What Should We Play?

Just let him be. If you are always intervening he will learn to expect to be entertained all the time, and believe me you dont' want that! It sounds like you are more bored than he. find some play groups or moms groups to join, you will have playmates and so will he. The activities will take care of them selves.

Here are two things my daughter loved at that age:
Get some balloons and let him toss them in the air and try to catch them or hit them back up.
Get some streamers ($0.99 in party aisle) and cut them several feet long and let him run around and watch how they "float" through the air. (you may want to do this one when your DH is gone because it looks girly but is really fun) And at his age, when he's done playing streamers, you can work on finger dexterity by letting him tear them up and teach him how to pick up the tiny pieces.

My kids LOVED my yoga ball. It was great for leaning them backward on it and gently rolling them, while holding them steady on it. I also had them balance on it (sitting with me helping to avoid falls) and holding their hips while bouncing them on it. (<--Hold the yoga ball in between your legs, while sitting, so it doesn't roll.) We also rolled it to one another, which taught them to take turns and share.

There are also exercises I found online that were for me and them. My kids love to have indoor picnics- just lay a blanket on the living room floor! :) They also love to have parades in the house with everyone taking turns to be the leader, and taking turns with different musical instruments.

Dance! Oh, how they love dancing to fun and energetic music. Plus, it's good exercise for all.

You could build a clubhouse with a blanket (like we did when we were kids) and have him crawl or walk under. Put him in the tub with some paper and paints for some artistic fun before bath-time. Teach him about different textures (inside or out) by having him feel different things, like a blanket (soft) and a rock (hard), carpet (bumpy) and floor (smooth), etc. Go over different animals and their sounds. Maybe make a photo book of some animal photos from the zoo. Perhaps, this could be a project: plan a day at the zoo taking photos, then another day putting together a simple picture book with the animal name under the photo. Have a photo of him at the zoo in the front. :)

Anyway, there are so many cool things to do. Let me know if you want more ideas.

try the Family Fun website. The magazine always has free activity ideas. I always get inspired by them.

You could sing songs with motions to them like, "Mister Sun", "Twinkle, Twinkle", and "Rain, Rain". My daughters love playing with wooden spoons on the bottoms of the pots and pans for instruments. He could watch you play spoons on your lap as you sing a song. Kids love playing in sand at this age. We have used some of our household items like spoons, pots, and buckets outside in the sandbox that my husband built from leftover wood from our house. Then, he got a truck load full of sand for $15. It has lasted us a long time. It is messy, but well worth the time and fun that the kids have playing in it. My children both loved bathtime at that stage so we did bubbles games and shaving cream activities in the bathtub together. They can draw pictures in the shaving cream and put bubbles all over you or your spouse. They have the most fun out of your reaction to them when they do it.

you can get some easy craft project ideas on kaboose.com using some things around the house. you can make an indoor obstacle course, bake together where they stir,ask questions and point at things in a book, or turn on the music and dance. have fun!
A.

Hi T., I have been working with young children since 1972 as a pre-k and PPCD teacher in Austin, Phili, and , L.A. I live in Austin now.Yes, I also have two children and two grandchildren. If you want to work on language development, be sure to take walks and point out everything as you go by. Use simple language, but not babytalk. Also, do this throughout the day as you do your chores in the house. Include your child as you work. Give him three measuring cups and point out that one is big, one is middle sized and one is small. He will probably still just bang them together, but exposure is very important and repetition is key. Play peek-a-boo and hide objects under a cloth to have him guess what the objects are. Show him three familiar objects, then hide one and make up a guessing game. Roll the ball with him to get him to learn to share and take turns. Make music with the pots and pans. Read simple books to him and enjoy this ,or he won't enjoy it. Sing nursery rhymes to him. If you do not know any, get some books and CDs from the library. For sensory development-do finger painting . You can use whipped cream with food coloring if he still eats the paint. Paint the fences outside with water and big brushes. Inside, get big butcher paper, or cut up paper bags and have him paint ,or color with large crayons on the paper. I hope this gives you a few ideas that you can use. J. K.

