Over halfway through the week. Everyone is doing so well! We will get through this and come out of the other side and appreciate everything so much more!
Who are you missing? I am missing my parents and seeing them play with toddler G, I know they are missing him.
I am also missing being with my mummy friends and having a chat over tea and cake!
It’s the little things that we take for granted when they are there and that we really miss when they are gone.
My heart aches for new mums who cannot have visitors to admire their new beautiful babies so if this is you, feel free to share your pictures with me and I can pop them up on our page for everyone to share in your joy! We are also running a little competition too so if you know a new mum please tag them!
Anyway here are some more activities that hopefully you will enjoy with your small ones!
Moonsand also known as cloud dough
I was messaging my fabulous cousin in law the other day and she was just off to make moonsand with her little boy and this reminded me that I haven’t done this for ages because I had run out of baby oil so I tried with olive oil as that was all I had.
It turns out that you can!
You can use vegetable oil too.
I added a bit of peppermint oil too as it smelt nice.
We took the tuff tray and sand out in to the garden and also some cooking utensils including a muffin tray.
Toddler G moulded “biscuits” and then decorated with leaves and flowers he found in the garden, great fun!
We also made moonsand snowmen and used daisies for hats!
Moonsand is so versatile you really can let your imagination run wild.
Pretend to cook with it, mould it, scoop and pour it and don’t throw it away afterwards as it will last for a while.
Moonsand has a lovely consistency, it feels quite sandy but you can mould it so it stays in shape so it’s not too unlike kinetic sand. It’s great for little ones like mine who don’t like getting too messy or sticky.
Clothespeg pull
Grab your clothespegs and paper rolls for this quick and easy toddler game.
One thing I have learned about my 18-month-old is that his mind is always focused on how things work, how things come apart, and just how far something will travel when it gets tossed across the room.
Having fun with activities that strengthen your toddler’s chubby hands now will help them with the tougher skills down the road such as writing, cutting, drawing, and even tying a shoe!
These skills take a lot of thinking and holding the hand steady. If we take the time to strengthen the muscles now, they can focus on the harder parts like letter formation later.
Begin by offering your little one about 5 paper rolls with the clothespegs on top. Watch them take the clothespegs on and off the paper tube.
You can encourage play a little longer with these phrases: “Can you take the clothespeg OFF?” “Can you put the clothespegs THROUGH the tube? Here, I can show…Now you do it.” “Here, put the clothespegs in this bowl” - offer a bowl as an extension
Pulling, pinching and grasping is a huge skill! Be patient as this is a hard skill to learn and toddlers do get frustrated quite easily as I am sure you have noticed!
Bath Paint
This is a great one to do before your little one has their bath or shower as then you can clean them and your bath tub!
You will need shaving foam and food colouring.
Mix them together and pop them on a plate and let your little one have fun decorating the bath and themselves or even you if you want to join them!
Toddler G loved painting whiskers on my face and turning me in to a pussy cat!
Toddler G enjoys this for a number of reasons, mainly because he loves being naked! He also loves using the shower afterwards to clean off the paint.
The consistency of shaving foam is lovely and it isn’t sticky. It’s easy to wash off but just make sure to only use a drop of food colouring so it doesn’t stain.
Pom Pom Apple Tree
This is super cute and a great one if you are looking to make some art to post off to relatives who may be missing you and your small people!
You will need some card or felt to make the tree, or you could paint one like we did.
Pop some pom poms and some glue into dishes or cupcake cases and show your toddler how to gently dip each pom pom into the glue and then on the tree.
You don’t have to stick with yellow and red either, you could have rainbow apples!!
We then decorated with a few stickers and plan on sending these as beautiful thank you cards!
An Easter Tree
Easter is nearly here and although it isn’t quite what we had all expected it is still a time to try and relax and enjoy with our families if you are religious or if you are not.
You can either collect sticks for this and pop them in a vase or you can use a tree in your garden if you have a suitable one.
You will also need to cut out easter egg shapes from card and decorate them.
You can paint them, use stickers or stamps or even do marbled eggs using drops of paint in shaving foam and then dip the eggs in and then wipe off and let dry.
Toddler G enjoys stamping, again I think this is because it is a less messy way of painting so I made some stamps using potatoes and he really enjoyed stamping the different shapes across the paper.
You can also use real eggs for this although it is trickier.
You will need to blow the eggs which means making two small holes in each end of an egg and then blowing out the egg inside.
Don’t waste this, you can still use it to cook with! Rinse the eggs with warm water and then leave them to dry. Once dry, use a long needle to thread some string or cotton through the egg and tie a knot a the end so it doesn’t pull through.
Make a loop with the string so you can hang them once decorated.
Paint the eggs using any child friendly paints and then hang them up to dry.
If this sounds just too complicated stick to card eggs or you could even order Styrofoam eggs instead!
Once you have decorated eggs, ask your small person to gently hang them on your Easter tree!
It is a lovely reminder of the holiday and makes it feel little more special even though we can’t do our usual Easter traditions!
(I must admit though, the Easter tree in the picture is decorated using a mixture of Toddler G's efforts and some really beautiful eggs my mother in law gave me for decorating, so please don't think I had made those myself!)
A final activity which needs no explanation is an Easter Egg Hunt!!
I cannot wait to do this with toddler G. Ages ago I bought plastic easter eggs as I was planning on having a little Easter party with his friends but obviously that can’t happen but we can still have fun on our own!
I have filled them with stickers, little fluffy Easter chicks, a wind up bunny toy and some yogurt covered raisins and plan on hiding them all around the garden for him to look for.
He even has a little basket to pop them in! Younger children will need more of a helping hand looking for the eggs but they will still really enjoy the thrill of finding something exciting.
I hope you and your families enjoy a wonderful Easter weekend and you are all staying safe and well.
This horrible virus will be conquered but only if and when we obey these new laws and we stay inside.
Sending you much love and watch out for the next blog after the Easter weekend!!