Category: 18 to 24 months

Layered Play Dough Excavation

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Play Dough Food Tracks (10)

After excavating through Jell-O, today Veronika could pretend to be an archaeologist with play dough instead.

Okay, maybe she didn’t know exactly what we were pretending, but I like to introduce imaginary scenarios into sensory play at this age, as Veronika nears age 2. First up, we explored various ways to make “fossil” marks, and for this we turned to food in our kitchen.

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I showed Veronika how to press various items into flat portions of play dough to see what marks they left behind. She was interested in the bumpy lines left by Twizzlers.

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And by the swirls from corkscrew pasta.

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We tested out nuts as well as rolling bigger items like apples over the play dough, more like a rolling pin, but these weren’t as interesting. Triscuit crackers left a cool print…

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…but since she was tempted to eat them, I nixed the idea!

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Older toddlers can pretend these are real fossil finds. Prehistoric fish bones perhaps! You can have lots of fun with other items too, like ears of corn, little fruits like grapes or blueberries, or even utensils like a fork.

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Next up in the fun, I layered all the colors of play dough together like the strata of an archaeological dig. At first I placed them in a jar, but this proved too tricky for her to “dig” down into with a plastic fork and spoon.

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Instead, we mushed all the colors together on a tray. She called these her “rocks” and enjoyed poking at them with the fork and spoon.

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Needless to say, the game kept Veronika quite busy, even if she didn’t always understand the pretend that went with the play.

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Salt Indoor Sandbox

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If your child is missing the beach only one week after the unofficial end of summer, this indoor hack will save the day. Make a beach-y sandbox with salt instead.

A box of coarse salt is cheap and scoops up just like sand (although you’ll want to save this particular material for toddlers who aren’t tempted to nibble, else they’ll receive a yucky surprise).

I poured the salt into a craft tray, laid down a towel to catch (most of) the overflow, and set out Veronika’s familiar toys from the beach. She was instantly delighted.

She loved scooping into her sifters that come in fun shapes like a crocodile and crab.

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And she could use the shovel to fill a beach bucket.

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The sand rake made neat tracks through the salt, just as with the sand at the beach.

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In sum, she looked just as pleased as if she was having a sunny day at the beach again!

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Sponge Play

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We’re taking advantage of the last few warm mornings for patio play. This game is similar to one we played earlier in the summer, transferring water using only pom poms. Now, Veronika was just enough older to have more success with this version!

I set out two clear bowls, one filled with water and the other empty, along with 3 cheap sponges from the dollar store.

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I asked Veronika what color she wanted for the water, giving her the choice of red, green, or blue. She chose blue!

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I showed her how to dip the sponge in the water, then squeeze it out over the empty bowl to watch the water come out.

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She got the hang of it quite quickly!

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That said, we never transferred all the water because inevitably she wanted to pour it back from the small bowl to the big bowl.

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After she tired of squeezing the sponges, she dumped all the water…

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And loved stomping in it!

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Does your toddler manage to transfer all the water from one bowl to the other? Please share in the comments!

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Dinosaur Jello-O Excavation

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Dinosaur Jello (4)

We’ve played with Jell-O and we’ve excavated for dinosaurs, but never before have we excavated dinosaurs from Jell-O! This activity will appeal to kids of all ages. It was more of a sensory experience for my toddler, and a game full of imagination for my 6 year old!

The night before, I prepared one huge batch of vegan jel dessert from four packets. You can opt for a clear vegan jel but I didn’t have any on hand. Instead, I decided the yellow-orange of the peach flavor actually looked a bit like layers of rock and sediment.

Sprinkle the powder from all four packets over 1 and 1/3 cups cold water in a large Bundt pan, stirring to dissolve. Add any small plastic dinosaurs you have, then pour in 5 cups boiling water. Cool to room temperature before transferring to the fridge overnight.

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The next morning, I turned the Bundt pan upside down over a tray, and it wobbled right out. Now we had dinosaurs trapped in rock! For my future archaeologists, I set out a few plastic spoons and forks, a toy screwdriver to be a “chisel”, and pipettes. We also had a little dish of clean water to rinse the dinosaurs as they were unearthed.

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For Veronika this was mostly sensory play. She loved spooning up the dessert (and the water) with the spoons.

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But as she watched her big brother play, she began to take a few experimental pokes with a pipette.

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She also took it upon herself to be the dinosaur washer! Whenever one was freed from the mold, she rinsed it in the little dish of water. I gave her a cloth to set them on, and she was soon engaged in “dinosaur bath” play.

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Meanwhile, my older paleontologist was busy digging! Travis tried out all the tools. He loved stabbing at the mold with the screwdriver, or carefully using the pipette to pry layers of jel off a dinosaur.

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It was fun whenever one was halfway free but a tail or leg was still caught! He would then use the spoon or fork to scrape away the final layers.

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Then it was time to hand over his find to little Veronika on bath duty.

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This activity kept them both so happy and engaged. Even better, there’s bound to be some dinosaur play directly afterwards, once all those little toys are freed, leaving you time to clean up any resulting mess!

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Waterfall Game

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Waterfall Game (4)

A rather aimless Veronika seemed in need of entertainment of a Sunday morning, so I pulled out two simple items to create a game: pennies and a jar!

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I placed all the pennies on a tray and then filled the jar almost all the way with water. If you’re playing with big kids, turn it into a more of a competition. Take turns dropping pennies into the container. Game over when a player’s penny makes water spill over the edge!

Of course Veronika couldn’t have known we were playing a game against each other, but she did get into the rhythm of turn-taking. I added a penny, she added a penny, and so on.

