Toddler Time: Walk the Line
Balance is a tricky thing for a toddler. This one safe way to ease into learning to balance. Just lay a piece of masking tape (or painter’s tape) on the ground and encourage your little one to “walk the line”. At…
Toddler Time: Beanbag Toss
This activity didn’t go exactly as planned (does it ever???). I had intended it to be a practice in underhand throwing for Little Brother. He had other plans (as you’ll see). Here’s what you’ll need: a big bowl (or bucket) and…
Semi-Safe "Sword" Fighting
I honestly believe that pretend “sword fighting” must be programmed into the DNA of boys. I don’t recall either of my boys ever seeing this on TV, so I’m just blaming it on the Y chromosome. The same is true…
Jumping through Hoops
I bought three hula-hoops at the dollar store a few days ago and the first thing Big Brother did when we brought them in the house was to lay them out and jump from one hoop to the next. What…
Stepping Stones and Diaper Towers
I stocked up on diapers for Little Brother this week at Walgreens (you can’t beat 8 cents per diaper!). I bought 8 packages total and the boys invented their own games using the diaper packages. Rather than hauling them to our…
Outdoor Play = Gross Motor Activity
One major reason that it is so important for kids to be outside is that playing outside naturally yields itself to gross motor activity! What kid goes outside and just sits on the sidewalk? No, kids want to run, jump, skip, throw…
Indoor Soccer
We’ve been snowed in for the last 3 days and w are all a little stir crazy! I decided we needed some “gross motor” activity, so we played indoor soccer! Here’s what you’ll need: balls, two chairs, and a blanket! 2. Put…
Indoor "Ice" Skating
About a month ago, I saw this post from Frugal Family Fun about “ice” skating using waxed paper. I had just run out of waxed paper (and have since forgotten to pick any up at the store), so we never got around to…
Ice "Fishing"
I first saw a similar idea to this one back in July from Counting Coconuts. We didn’t do it back then (mostly because I was a little worried about Big Brother having a hammer) and it didn’t come to mind again until…
Make It: Homemade "Snowballs"
Last week I posted about using cotton balls for pretend snowballs. Today I’ll show you how you can make “snowballs” out of white yarn. These super light-weight balls are excellent for teaching your baby to throw. Plus, they make for…
Santa Says
I might have mentioned before that for almost 3 WEEKS now, either one or both of the boys have been sick. We all have MAJOR cabin fever! While Little Brother was napping this morning, I decided Big Brother needed some…
throw a "snowball"
A sweet reader, Anna, e-mailed me with the idea to use cotton balls as pretend “snowballs”. Both of my boys loved this! We have all been “sicklings” for the last several days…so it was nice to do something fun together….
Laundry Basket Push
Babies love to push things. Some fun things to push are strollers, child-size chairs, push toys you can buy from the store and even laundry baskets–which easily slide across the floor. Little Brother enjoyed putting things in the basket, pushing…
Turkey Toss of Thankfulness
This simple activity turned into over 45-minutes of family fun yesterday evening! We took turns tossing the turkey ball back and forth and saying what we were thankful for. Big Brother L-O-V-E-D this! He was thankful for everything from his bed,…
Balance Beam with "Fiery" Leaves
We combined some gross motor practice with some pretend play today in a very simple way. I dug out a 2×4 from our shed and placed it in the yard to be a balance beam. We raked up some leaves…
Apple Toss
I thought our apple theme was coming to a close, but then I remembered that I hadn’t done a gross-motor activity in this unit yet… This activity will require a lot of creativity and imagination. This isn’t a bad thing…kids…
Dinosaurumpus!
We had our very own “Dinosaurumpus” today! Combining gross-motor with pretend play, we had ourselves a grand-ol’ time! And the best part is…the only thing you need is your imagination. T-Rex Caleb A dinosaur who walks on four legs…(a Stegosaurus…
Sponge Relay
This activity is embarrassingly simple. It would be a great activity to do when there are multiple children around, but since this was thought up spur-of-the-moment, we made do with just Big Brother. Here’s what you’ll need: 2 large bowls,…