Toddler Time

She can help do chores around the house, my son loved to help out at that age *sigh*, to bad it did not last.

Also with my son I had to teach him to entertain himself. Doing activities is great and you should do something together most of the day. But learning to play alone is important--there are times when mommy has to do other things or when a younger sibling comes along that needs care. I started by telling my son that for the next 15mins or 30mins he needed to play nearby while mommy did such and such. If he came over and tryed to engage me in his play I would remind him of what I said and send him back. Eventually I scheduled it into the day as play alone time.

Holiday crafts might be good right now. Perhaps a gingerbread house. Also she might like to help wrap gifts--that are not for her. Or even just playing with or crafting with the wrapping paper.

Or cooking with you could be fun. She could help with meals or you could make cookies to give away to neighbors.

Hi Browneyes :)

I'm not sure where you live, but NATURE is a great teacher! You can spend hours, each day, every day of the week, taking your child out in nature and letting nature teach her about its wonders. Be it snow and mountains or the beach or rivers or a nice cozy forest, explore with her, read up on the elements of nature and study the "seasons".. we are in Autumn/Fall ... there is so much richness about this element and what it means.... how the energy is flowing at the earth level and within us as a time of "release" and preparation for slumber...

Also, cooking is fun utilizing fresh foods in a creative way to bring the JOY of nature and what she provides for our health and happiness.

I can remember having the same questions when I was bringing my daughter up and of course, wish I knew THEN what I know NOW, but everything is as it should be so now I get to "share" it with you and live through it all over again :-)

hugs,
A. R.N., Energy Medicine Practitioner

Hello!

I am a working mom so while some the ideas are all mine - some are not my own - but my wonderful nanny's! She (Jenna) is always doing something different with my kids (5 and almost 2).

*Jenna makes a lot of "seek and find" games - where she will write numbers on pieces of paper, hide them around the house and then have them find the numbers in a certain order (or pick the number out of a bag and find the match). Or we did a HELLO KITTY scavenger hunt outside (but can be inside) where you make 10+ Hello Kitty's (just out of paper) and hide them all over the house (Maybe use different colors or letters - whatever you are working on with her to "check off" after she finds them (the blue one, the orange one, etc)

*Another project I love (that makes for great keepsakes for the baby books) is she will play a song and have my daughter, Nora, draw what the song makes her think of. Then Jenna will ask Nora what she's thinking and about the picture and then put the quote on the page. It's soooo cute and Nora loves to do it!

*We love to play hide the doll/car/whatever in the house and have them find it (saying hot or cold when they get close).

*Jenna also plays an animal noise game with them - asking them to sleep and then says "Wake up Loins" and then they act like lions, or monkeys, etc.

*Do you have the game ZINGO? That's a fun one and I think she could get it at 3yo.

*This is a new hit at our house. My daughter actually thought of it for her birthday party. You can go to Michaels and buy popsicle sticks and they also have little cut outs of people (or of course you could make those yourself). Staple the cut out to the stick and then decorate! Use paint, sparkles, googely (sp?) eyes, contruction paper, whatever! Then you use them to act out a PUPPET SHOW! It is a riot to see what the kids can come up with for a story.

*She's probably old enough for workbooks etc to work on letters, numbers etc. My daughter loved books like that (circle the matches, trace the letters,etc).

*My husband goes to Sprout.com to find craft ideas. They have some good ones there.

*Old games like Simon Says, Red Light Green Light and Hide and Seek, or bowling (if you have extra rolls of paper towels they work for bowling or stacking games!)

*My daughter is WAY into fashion design - loves to make dresses etc. You can use old sheets, or receiving blankets and make outfits for your dolls - or for her! We sometimes use tissue paper on her bed posts (again her idea) and then after she crafts the dresses I go in and "shop"!

*Also build a fort with pillow from the couch and have lunch inside! She will think you are the coolest!

You are a good mom for looking for new ideas for your little girl! Have a great time!

M.

sometimes i let our son run along the side walk just to burn energy. we say ready set go and he runs as fast as he can to the corner where we then yell STOP. then he turns around and waits for us to say ready set go. he can do this for about twenty mins. its also very healthy to let them have alone play time. even at three. good luck.

My kids love our library.

Teaching her to use her dolls and stuffed animals to have tea parties and such is always good for self entertainment. Mom can join in or not. I remember playing dolls (even when I didnt really like to) with my sister for hours.
When she asks "where are we going today" that would be a good time to pull out a book and take her where ever you want to via a great story.
Nature walks are one of the best things to do. Pointing out the colors of everything, including the parked cars along the street.
My kids always watched more than an hour or two of tv. They loved all of the learning shows and usually they all play back to back for awhile.
Teaching your child how to entertain herself is very important.
My granddaughter is only 2 and a half and she is reading on her own already. Your daughter as at the age that you can start teaching her as well. My DIL will be cooking while my granddaughter is sitting at the counter reading stories to mommy. It's adorable.

Our library has puzzzles, and toys, story times, craft times, guitar led sing alongs. check out your library. and sometimes you can go to these free programs in the library next town over, We have a free nature center filled with aquarium animals, stuffed animals, puppets, puzzles, etc

I feel for you!!! I have a 5 and soon-to-be 3 years old and find myself in the same position somedays...even with one in school! I love all your ideas and there are MANY great posts. However, I agree that you CAN NOT be their entertainment committe 24/7. My oldest has a hard time playing alone while my youngest loves to. I spent much more one-on-one time with the oldest. While I'm not sure if that is the sole reason, I truly believe it has a factor in her dependency.
Don't feel guilty! If you are looking for ways to help create a fun, learning environment for and with yor child...YOU ARE A GOOD MOM!!!!! Just remember that you are a person too. You would like time (10 mins) to yourself sometime...i'm guessing :) Good Luck!

All your suggestions are great, but mine is to get out of the house! Find a group of mom friends that you can have regular play dates with---Oh sorry, I just read that you do that. Another suggestion, my friends and I do a rotating play date with craft. We call it "preschool day" and we read a book or do a craft and a 'cooking' activity, or whatever. It adds a little bit of substance to our play time and gives each of us a chance to plan something fun. Also look into your local libraries and book stores, all of them have toddler story hours for free.

I do spend a lot of time with my kiddos at home but it's so much easier for me to go out and do stuff. I'm not always spending money, most of the things I try and do are free or really cheap, but just giving them experiences help them learn so much more!

As far as games, my 3 year old loves card games. We have focussed on Crazy 8s, Go Fish and Memory. She's getting some board games for Christmas too. The games take up a while b/c she's slow and then she is usually excited and wants to play a few times.

go to meetup.com and join a moms group so you and her can find other activities and friends!