Anyone got any ideas of fun things I can do with DS to fill up our day? He's just transitioning from 2 day sleeps to 1 so I think there is going to be alot more time in the day to fill up.
He's walking so we already do things like me chasing him around the house, dancing to wiggles, watches tv etc but does anyone have any other suggestions? I tried to get him to draw with crayons the other day but he just chewed on them LOL
Might be a bit noisy, but banging on pots and pans with spoons? I often give DD a bowl and a spoon to play with while I'm trying to cook dinner and all she wants to do is pull open the drawers in the kitchen!
Rolling a ball around the floor- DD has a few of the little Fisher Price roll-a-round balls, each ball is different (e.g. some have a rattle inside, some have different fabrics/materials on the outside), or even one of those plastic knobbly balls (they're only about $3).
go for a walk and point out different things, like birds in the sky, leaves on the ground, a dog walking past.
DD loves playing with boxes too, so keep any leftover cereal boxes or postage boxes and you can put things in them for him to take out.
I recommend the fisher price roll a rounds too, they're great! DS loves pushing them around the house. I gave him a shallow cardboard box (like the ones from the fruit shop) and he's been having fun climbing in and out, turning it over and sitting on top, putting toys in it etc. If you don't mind the mess some fun ones are letting them splash their hands/float toys in a tub of water or fingerpainting with plain yoghurt coloured with a smidge of food colouring.
Books! Books books books. My DD is going through the exact same thing - transitioning to one day sleep and I am struggling a bit with activities too. Not helped by the large preggie belly and my inability to be very active with her...
But she does love books. She will pick out her faves for me to read over and over again.
We tried crayons too and she ate them, LOL.
How about playdough? DD loves squishing it and smashing it and pressing little cookie cutter shapes into it.
Also flash cards are good - you can buy pretty ones with pictures and a box, DD was given a few sets for her first birthday and she loves pulling them out of the box one by one, then finding ones she knows and presenting them to me.
Also music - we bought a CD with nursery rhymes on it which she dances too, a bit more interactive than TV!
The other things she is loving ATM are blocks - specifically Mega bloks, which you buy from Target, hers are a set of blocks in a zipper bag, she loves tipping them out of the bag, then putting them back in and trying to do up the zip.
ooh what about putting rice/pasta in a little container (with a lid ) and letting him shake it around. I let DD play with a container of custard powder the other day and she loved it.
Or if he can go outside, you could put some in an open container for him to run his hands through.
When DS1 was a year old we would roll a ball across floor to each other, read books, he has always loved the shapo so playing with that and telling him the shapes hold shape in hole for him to push in etc, wiggles he loves, DS also liked being pushed down hallway on his ride on thomas!
Musical toys he loved and still does xylophone, maracas, drums.
DS1 even now isn't into play doh I get more enjoyment than him, and drawing he still wants to eat pencils etc
I find having other siblings help...but youve got some baking to do yet......
ATM my nearly 1 year old loves balloons...i blow 1 or 2 up for the day and he just chases them around the house....
Playdoh,crayons and pencils would just be food ATM for my son.
We throw blankets over our heads too and play peek- a -boo.
My son seems to love little cars - he plays with polly pocket cars all day long. - maybe get him so matchbox cars.
Pushing a trolley around the backyard.
GL - such a fun age...
a cubby house or tent - we have a pop-up tent with a tunnel attached that both my kids have loved
sensory stuff like water/sand/rice even (Lulu has a great idea for this). We have a little sand and water table that I got inexpensively from Big W it has 2 sides (yay with 2 kids) and sometimes i put sand in it, sometimes water if it's warm, sometimes I've even dumped a packet of rice or flour in there - outside and yes it's messy but it's fun. Otherwise if it's too cool a few centimetres of water and some measuring cups in the bath
Sing songs with actions
hand puppets
the tupperware cupboard - lots of different shaped lids and containers
if it's warm enough
a bucket of water and a paintbrush for them to 'paint' the walls/concrete outside
Bubbles!!! I go through bottles of the stuff. i even have one in my handbag for grocery shopping distraction - keeps the other customers amused too
hiding and chasing - yes they follow you and there's no real point but DS just loves it.
Making faces in a mirror
a box with 'treasures' in it - material scraps, bits of string, pom poms, blocks, little rattly things a big bell....you know stuff that feels different/sounds different
obstacle course with pillows, mats etc
Just remembered another one..sorry I keep making posts in this thread
washing baskets! DD loves pulling the clothes out, one by one, and throwing them all over the floor (and then I run around picking them up and folding them..great motivation to fold up the washing! Lol), or I put one of the little balls i mentioned before in there and she rolls it around inside. Or you could put it over his head and he can crawl around like a turtle. Good for playing a bit of peek a boo with too.
Activities to do with a 1 year old at home
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) and letting him shake it around. I let DD play with a container of custard powder the other day and she loved it.
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