101 Fun Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers

If you're looking for something fun to keep your toddler or preschooler busy this summer, here are 101 fun ideas to get you started!

 

1. Color with Wet Chalk on the Sidewalk
2. Blow Bubbles
3. Play Hide and Seek (or if You Have Several Children, Play Sardines)
4. Make a Dog House out of a Box
5. Play the "Hot/Cold" Game
6. Have an Easter Egg Hunt- Anytime of the Year!
7. Help Them Make a Letter/Picture to Mail to One of Their Friends
8. Build a Tower Out of Blocks Taller than the Sofa!
9. Have a Picnic in the Living Room
10. Make Cut-Out Cookies
11. Take a Walk Somewhere New
12. Make Sock Puppets
13. Create Your Own Movie
14. Plant Some Flowers or Vegetables From Seeds
15. Lie Down on a Blanket Outside and Name the Animals You See in the Clouds
16. Have an Indoor Pretend Campfire
17. Make Popcorn on the Stove
18. Have a PJ Party
19. Play Restaurant
20. Gaze at the Stars through a Telescope
21. Go for a Nature Walk
22. Record Yourselves Telling a Story onto Cassette Tape
23. Have a Scavenger Hunt
24. Play in a Little Kiddie Pool Together
25. Make Edible Play dough
26. Make Collage Place Mats
27. Finger Paint with Chocolate Pudding 
28. Have a Popcorn Movie Night
29. Write a Story Together
30. Play Dress-Up Together
31. Bake Cookies and Deliver them to Neighbors
32. Act Out a Bible Story
33. Play on a Playground- TOGETHER!
34. Set up a Pretend Hospital
35. Count Your Blessings- Seriously, Make a List and Count them.
36. Exercise and Stretch Together
37. Have a Bike Wash
38. Go Pebble Hunting
39. Make Ocean Bottles
40. Have a Color Theme Day
41. Teach Your Children a Game They've Never Played Before
42. Look at Old Family Photos Together
43. Take a Nap Together
44. Make a Fruit-Loop Necklace
45. Create Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments
46. Use Hand Prints to Make Seasonal Pictures to Hang on the Wall
47. Camp-Out in the Living Room
48. Color Pictures to Send to Family Members that Live Far Away
49. Have a Reading Day- Check Out a Ton of Books from the Library, and Then Spend all Afternoon Reading
50. Make Play Clay
51. Create Treasure Boxes
52. Have a Tea Party
53. Set Up an Obstacle Course
54. Make Boo-Boo Bunnies
55. Decorate Your Bikes and Have a Little Parade
56. Play with Shaving Cream
57. Open a Doll Spa
58. Do Somersaults Together
59. Have a Pots and Pans Musical Band
60. Play “Rock, Paper, Scissors”
61. Visit a Petting Zoo
62. Make Pet Rocks
63. Decorate Pillowcases
64. Build a Fort Out of Blankets
65. Make a “Me and You” Book
66. Play Volleyball Using a Balloon
67. Create an Alphabet Book
68. Use a Laundry Basket to Throw Stuffed Animals into
69. Attend Free Activities at Your Local Library
70. Make a Bird Feeder
71. Go Berry Picking
72. Play Red Light/Green Light
73. Create Magnets for the Fridge
74. Experiment with Color Mixing Using Frosting and Graham Crackers
75. Make Color Bags
76. Play Indoor Basketball Using a Laundry Basket and Stuffed Animals
77. Plant a Garden
78. Cook Breakfast for Dinner
79. Create a Mini-Salon and Give Each Other Funny Hair-Dos
80. Have a Hawaiian Theme Day
81. Dance With a Scarf
82. Go Indoor Fishing
83. Play Freeze Tag
84. Make White Mud
85. Camp Out in the Living Room
86. Go Bug Hunting in the Backyard
87. Build a Sand Castle
88. Make Treasure Bottles
89. Decorate Cupcakes
90. Make Placemats out of Greeting Cards
91. Have a Stuffed Animal Party
92. Send a Message in a Bottle to a Friend 
93. Decorate a Card for a Family Member
94. Learn About a Different Country
95. Play “Go-Fish”
96. Make Yogurt Popsicles
97. Create a Lift-the-Flap Picture
98. Tie-Dye T-Shirts
99. Visit Your Local Fire Station
100. Go on a Colors and Shapes Hunt
101. Have a Backwards Day

To the reader who was pregnant with her 4th...

