So if you would like this bag and a book - Fog Linen work ISBN 4579209303 all you have to do is leave a comment by Thursday evening Western Australian time telling me a good, not to stressful activity to do with two year olds. I need some more ideas to keep the girls amused. And yes I'll post anywhere.
33 comments:
Oh wow, that is super sweet of you! The bag is absolutely gorgeous =)
Now I don't have kidlets so I'll try and cast my minds eye back to my two year old self and give you some ideas =P
This one is totally not weather appropriate at the moment (are you freezing to bits too!?), but I remember having so much fun when we took a whole lot of pots and little tea kettles and cups and pans outside and filled them with water and just poured it from each to the other.
One day mum filled the bathtub up with big splodges of non-toxic paint and we got in and fingerpainted and rolled around in it mixing colours (err, I think this teeters on the edge of 'not stressful'...and I remember we were a wee bit stained for a few days afterwards =P)
Get your hands on some big packaging boxes and cut doors and windows in them to make little houses.
Make some little boats out of something (paper?) and play sink the ship in puddles outside or in the park (I'm on a winter theme =P)
Have you got a cat? Cat + laser pointer. =)
These are all probably totally crap, I have no idea what two year olds like to do! =P x
Oh my goodness, that was the longest comment in the world, sorry!
Hi there,
Wow I am always sooo impressed by your work... and now a giveaway...
my handsome is only 9 months but my nephew just turned 2 and he loved the bubbles I got him for his birthday.... you can pick them up really cheap or make your on outta wire....or wire coat hangers and dishliquid and water.... and this can be indoors or outdoors.... I like blowing them into a fan and letting them fall on my face....
Alternatively....check out....kids craft weekly http://kidscraftweekly.com/ this is an aussie mum also and she has the most fantastic ideas.... and my other fave...scrumdilly-do... http://scrumdillydo.blogspot.com/
they are doing painting with stuff around the house at them moment.... but have heaps of funtastic kids ideas...we loved the playdough and the mini donuts... (I also have a 7 yr old stepson)
hope this is helpful...
keep up the great work...
luv Abby
lovely bag!
let's see, 2 year olds.... my 2 yo likes to dig in the dirt (i let the kids dig in a particular spot in a flower bed- not all over), string beads, play with balls (throw them in a hoop or box?), and i have a big, plastic box i filled with rice and a few small toy animals that the kids LOVE. i've been meaning to fill a small tub with water and soap and let him 'wash dishes' or something - just so messy, though!
and there's always the paddling pool...
Something my kids always loved was to play "Hide the Cotton Balls" I would hide 12 cotton balls throughout the house and the kids took an empty egg carton, and placed each cotton ball they found in it. You know you found them all when the carton was full!
Love the blog! Love the bag! Love the book! My two year old daughter loves to: draw picture with chalk on the boardwalk, "help" mommy water the plants, pretend she's a waitress and ALWAYS recommend the fries and chicken (even though she allowed me to order a coffee this week...), do little craft projects even though she usually end up "undoing it" very efficiently right after we're done...
Hope this help a little...
I've got tons of ideas since we've been through that stage numerous times here.
I think the favorite right now is when it's super hot outside and we can't go out I'll have them put swimsuits on and put cool water in the tub for them to have their own swimming pool indoors.
We have special days: my son likes to wear his clothes backwards or inside out so every so often I'll tell everyone to weat their clothes backwards and inside out...lots of giggles! Other days are: getting our nails painted at home, we'll spend 30 to 45 minutes seeing who can dance the coolest to our FAVORITE band, "Milkshake", if the weather is good we'll take out all the tricycles, wagons, etc...and have the kids decorate them with leftover streamers from parties and small balloons. Than we'll take a walk around the block or two showing off our little parade...neighbors love this! Afterwards the kids will typically say they want to do a car wash...using their own tricycles so we do that in our swimsuits which leads to water fights typically.
My kids also LOVE sidewalk chalk...to get them going I'll draw a few shapes or pictures for them to color in or add to them...like half of a sun or clown face for them to finish. My oldest came up with this idea one summer...shadow drawings. She noticed her sisters shadow on the driveway so she drew it. Now they try to make funny shadow drawings from each others poises.
My oldest is 20months and while at grandma's house she found her stash of scarves. She wrapped the baby doll up in them, danced around waving them, put them all on and looked in the mirror a thousand times, tied them to a stick and waved that around...you get the idea. I don't have many scarves, but they are super cheap at the thrift shop. It might fill and hour and wow that would be a whole hour!
and count me in for the giveaway--lovely bag!