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Then we just started adding pennies by the handful!

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I made a big deal out of it when we reached that point where water sloshed over, so she got excited too.

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Your toddler won’t get it yet, but there’s watery science at work here (surface tension! displacement!) that he or she will absorb (heh). Veronika loved watching the water spill.

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After that I dumped the water out so she simply had a jar and pennies. Now, she loved the ker-plunk of dropping in the coins and kept busy solo for a while longer.

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A Hero’s Tale

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I’m still juggling how to handle storytime, now that Veronika wants her bedtime book at the same time as big brother Travis. This can sometimes make Travis jealous of what used to be our time together! Last night I stumbled upon this useful alternative and although we probably won’t repeat it every night, we’ll certainly do it again.

The idea is simple: instead of reading a story, I spun a tale. Of course it was about a little girl named Veronika, who happened to have… a Superhero Brother Travis!

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For each of the stories I told, Superhero Brother swooped in to save the day, whether rescuing the family during a hurricane, or saving a field from a giant pumpkin.

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I simply made these stories up on the spot, and chances are you can do the same. The idea is to make the older sibling feel special. To add to the fun, we acted out the tale with dress-up dolls.

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I also suggested that Travis draw illustrations. He loved adding to his picture as the stories unfolded.

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Not only was he so proud, but Veronika clearly could tell the stories were special.

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If we keep this up, soon we’ll have a whole binder full of Superhero Travis illustrations, depicting the ways he can care for and save his little sister.

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Note: This game would work equally well if you keep the story less farfetched. Just play up the ways that an older sibling actually helps the younger one on a daily basis, and he or she is sure to feel special.

Beanbag Races

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The kids got silly with our beanbags today! In general, beanbags are a fantastic item to keep handy in the toy bin. They apply themselves to so many games, whether learning, developing gross motor skills, or honing concepts of object permanence. But sometimes you just need to get silly and race!

On your mark, get set, go!

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I had the kids get down into crawl position, each with a bean bag on their back. The idea was to race across the living room carpet, but truth be told, no one ever made it that far.

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The kids thought this felt so funny and got fits of the giggles. So inevitability the beanbag fell off after a few seconds.

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Your family might be more skilled and want to turn it into a true race. You could race two kids against each other, or have one child race against a timer.

Veronika loved the way the bean bag felt so much that she then wanted to test it out against other body parts.

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Soon she was touching it to her toes, her knee, and her tummy.

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Plus her favorite: her head!

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Balloon Tennis

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Balloon Tennis (6)

Here’s a game that you can easily adapt for just about any age, from toddlers to big kids!

To make simple tennis paddles, trace around the top of a craft stick on the back of a paper plate. Make two slits, one spaced near the top of your tracing mark and one near the bottom.

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This way, you can thread the craft stick through for a sturdier handle. Add masking tape for extra insurance!

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Now blow up a few balloons and it’s time to play.

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For toddler Veronika, the joy was simply in tossing balloons her way and seeing if she could bop them back with the paddle. “Whap!” she said, every time she chased after a balloon.

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Older toddlers might enjoy the challenge of trying to bounce the balloon up and down on their paddle without letting it hit the ground, but this skill was beyond Veronika.

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Still, she loved the game since we added music in the background to add to the enjoyment!

For even older kids, turn it into a tennis rally!

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Travis and I hoped to get to ten, but I think the most we ever managed was 5!

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Inevitably that balloon bopped away, but we had a fun time in our attempts.

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Messy Wading Pool Play

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We’re about to store away the inflatable wading pool that’s been on the patio all summer, so it was time for a messy last hurrah! On a final hot morning, I dressed Veronika in her bathing suit and we headed outside for two games.

First up was Spaghetti Splash. The night before, I cooked up a box of spaghetti. You could even use two or three packages of spaghetti if you really want to make an impact with this game.

Toss the spaghetti into the baby pool, along with 1/4 cup vegetable oil and a few drops of food coloring. We chose blue! Mix it all up with your hands.

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Veronika loved getting her hands right into the mixture. She would reach for a big handful…

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…and then make it splat onto the bottom of the pool.

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And of course lots ended up on the patio.

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If your child wants to, encourage him or her to climb right in! Veronika was hesitant though, and much preferred using her hands for this game. So then it was time to segue-way to the next messy game: Jell-O Jumping!

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Out went the spaghetti and in went 4 packages of prepared vegan jel dessert (try Simply Delish). This time, not only was Veronika willing to put her feet in…

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…she loved it! She stomped through it and squished it between her toes.

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Before I knew it, she plopped right down. “I’m lounging,” she announced, and she sure was. She delighted in scooting her bare legs and toes all through the jello.

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Believe it or not, even the clean-up was fun because we pulled out the hose. Hose down the tub (and kids!) and then tuck that wading pool away until next summer.

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People Puppets

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People Puppets (6)

Veronika loved a recent twist on block play, where we adorned regular building blocks with faces. Today I used roughly the same idea to make people puppets!

Simply cut out faces of family and friends from photographs, then attach each one to a jumbo craft stick. Cover with clear contact paper to seal and protect.

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That quickly, the puppets were ready to play. Veronika loved saying hello to them!

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(Though she sometimes seemed put out that they didn’t respond back!).

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We acted out all sorts of familiar scenarios between parents and kids, or just made up silly stories. Either way, she definitely marveled at the fact that people she knows were right in her hands in puppet form.

She also just loved carrying them around.

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This was simple but engaging puppet play, and easy enough for any day.