Last night, I received an e-mail from a reader, M., who was pregnant with her 4th. child. I typed a message back, but when I clicked, "send", the message was bounced back to me. It stated that M.'s e-mail address didn't exist. After looking at the original message again, I realized that it was dated April 2011! Somehow M.'s e-mail took 10 months to reach my inbox. Although M.'s message was so long ago, I would like to share it here as well as my e-mail back. Maybe someone else reading this is in a similar situation as M. and needs encouragement too.

M.'s e-mail:

***

Hello, My name is M., I have 3 children all born by c-section aged 14, 12 and 8 i just found out this week that I'm about 5 weeks pregnant.

When i was 17 i had my ovary taken out and then after my 3rd baby i had an ectopic pregnancies and my tube was taken, At which time i was told i would not be able to fall pregnant again. So almost 5 years on i was very shocked to find out iam in fact pregnant.

I went to the Doctors today who has advised me not to have the baby, as he thinks you should not have any more then 3 c-sections. I felt the doctors crying and feeling sick to my stomach, when i got home i started looking on the internet and found many women who have had 4, 5, 6 even up to 8 c-section, Which made me feel a bit better after reading this. I'm still very scared as i want this baby more then any thing. Any advice you could please give me would be very appreciated.

***

Here is my response:

***

Hi M.,

My first thought when I read your message is that you probably don't live in the USA, am I right? I say that because although a lot of doctors here say to stop at 3 c-sections, I have never heard of one advising an abortion for the reasons you listed.

Were your first 3 c-sections normal? Did you have any adverse reactions to the procedure or the anesthesia/epidural/spinals?

To give you an idea how laid back doctors are here (in the state I live) about c-sections- I have had 5, a former neighbor had 4, a friend at church had 4, my doctor's sister-in-law had 5, a lady in my mother's group had 4, and I have met many other ladies online that have had 4 or more.

One lady I met through a c-section group has had 11. Another had 7 c-sections. The one who had 7 did develop placenta percretta during her 7th. pregnancy and had to have a hysterectomy afterwords, but and her baby are fine. Her name is Sabrina and I believe her birth story is listed under my c-section link up top.

If your doctor is that concerned about your pregnancy, then you need to find a new doctor ASAP. You need a doctor that is confident enough as a surgeon that they are not scared at the prospect of a 4th, 5th, or 6th. c-section. Try to find a doctor that is pro-life and pro-family.

I'm telling you all this because I want you to know that although the risks do go up with a 4th. c-section, many doctors are not concerned about women having a 4th. when there have been no complications with the first 3. If it is uncommon where you live, then you are going to have to work harder to either find a doctor experienced in delivering 4th. + c-sections, or a doctor that is a highly skilled surgeon and is confident in what he/she does.

Keep reading positive stories and try to find a good doctor. Read as much as you can about how to make this birth a good experience and try not to worry.

***

M., if you read this, I'm sorry I didn't receive your message earlier because I would have encouraged you to keep your baby and enjoy the blessing that child would bring to your life. I hope that you were able to find joy in your pregnancy and look past the fear and that your c-section went smoothly.

All the best,

Example of a Candy Land Cake

For all you candy lovers out there, here is another example of a Candy Land Cake. Evi, an Adventures in Diapering blog reader, made this cake for her daughter's 5th. birthday. Check out the candy path she made- complete with the pink candy spots like the ones on the board game! The game pieces and the candy along the bottom edge of the cake were nice touches too. Apparently the cake was a big hit; Evi says, "14 little hands descended on her cake all at once and it was undone in about 45 seconds!"

Thanks for sharing Evi!

How to Make a Candy Land Cake

Today I'm reposting one of my most popular posts- How to Make a Candy Land Cake. I'm adding back in tons of pictures which should be helpful to anyone making their own CandyLand Cake.

This week I made my first Candyland Cake! It was a HUGE hit with my kids. So much in fact that my other 3 children are all requesting Candyland Cakes for their birthdays too.