Oh my goodness, that bag is so gorgeous I absolutely cannot pass up the chance to win it. So let's see...
(PS - Just reading an earlier comment. Not that you would get them one specially anyway, but no laser pointer for two years olds please!! They can seriously damage eyes if they are pointed directly into them.)
There's so many good ideas already, water always being a favourite. On a similar theme, I used to, and still do come think of it, fill a large bowl with soapy water and let my girls have a whole heap of kitchen utensils and bowls and pots so they can pretend 'cook'. If it's too cold to do that outside, they can do it in the bathroom with towels on the floor.
Making a card or letter for a grandparent or aunty etc., was always fun (I have let my girls use my scrapbook supplies on such occasions, even though they just make a big mess, they love it and so do the recipients).
Something my mother used to do is line up a whole pile of boxes into a train, and I would take my dolls for a little imaginary ride around.
Similar to the cards/letter idea is to get a whole lot of cardboard/paper shapes in different colours and let them stick it on to paper to make their own art. If you use glue sticks it's not to stressful (and they wash out of everything too - ask me how I know).
You can buy soap crayons these days, so the girls could 'draw' with them around the bathtub.
How wonderful! Here is my submission and my ideas...
My son adores "washing dishes". I fill the kitchn sink with about 3-4 inches of water and dish suds. Then I plop in lids or kiddie spoons, or sippy cups, or sieves or plastic bowls. He stands on a step stool and "washes" as long as I'll let him.
I also keep an old cookie jar full of slips of paper with ideas written on them. Whenever I'm in a pinch or a brain-vacation-moment I'll pull out a strip of paper to decide what to do. I scavenged the internet during naptime one day searching for ideas to include. This has even helped my husband on days when he's in charge of the kids. I don't always take the first idea, sometimes I'll pull out three or five or seven before something strikes my fancy. It's just nice to have a helper on my side.
Happy playtime!
Thats a little bit subjective - what I do with my 2 year old stresses the buggery out of some of my friends and vice versa.
Ok some things that keep my small buddha entertained.
We make cupcakes/muffins - the mixing and the careful placing of the patty papers in the pan, with all the concentration they can muster and even the occasional tip of the tounge sticking out to aid concentration.
Making playdough - they do the mixing in a bowl then I transfer it over for the cooking, then the playing afterwards. Home made always feels better in your hands, and if you can get your hands on some Kool aid - it maes the most terrific smell - we have tropical ruby red playdough at the moment.
Bubbles and chalk on the driveway.
Both my kids can get at least an hour out of drawing on a box and turing it in to very clever things.
getting a shoe box adding a peice of paper and tiny splodges of paint with marbles and rolling the box around so the marbles move an dmake beautiful lines on the paper. Teddys bear picinic. washing babys/ dolls clothes in the bath tub by hand and pegging them out on a small clotheline.
Sorry for the length!!
when my kids were little the one thing they loved was going to the beach, playing in the sand and water, eating a picnic lunch and then i'd clean them up at the beach and they'd be out like a light by the time we arrived home! the other thing was going to the zoo or park - same idea - play, see the animals, eat a picnic lunch, and then go home. the little excursion wasn't longer than a couple hours tops....
Ooh 2 yr old activities. Perhaps in warmer weather you can make some colored water and let them paint on the fence. It should wash off of course when it rains. My daughter also liked wooden puzzles, shaking water bottles with rice inside to make maracas which was quite noisy too. Perhaps let them loose in the saucepan cupboard with a pot and a wooden spoon (make sure you have earplugs). Maybe playdough would be great too and buy some cheap little cutouts to press them into shapes. I always scour the Reject Shop ($2 shop) for kids play things and they only work out to be a few dollars too. The bag looks wonderful too.
Beautiful bag! Now if my bub were a two year old...I'd probably pour a pile of clean laundry on the clean floor and let them play toss or wear with the stuff. Just remember to take away anything you wouldn't want torn, like stockings or lace anything. Also make sure there's a mirror nearby, so they can check themselves out if they're wearing any of the laundry. Have fun!
I love your blog and I'm itching for that bag so here is my contribution. If you want no stress, that usually means no messes.
dancing. My kids would dance forever! I just change the radio station until they say stop then get out the video camera because that footage will be worth something one day. Bribery is a mothers right!
bubbles outside or, for rainy days, in the tub.
Chalk on the deck, driveway, brick wall, fence, where ever. Thanks god for rain.
Oh and I love the cat + laser pointer one!
