important to have things to do with your toddler.

Easter Decorations and Gifts

Easter is a holiday that can sometimes be put on the back burner. Even though the holiday has a large commercial following, there are some things that you can do to make it a special day. It can also be a big drain on a budget. Here are some ideas on gifts and decorations that can help to reduce the money being spent.

Gifts

Gifts can be something that might be a good option when it comes to kids and Easter. Baskets are not always the answer, but a well-loved gift might be just the trick.

Play Tents are something that you can spend a lot of money on if you desire to. However, they are also a great do it yourself project to get those smiles. iVillage offers the instructions on how to make the tent all on your own.

Jewerly is always a special gift. iVillage offers some great ideas on making braided bracelets that can be enjoyed by anyone on your Easter list. Know of another mother that is in need of some wonderful jewelry. Look at Little Miss Fairytale they make beautiful teething jewelry for mommy. Little Miss even has a few clothing choices that are adorable for the littlest ones on our list.  

Decorations

Decorations are something that can take time to complete. However, they can be made as a wonderful project for you and your children.

Bunny or Egg Garland is one that can be simple and pretty at the same time. Titatoni offers a download that can make it a bit easier to make garland out of bunnies. If you are looking to make eggs you can use any coloring egg with a design, have it colored by the kids and hang on a piece of string. Modern Parents Messy Kids a unique suggestion to making egg garland. This garland is made from those free paint chips you get when trying to decide the best colors to paint with.

Origami Bunny Baskets is a decoration that your older children can enjoy helping make and not feel like they are making something babyish. Origami Sprirt offers directions on how to make origami bunnies. These bunnies have an open back allowing for chocolates, jellybeans, or any other little treat to be placed there.

Creating a magical Easter does not depend on the money you can spend. Many times, it is about the time you spend. Making decorations or gifts can be worth the time. Although, if making everything is not best, then finding that perfect thing might be even better.

Family Style Easter Egg Hunt Secrets

Easter is one of those busy times of the year. New dresses or suits are necessary. Tons of eggs needed to boil and color. Plastic eggs are always an option; however, that does not stop you from needing those hard eggs. One of the best parts Easter is the egg hunts. Here comes the biggest problem with Easter. After several years, the Easter egg hunts become mundane, and boring to the children. Here are some ideas to liven up your egg hunts.

Great Egg Race

There are several ways to play this game. Here are some options.

• Place an even number of eggs and placing them in a row. Have kids start at the beginning of the row and race to pick up as many eggs as possible. The one who gets to the end of the line first is the winner.

• Put tons of eggs all over the yard. They do not all have to be hiding. Some can be easy to find for those younger kids. Others can be more difficult so that the older children can still be involved. At the end, the winner will be the one with the most eggs. So, let the race begin.

Coded Messages

Once our kids get older, hunting no longer is something fun. In order to make it fun for them you have to increase the difficulty level. This idea is where you hide clues to the next egg in each of the previous eggs. You can print as many clues as you need, and it they can be long or short. It can be done simultaneously while the other kids are doing their egg hunt.

Golden Egg Contest

The golden egg contest is one of the simplest options to add something to your basic egg hunt. Best Family Traditions has some great options for a nice egg coloring. The golden egg is a great way to offer a special prize at the end of the basic egg hunt. You may use any color egg, but it needs to be just one egg of that color. This gives you the ability to know which one is the specific egg.

Letter Eggs – Making Words

There are some options when it comes to letter eggs. They can be used as a teaching tool or as a reward at the end of the egg hunt. Playing house had some great ideas.

• As a teaching tool, you can take a set of plastic eggs. You will want to get at least enough to make one per alphabet letter. Some letters that you will want to double up on, making the formation of words easier done. Then you will place a capital letter on half of the egg and a lower case on the other half. This can be a letter recognition, and then help with word formation.

• Each egg can have a letter on them. You can pick a secret word and have the kids use the letter eggs to form that word. For those individuals, that is able to create the word from letter eggs will receive a special prize different from the others.

 Easter Fun for the Whole Family

There is a wonderful time of the year. Weather is turning warm, birds are chirping. Spring is in the air. One of the greatest things about spring is the ability to wear a fresh new wardrobe, or at least get out of the winter clothes. Easter is spring to many people. The best part of Easter is the crafts and the foods. The special treats and moments we get to share with our littlest smiles. Traveling the internet can be annoying and complicated, so here are some ideas to help you.

Treats

Sometimes treats are not just yummy but they are fun to make and eat at the same time.

This treat is fun to eat, and fun to make with your children. The loved Rice Krispies treat has some neat designs to it. This is a yummy variation of a Birds Nest. A Rice Krispies nest with coconut grass and chocolate or jellybean eggs creates this yummy treat.

Another, tasty variation to the Rice Krispies treat is a bunny. The Easter Bunny Treat is just as simple all the other Rice Krispies Treat. Make the Rice Krispies as normal. Roll them into balls to make the bunny bodies. Cut some ears out of construction paper. Then use frosting to attach the ears. Make some eyes, whiskers, and nose with either frosting or candies.

Desire a healthier snack. The Frugal Girls came up with a delectable and healthy option to Easter snacking. The Peep Fruit Kabob combines your favorite fruits with the sweetness of one of the greatest know Easter treats. Combine the peeps with fruit to make alternate your favorite fruit.

Crafts

Even some crafts can be fun for all of the family to make. Crafts can make great things to help you remember the special day, or to place as centerpieces on the table.

Here is some neat little chick treat holders. These are easy to make and can be lots of fun with lots of decorating ideas. Easter Chick Egg Holders are quick and easy craft to do. Jennifer’s Little World gives full directions. However, simply put cut a toilet paper roll in half. Then paint or color the tube yellow as a chick. Cut out a couple of chick feet from orange construction paper. Do not forget some felt for the nose, and wiggly eyes. You can fill this craft once you are done; use it as a snack holder, or to hide a few treats on the table.

Sometimes it is amazing all the things that we can do with paper tubes. Not only are chicks fun to make, but what about these bunnies. Craftulate gave us a great idea for a bunny. Use the paper tube and paint, color, or use tissue paper to decorate the outside of the tube white. Use craft foam to create ears and a nose. Do not forget the wiggly eyes, and draw on a mouth. Now you have a cute bunny for the table.

Having fun with the family, making decorations for the lunch table, or even a sweet treat to take to the family events. Try one or try them all. Searching the internet can help you find great activities for any event.