October 30, 2019 – joyful parenting

Roll it Out (1)

One thing I love to do with the kids is find items around the house that aren’t actually toys, but that can easily be used in play. Large exercise balls fit the bill perfectly, and here’s some simple fun Veronika and I had with one today.

First, I tapped on the ball; it made a perfect vibrating drum. Have fun with this, alternating the rhythm fastfastfastfast and slow slow slow.

Roll it Out (2)

Then I placed Veronika on her tummy on the ball and rocked it ever so slightly.

Roll it Out (3)

This is a fantastic way to build muscles if our little one is still doing tummy time, but even as a “big kid” Veronika loved it.

What’s your favorite “non toy” toy around the house? Please share in the comments!

Halloween Balloon (8)

Blow up these “monsters” to decorate the house on the eve of Halloween! The LED lights should last about 48 hours.

Halloween Balloon (1)

Travis was thrilled with the little balloon lights (you can find these at party stores). Turn one on and slip into an uninflated balloon, then blow up.

Halloween Balloon (3)

I had pre-cut a few monster features for Travis on sticky-back black craft foam. As an alternative, you can make mouths, eyes, and noses on black cardstock and use a glue stick to attach to the balloons. But we found that the sticky backing made things very easy!

Halloween Balloon (4)

Our monsters were wiggly and wobbly as we decorated them; it was ultimately easier to hold them between my legs than to tape them onto a table, which we had tried first.

Halloween Balloon (7)