Ahhhh, I happened upon your lovely site and this post and it was just calling to me to answer! I am the happy harried mom to a four year old girlie, and I'll tell you, the chore of finding safe and interesting activities never gets easier. ;o)
Some fun things we have done at age 2:
Cornstarch Bath: take a few big plastic bowls (or a large plastic tub!) to the backyard, porch, or balcony. Pour some cornstrach in, add water, and let her go at it! It's non-toxic and oh-so-much fun. Even this grown-up can't resist making cornstarch goo fingers.
Magazine Paper Dolls: Cut or tear out fashions from magazines and add double-sided tape to the backs. Hang up a large sheet of paper on her wall, draw on some stick figures, and lay out the "paper doll" clothes for her to stick on the girlies! If you can draw, it's fun to make your own whimsical creations. Dogs and kitties and vegetable-people were favorites of my daughter. It's also therapeutic fun for mom to sit and cut or draw.
The Big Tour: We are lucky enough to have a creamery in our town. I would take my daughter on the factory tour, and she always got excited to see and hear the huge machines and see the assembly lines and people working. It tickles me pink to see the sheer delight of overwhelming fascination on her little face! Plus, you can't beat free ice cream after the tour.
Have fun with your little bit this summer! :o)
i love the bag and wish i could conjure up a fabulously imaginative idea but alas my youngest of four kiddies is now nine and my memory does not serve me well...what i am trying to say is, for the life of me i cannot remember what i did to entertain them when they were two...when i look back at home movies all we seemed to do was dance and play music... if the sun shone we went out into the yard and planted seeds and flowers, that's about it i'm afraid...but what i really wanted to say is "I LOVE YOUR PLATYPUSES" (if that is the correct plural spelling!...spelling is not i'm afraid my strong point, although rambling on is..)
oooh and one last thought, we would move all the furniture around and create forts in the middle of the room with blankets and pillows. then my kids would bring all their teddies and dolls downstairs ( i would have added a platypus if we'd had one ) and then eat their lunch or dinner underneath the bedsheets that we used to create our tent/fort..
that is perfect for a rainy day...
Hi Kate, I've been a secret blog-watcher of yours ever since you told me about it a while ago. You make some beautiful things. And your girls are gorgeous. I remember when Chloe was about two I used to set her up with all her doll's clothes, a bucket of soapy water and a bucket of clean water and she would wash all the clothes, rinse them and peg them out on my clothes airer. It kept her busy for ages. And if it was too cold and rainy outside, I would wash the clothes, then she could peg them on the airer inside. Honestly, it takes them ages to neatly peg all the clothes out. I was always guaranteed of about an hours peace and quiet. Hope it works for you too!!!
Love Ainslie
Mine have always loved painting the house! No seriously, a little bucket of water and a decorating paintbrush each. Then turf them outside and let it rip! The best bit is, the activity cleans itself up ready for more the next day.
Because, for me, fingerpainting with a 2 year old doesn't qualify as a not-too-stressful idea!
We like to play surprise picnic - I grab a random selection of (small, washable) toys, a biscuit and a sippy cup of water and put them in a cloth bag. (It doesn't seem to matter that these are not new toys, just a different combination.) We then set up the picnic rug in the lounge room, and have a picnic. Actually, I knit while the kids picnic - we all win :)
my girls are 9 and 11 now but i did watch a two year old boy all summer last year..
his favorite thing to do was water plants with a little kid size watering can...this occupied hours i swear! so did a bowl of water and a spoon out in the yard..
my girls also liked the sandbox,homemade playdough,little photo albums with pictures of themselves and family,thrift store pots pans with play food,dress up,"helping me" cook,and lots of bubble baths
:) laura
I'm not quite sure why, but the link to my web page does not appear on my comment above. I have to try to fix this, since I would very much like to be reached, should I be lucky enough to win the giveaway! I think this second attempt should do the trick...
What a cute little bag!
Are your kidlets up to memory games or 'snap!' I used to love playing 'Funny Face' snap with my grandma- a deck of cards with funny faced characters like the postman, the milkman, the butcher, a maid. I think it was leftover from her own children, so it would have been from the 50's. Man I'd love to get my hands on that deck of cards...I wonder if she still has it?
oh, i hear you, kate! here are a few ideas:
bubbles, i cannot say enough about bubbles. they entertain the kids and the pets.
giant self-portaits - have them lie on a big piece of paper (like plain wrapping papers) and trace them, then have them color themselves in. washable crayons!
pretend kitchen activities, love those.
practicing lacing or even making "quiet books" for them to play with.
i'd suggest checking http://www.kidscraftweekly.com/index.html and http://www.noggin.com/ for more ideas!
good luck - i will be checking in on all the suggestions and making notes for us :-)
bake a cake with them - you do all the work, they can do all the shoving (to get the best spot) and lick the bowl. And you all get to eat the results, straight from the oven is best. :) Jen
Great bag! Make your own play dough (recepie on back of brown packet of Tartar powder) - colour it in different batches - put some in the fridge wrapped in plastic for another day. I love this homemade playdough so much more than plasticine - it doesn't stain anything and will come out of the carpet! So much fun to had rolling it into snakes and worms, then into snails!
just wanted to say I love the bag Kate I can't remember what I used to do when my girls were two!!
