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Go Bowling

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When there’s an extra two weeks of summer to fill because of coronavirus, it’s time for a Camp Mom field trip. What I really wanted was to take the kids out bowling, but the idea didn’t feel safe. What was Camp Mom to do?

Bring the bowling alley in!

There are so many ways you can bowl at home (empty bottles, glowing empty bottles, etc.), but for maximum impact, it was time to splurge. A giant unicorn bowling set cost as much as a single afternoon at the regular bowling alley, but this one will last us much longer.

Needless to say, the unicorns themselves were a pure delight.

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As I inflated the set with a hand pump, the kids each grabbed one and began to run around. Travis paraded them and tossed them in the air. Veronika was about the same height as a unicorn, and would just run up to one and yell “whoa!” and then knock it over.

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They loved holding them by the horn and trotting them around.

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Once the set was fully inflated, we set the pins in a classic triangle, and took aim with a giant rainbow ball. Travis soon had the hang of rolling it…

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…or kicking it.

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He loved watching the unicorns topple! We played inside today while the grass was wet, but we’ll be heading outside with this one soon.

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Road Signs

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Travis is officially a bike rider! It’s an exciting milestone, but it also means it’s time for him to learn basic road safety. Here’s a fun game to help kids learn the signs they might encounter as they are out and about.

First up was a real bike ride, with the special assignment to pay attention to any signs he saw. Travis took note of several we passed, including stop and yield.

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I then printed out pictures of common signs; once we were home, we could role play! Travis buckled on his helmet (for safety of course…and little sister too!) and then the “bikes” were off. As I held up each of the signs, the kids had to do a corresponding action.

Green light meant jog forward.

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For a left turn arrow, he practiced making the left turn hand signal (arm straight out to the left) and spun circles to his left.

If I held up a right turn arrow, he made the right turn signal (left arm in an L pointing up) and spun to the right.

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Stop sign meant he stopped and made the stop hand signal (left arm in an L, pointing down).

The yield sign meant to look out for oncoming (little sister) traffic!

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He could only walk in one direction if I held up One Way.

And finally the favorite: if I held up the Slippery When Wet sign, it was time to wiggle and slip and slide!

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This was a great way to get kids thinking about road safety in an approachable and fun manner.

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Toddler Brag Book

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The “brag” in the title of this post is meant in the best way possible; toddlers are so proud as they near two-years-old about people and things that are familiar favorites. Here is a homemade book that lets Veronika celebrate things she loves. And yes, she is so proud every time she leafs through it!

To set up, I cut pictures from an old homemade calendar featuring family member’s faces. I also added a few pictures of current favorites, like sorbet and stuffed animals.

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Glue each picture onto a rectangle of colored construction paper, then cover each page with clear contact paper for durability. Veronika loved being my helper as I worked!

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Punch holes in each page and secure together with string.

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It was time to read through her book. Veronika loved spotting faces (“It’s Mommy! It’s Daddy!” she exclaimed).

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“It’s Travis!” She seemed genuinely surprised and delighted each time. Note: This little book also just happens to be the right size for the car, so it’s a perfect way to keep her entertained en route to a favorite destination.

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Scented Edible No-Cook Fingerpaint

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Kool Aid FingerPaint (4)

All jokes aside, no we don’t drink the Kool-Aid around here. But sometimes for coloring craft projects, it’s the best option to achieve bold, bright colors. I knew Veronika would probably end up eating some of the “paint” for this craft, therefore, but a little doesn’t hurt!

To set up, spoon non-dairy yogurt onto plates or cups (I didn’t measure exactly, but would guess I used about 1/2 cup yogurt per color). Add a packet of Kool-Aid mix to each portion, and stir to combine.

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I then dolloped smaller portions of the paint onto parchment paper in front of Veronika as her artist’s palette. I only made three colors, but you could easily set up a full rainbow!

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I encouraged her to swish fingers through the paint and smear it over the craft paper I laid out. We turned the blobs into fun shapes like a yellow sun or a red flower.

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Of course she did also very quickly discover that the paint was delicious. Which means we had some of this…

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…but an equal amount of this.

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Well, snack time and craft time were both taken care of!

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Painting Bag

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Here’s a quick variation on an old idea, a safe way to let a toddler paint with no mess. In the past, I’ve sealed paint in a zip-top bag for Veronika, but this time there was a secret piece of colored paper underneath. A colorful surprise was waiting with each line she made!

To set up, place a piece of colored construction paper in a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Squirt in paint, making sure it is a different color from the paper. The higher the contrast the better, like yellow paint with blue paper or green paint over red.

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Seal the bag tightly, then show your toddler how to make marks in the squishy paint with a finger. The colored paper underneath will be revealed!

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This definitely earned little sounds of surprise, and Veronika liked making shapes and wiggles appear. Of course she also just liked squishing it.