Staple in my household are costumes (even thriftstore makeshifts) and water play and sand play. The water/sand tables are the best toy ever but if you can't get one just put a bunch of towels down on the floor of your kitchen and fill up pots and pans or large bowls with water. Some water toys are straws and for blowing, watering cans or anything with holes, Target has cheap pouring buckets for sand and water play and let the good times roll. You can add food coloring, essential oils (I like lavender the best because it's soothing)or bubbles. It's a simple clean up as long as you have something covering the floor and omg do kids love water.

Puzzles
Lego mega blocks. My son loved for me to build at that age so he could KNOCK it down. lol
Tonka has a line of trucks/cars with no removable parts. My son got them about that age and LOVES them still. They all have on hard hats, etc. so cute. Target/Walmart, etc. all cary them.
Water paints. I know it sounds crazy, but it is washable... and my son LOVED to paint, still does. I just get those cheapo paint sets (with like ten colors) and he uses (still) so much water, the paper is mushy... then I wipe everything up when he is done.
Family Fun and WonderTime are both good resources.
GOOD LUCK

Sounds like you already very creative. Balls - anykind: roll them sitting down, over and uner a table and hide them under anything. We just started draping sheets over chairs/stools to make tents. Tumbling on the bed or carpet. We colored with the "Crayola pip squeaks washable markets" on a large empty box. He also likes to put the box on the side so he can crawl in and sit up with his toys. Make a ramp (for toy cars) out of cardboard to take a little chair and turn it over to drape the cardboard over. Sometimes we just run through the house - tag the door or he chair. I brought in old books for him to climb on (that's a mom too) activity. You can make number cards. I just use 1-5. He likes to take them in and out of a see-through plastic closed in folder. It only has one opening. I tell him he has to look at the card before he puts it in the folder and I say the numbers. It's a short game but he knows which one is the "1" now. You can mix them up on a table and look for the "1". You will soon see with any of your activities that he on his own will start to play with "your ideas" on his - like the cars. That's the beginning of his own imagination/creativity then you can walk away. The "his own time" is also important. It's awesome to watch. Also check the pbskids.com and I'm sure there are other websites that have activity suggestions. TV's also changed. There are also some truly incredible fun learning programs.

All of those are great ideas and crayola makes a mess free finger paint which my daughter loves. Go to your local teacher store and buy preschool book. They will have tons of activities. You could also go to orientaltradingcompany.com and purchase fun crafts to do or visit your local Michaels.

HI T., my little guy is now 5 but I remember thinking the same things at that stage. They really don't do a lot of play pretend till they are 3-4 years of age. It's all about gross motor skills with boys! I would take him to different indoor playgrounds that are free of cost while the weather is cold. We do that a lot still. We usually set up a play date with other Moms and friends and bring their lunch! We get a little adult contact and the kids have a complete blast! Not sure where you are in the metroplex but Chic fil a is great, Stonebriar Mall, Collin Creek Mall. We even take them to Chuck E. Cheese and just give them a few tokens and after those are gone they can play on the climbing structures. You may have to google indoor play areas or playgrounds to be more specific. Good luck and remember it always a new phase but they are all fun! J.

Sing lots of nursery rhymes and other songs you like. They soak in. Good libraries also have lots of board books you can borrow.
Marge

Hi T.. Do you get out of the house much together? Your son would probably love the indoor playground at a mall, or storytime/toddler time at the library. These are free too! Even just a visit to the library for new books it great too, or a pet store (fish tanks to see and maybe even touch a puppy!), or bookstore visits like to Barnes and Noble, etc. Getting out of the house and seeing new things is priceless. Also, think about joining a playgroup so your son can start to learn to share, play, etc. with others. Oh, and mommy groups like ECPTA, MOPS, MOMS CLUBS, etc. are great! They even have playgroups to join, outings for you and your son, etc. Get out more...and then your games at home will not be overused or routine anymore!