Hi kate love the bag.
I have a twenty one month old and to keep her busy I have recently discovered the joys of Cornflour paint.
Simply add a few teaspoons of cornflour in a container, add cold water (just from the tap is fine) and mix and then add boiling water and mix. You can then add colour. This can be used as paint, glue or finger paint. For a clean activity make up a batch and when cooled place it into a sealable freezer bag. Express the air and then tape up the top. This makes for a mess free feely bag and Amelia has fun for hours, and you dont have a mess to clean up afterwards.
Good luck with all of the activities listed - I am going to give them a go with Amelia and maybe I might get some more crafting time for me!
Kylie
Help each other to make a fish pond! Cut out cardboard fishes, paint/draw them with beautifull colors. Glue on magnets.
Then make a "pond" in the garden and two little fishing rods, with a string and a magnet instead of a hook!
(Sorry my not so good english ;) )
Lovely girls you have!! :)
oh, pick me, pick me! two ideas : one, plant some little seeds or seedlings in a pot - tomatoes, strawberries, beans - it's fun and teaches how things grow and then you get to eat your hard work - this may be slightly more suited to a two going on three year old :: second, glueing stuff in a scrapbook is always great fun - pictures from magazines, cards, feathers, leaves, all sorts of special things
Hi Kate, I dont know if anyone has said this one, as there is 30 comments so far, but how about paper cut outs, you cut the paper dolls out and give the girls crayons and colouring pencils. Also making braclets, grab some beading elastic (spotlight) and cheap beads, great for the fine motor skills, and they get hours of fun, but this one has to be supervised.
Hi There
a lurker for a while now I love your stuff and your attitude to your girls. I have three little bundles a very nearly 4 year old, 5 and 7. Mine have loved lots of things growing up but here are a few for you to try.
Button shop - basically your button jar turned out into a tray with lots of little bowls and bags for them to sort the colours shapes et cetera. I remember the big brown rectangular buttons being loaves, the red being tomatoes et cetera.
Felting - you might find this a bit tricky it depends on the attention span of your girls. My three year old loves this. Take fleece merino tops and start to wrap it around a pipe cleaner. Then using a spray bottle with some soapy water start to rub it in your hands. The heat and friction with start to felt it. We sewed on beads for eyes and added stripes with ribbon and thread.
Get a head start on your christmas wrapping paper. If you can stand it allow the girls to use paint with their hands or feet to print on large sheets of brown paper adding glitter of course when it is wet. Small scale you can do this on the table with potatoe prints. Painting plant pots for grandparents gifts is another good one, just give them a good coat of varnish inside and out when done.
Short lived excitement is to take a large 2.5 litre bottle of cheap coke or lemonade (must be carbonated!)remove the lid and then very quickly add a whole packet of mints to the bottle, stand back and watch the fountain ensue. If you buy the own shop brand at 17p ish it doesn't work out to expensive and you can have a competition to see who gets the highest.
The other thing my kids love is a nature trail where we go for a walk and collect lots of things in a jam jar. We take pencils and paper to take rubbings of wood, signs et cetera that can be cut up and made into cards (my girls love to use the textures to make clothes for the drawings). Leaves are brilliant for taking rubbings and for pressing. If you use some bondaweb and organza you can trap flower petals and leaves between the layers and preserve them while making a lovely item to hang up at the window.
Hope these might be of help, the other suggestions of forts, chalks, bubbles, pretend cooking are all great things to do as well which might give you more time to craft.
Good luck, I have 6 weeks of summer holidays coming up with my three in the not to distant future I will have to start engaging my brain and thinking about what to do with them!
Regards Helen
I had another thought in bed last night - make a little post box out of a shoe box, cereal box, ice cream container etc. and get the girls to draw pictures for each other, pop them in an evelope complete with a 'stamp' and mail them in the mail box . . . you can either then put them in the real letterbox outside for them to collect, or make a little letterbox inside the house for their mail. You can even join in by sending them an invitation to afternoon tea, a trip to the park or library etc. Afterall, what little person doesn't love the excitement of getting their very own mail!
Post a Comment