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ACTIVITIES AND PLAYTHINGS
An old wallet stuffed with expired credit cards: Take out, put back in, and repeat indefinitely!
Put some old toys out of sight: Kids will usually show interest again after playthings have been "on vacation" for a week or two!
A small wooden kitchen with doors: Used or new, this is evergreen!
A hand broom, Swiffer sheet, and a cordless vacuum cleaner
Any and all Read-Aloud Board Books
Jar with a treat inside
Baby piano/xylophone
Any activity table or box that comes apart and has lots of “things” on it to move and make noise with!
Put Duplo Pieces (or anything that will fit!) into an empty tea tin and take them out again.
A small tea set
Make your own Toddler Busy Board. Here are some great ideas.
Kinetic sand kit
Hang a felt board on the wall with felt pieces to take off and put on again.
Pens and a wipe-off board
Helping around the house: "My 20 month old LOVES helping around the house. We got him a mini vacuum that he follows us around with while we clean. He loves taking the trash and recycling down with us, going to pick up packages, putting things away. This may sound super boring, ha - but it can occupy a whole morning for us and he loves it and I can get so much done!"
SPECIFIC TOYS
Pockets of Learning Quiet Book: Indestructible books great for toddlers
Soft foam magnetic letters for the fridge
Oball Rattle & Roll: Any Oball toy comes highly recommended
Read Aloud Songs: Listen to the song and follow along in the book
Pop Toobs: These will continue to be fun for years to come
Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Piggy Bank
Toddler Art Play Box from Hootenanny
Office stickers: "We bought these office stickers and stuck them to some cardstock I had laying around from an old project. The stickers are $7 for 2400 of them, and the plan was to get stuff done while he stuck the stickers onto cardstock. What actually happened is that I joined him! It was very fun and relaxing."
Washi tape: "Laying and re-laying strips of tape to a plastic box captured my son's attention for a solid hour or so. My 4yo had fun with it too. We ended up laying out tracks for toy cars, etc."
Melissa & Doug gets lots of shout outs!
