Hello Funky mums and dads! How are you all doing?
2 weeks already completed of lockdown!
Are you finding things getting easier or harder? I think we are getting settled in to our new routine and things are gradually feeling more normal and less scary although we all still need to be vigilant!
One of my absolute favourite customers was telling me how she was planning on using lockdown to try potty training and I thought that was a great idea. No going out so no need to worry about packing umpteen changes of clothes for those out and about accidents!
So I thought I would give it a try with toddler G. Toddler G is only 18 months old and this proved to be a very bad idea! He wee’d on me, the dog and somehow in his box of duplo so that was a fun one to clean!
Potty training is now abandoned and I might try again in the summer!
So here are some of our latest activities. I so loved seeing some pictures from you of your little ones doing the activities!
Pom pom drop
Yet another idea using toilet roll holders!
This kept toddler G happy for a little while and he keeps going back to it too which is fab!
You will need some toilet roll holders, Sellotape and pom poms.
Tape the toilet roll holders on to the wall, or if you have a big piece of cardboard or a tuff tray this works even better.
Create a long tube or even a zig zag one and pop a bucket underneath to catch the pom poms as your toddler drops them in at the top.
You can make this slightly more creative by colour coordinating the tubes, blue tube blue pom poms and blue bucket and you can also introduce counting too.
Snow bears
One of toddler G’s favourite books is about 3 baby bears who get covered in snow and pretend to be snow bears.
We recreated this with flour and plastic bears but obviously you can use anything.
Toddler G loved sieving the flour on to the tuff tray and over the bears.
We then made footprints using the bears and a little bit of the Gruffalos child book came in to play too.
You can introduce games of hide and seek and imaginary play.
You can add a cave using another toilet roll.
Lately I have discovered if I start a game with toddler G then he will often carry it on enthusiastically without me which leaves me a few minutes to clean, cook etc
More water play
Toddler G absolutely loves water play.
As the weather gets warmer we can do more outside but as we are having no guests and we have lots and lots of time I really don’t mind lots of water play in the house.
We used the tuff tray for this but you could just pop towels on the floor.
Fill heavy bowls with water and pop food colouring in each one.
Put an empty bowl down too and some ladles, cups and other things to scoop and pour and let your toddler have free range to mix colours together.
Pouring is great for hand eye coordination and you can introduce colour learning too.
Jelly
I have to admit, this was not one of toddler G’s favourite activities but that is purely because he hates being sticky!
I enjoyed making it for him though and one of my friends did this for her little girl and she absolutely loved it so it can be a popular thing to do if you don’t have such a fussy little one as mine!
You will need some plastic toys, jelly and a dish.
Prepare this the day before. Make the jelly and pour it over the toys, we used some rubber animals. Pop it in to the fridge to set and then let your little one dig out the toys.
They can either use their hands and get really messy which is such a lovely sight to see or if they are like my son they may like to use tools.
Toddler G only used a long handled slotted spoon, I think to keep the stickiness as far away as possible!
Once all the toys are safely out of the jelly, your toddler can wash them thus adding another fun element in to the activity!
Making a magic potion
This is certainly one of my favourite things to do and it went down well with toddler G too!
You will need a shakeable jar, if you use glass please be careful with it around children. Food colouring, gel works best. Anything you find in your garden and water.
Without your small person seeing, squeeze some food colouring gel in the bottom of the jar and then take it and your little one on a scavenger hunt!
Ask them to find things like a daisy, a yellow flower, green leaves, something that smells nice etc and then get them to add them in to the jar.
Once you have enough get them to pour the water in and pop the lid on.
At this point you can say magic words or do a magic tap and then shake up the jar. It will turn a vibrant colour of whatever you used and your little one will completely believe that it is magic!
I remember this activity vividly from my childhood so I really love doing it with my son now.
I hope these offer you a little inspiration of how to entertain your small person and yourself during continued lockdown!
Keep sharing your pictures and ideas with me and stay safe you fabulous mums and dads!
I wanted to share one final thought with you. So many people are saying that lockdown is a great time to learn a new skill, tackle something new or renovate part or your house but please don’t think you need to do any of these things! Many parents are posting how productive their day was, they baked a 90 layered aubergine cake with their children or learnt Arabic in 24 hours but really this is not what is important!
The most important thing for you and your family is you stay happy and healthy and if you need a day or even days of staying in pj’s and watching Peppa Pig then that is okay!
Go easy on yourself and stay well Funky Fans! Sending you all love!