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Or stepping on it.

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Since she’s becoming more sophisticated with her own drawings and understanding of art, she also really enjoyed when I “painted” trucks or other recognizable shapes in the bag.

Mostly, though, I let her entertain herself with this one!

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Mud Games, Two Ways

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It’s no secret that toddlers love getting muddy, so today Veronika and I played with mud in two separate ways. The first was fake mud, and the second time was real!

For the fake version, we really were making ooblek, but I told her it was “mud” which she immediately loved. I dumped a box of cornstarch into a craft tray, then added 2 cups water.

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Mix with your fingers until you have that strange ooblek state of matter that is somewhere between a liquid and a solid. For novelty, we added cars and trucks to the “muddy” construction site!

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Veronika loved zooming cars through it. We also discovered that the tires would stick if you let them sit in one place for a few minutes.

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It was fun to watch the ooblek dribble and drizzle over the vehicles.

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I then added a little food coloring, which she swirled around by driving the truck wheels through it.

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And scooping it up!

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Next it was time for real mud. We mixed up a little potting soil and water on a plastic plate until we had a thick mud.

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Press your little one’s hand into the center of the plate (I recommend having water nearby for a quick rinse), then leave in the sun to dry.

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Obviously these prints are neither permanent nor as apparent as versions in clay or plaster of Paris, but they sure are fun.

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Stop and Go

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Here’s the perfect game to introduce your toddler to the idea that red means stop and green means go. These two colors represent “stop” and “go” in so many ways, whether traffic rules, figures of speech (“we got the green light”) or alert systems. You can introduce the idea playfully on your next car ride; the only requirement is that your toddler can tell the difference between red and green.

To set up, I cut circles from red and green construction paper and taped them to plastic straws. For older toddlers, you can also add the words STOP and GO as early sight words, You could also make the red shape an octagon instead of a circle, but I kept things on the simplest level for Veronika.

Whenever the car went forward, I asked her to hold up green. “Green means go!” we shouted, and she playfully held up her sign.

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Whenever I came to a red light or stop sign, I asked her to hold up red. “Red light! Red means stop!” I told her. This worked especially well during a long stop at a train crossing.

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Keep these little Stop and Go signs in the car and play often, and soon your toddler will get the idea.

Abstract Couch Art

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If you want to challenge your child to make art but don’t have craft supplies on hand, here’s an alternative: raid the couch and make sculptures!

To help Travis understand the idea, I first challenged him to make a burger.

With a pile of clean laundry on hand, we used two pillows as the buns and then layered in lettuce (a green shirt), carrots (an orange shirt), cheese (a white shirt), and tomato (a red shirt).

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Now it was up to Travis to think of which sculpture he could make next. This time he chose a Star Wars character, and although not the direction I would have gone in, I was proud he came up with the idea on his own.

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Pillows formed the head and body, and he added accessories (a mask, cape, and gloves) to complete the work of art.

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What will your child make from couch pillows? Please share in the comments! 

Toddler Beach Day

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It might seem daunting to take a toddler to the beach, but here are a few tips I’ve found that make it easy, even during the summer of coronavirus.

First up, of course, are the essentials. Definitely pack a kid-formulated sunscreen in SPF 50 or higher, plus a sun hat. If your toddler hates having cream formulas rubbed in, consider an easy spray.

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Veronika has a tendency to pull her hat right off, though, so for added security, I bring shade: an umbrella that is. I find that an umbrella is plenty, without having to lug along a pop-up crib or tent.

Now for the activities! We have a dedicated bag of sand toys they can be played with right at the edge of the blanket…

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…or brought down to wetter sand at the water’s edge when she wants to cool off.

When it comes to snacks, think ones that won’t get sandy. Applesauce pouches are ideal, but I also stash granola bars, juice boxes or water bottles, and easy chips like veggie stix.

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Veronika stayed safe, entertained, hydrated and fed. And it was as easy as a day at the beach!

 

Beach Day Sun Clock

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Should you find yourself on the beach for a full day, or even just a span of a few hours, there’s no lovelier way to mark the passage of time than to make a sun clock!

To start, Travis needed to find a stick that we could poke in the center of our dial. But the beach was short on sticks! A sturdy piece of sea grass did the trick instead.

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We took note of the first shadow (around 1 pm) and marked the line with stones and shells. It was neat to see how quickly the shadow “ticked” along, already a new line we could mark at the next quarter hour.

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It turned into a fun game, too, to protect the sun clock (soon dubbed the ‘Castle of the Sun’) from waves, using moats and mounds of sand.

You can continue the fun with additional rocks and shells for as long as you stay at the beach, marking each new hour or half hour shadow as it appears. And at the end of the day, take the collection of rocks and shells home!