The cake was fairly easy to make, but very time consuming. If you decide to make a cake like this, you will probably find it easiest to assemble the candy by looking at a Candy Land game board. Then just use whatever candies you want.

If you have any questions that aren't answered here, leave me a comment or e-mail and I'd be happy to answer them.

Candy Land Cake

Supplies:

*Wax Paper

*13x9 in. sheet cake (the one I used was 2 cakes put together- half yellow, half chocolate)

*Buttercream Frosting:
*Purple
*Pink
*Red
*Orange
*Yellow
*Green
*Blue
*Black
*Chocolate

Various Candies, such as:
*Gum Drops
*Mini-Candy Canes
*Itty Bitty Marshmellows
*Peanut Butter Brittle
*Gummy Bears
*Licorice strings
*Suckers
*Heath Candy Bits
*Small Ice Cream Cones
*Cotton Candy

Directions:

The day before my son's birthday, I made the cake and put a base coat of frosting over the entire outside of it. I then put the cake in the freezer for an hour or so to harden up a bit before decorating.

After pulling the cake back out, I started to make the background colors (grass, sky, mountains, ect.) using frosting.

I traced the outline of the cake pan onto wax paper. Inside of the cake shape I had just drawn, I sketched out the Candyland path making just a simple curvy line that copied the game board.

Using scissors, I cut the wax paper along the line I had drawn. I placed the wax paper cutout on top of the cake and made tiny frosting dots to make the path outline onto the cake. After the frosting outline was on, I removed the wax paper.

I touched up the background scene and started making the path and bridges using the buttercream frosting. I also placed some of the candies on that wouldn't go bad before the next day.

After everything seen in the picture below was completed, I stuck the cake in the fridge until the next day.

FYI- The candy assembly the next day went MUCH quicker than the pre-assembly work day.

The Day of the Party

The next day I pulled the cake out of the fridge and started assembling all the candy details. Candy Canes in the bottom right corner, along with some tiny marshmallows for snow.

I stuck suckers into some of the gum drops, made a castle using 2 ice cream cones, frosting (including red to make a cherry at the top), cotton candy, and 2 toothpicks stuck into the back for support.

In the right corner I made Queen Frosting's place using pink cotton candy.

A licorice bridge was made using pull and peel licorice twisted and stuck in place with frosting.

I sprinkled Heath candy along the side of the peanut butter brittle house.

To finish the cake off, I tore little pieces of cotton candy off stuck them all along the base of the cake.

Voila'! The cake was finished and the kids were thrilled!

Feeding Baby Finger Foods for Less

Once my babies are around 8 months old, they start to make the transition from puree'd foods to finger foods. It's easy to find healthy finger foods, but it can get pricey when needing to buy baby foods for on the go. Diced baby foods can run around $1 per jar!

To save money on food for older babies, yet keep the convenience found with jarred baby foods, I shop in the regular canned fruit section. Many of the major canned fruit brands sell diced fruits in 100% juice. The diced fruits come in little sealed plastic cups that are perfect for tossing in the diaper bag. When buying the diced fruits for babies under 1 year old, I stick with name brands as I have found they are more tender than the off brands. It's easy to find coupons for the fruit cups in the Sunday coupons or on online coupon sites, which means you can buy a 4 pack of fruit cups for less than the price you'd spend on only 2 jarred baby foods!

We also buy 100% natural (no sugar added) applesauce cups. Like the diced fruits, these little cups are super convenient for just grabbing on the go and filling baby up with healthy fruit. I usually buy these in the store-brands as they are less expensive yet just as good as the name brands.

In addition to using convenience foods for Baby, I also will grab regular fruits that are soft (bananas, peaches, pears) for on the go when fruit is in season. Baby fruit "puffs" and O type cereals travel well too.

If your baby is ready for soft finger foods but you don't want to give up the convenience of jarred foods, give the fruit cups a try! You will save money by skipping the baby food aisle and going straight for 100% natural fruits in the regular canned goods aisle.

Making Baby Food in the Crock Pot

My little guy who is 9 months old and loves to eat!

With the price of baby food at over $1 per serving, (even more for the organic varieties) I try to make as much of my own as possible for my little guy. Recently I discovered how easy it is to make food for my baby in the crockpot. I wish someone would have told me how to do this years ago! Here's how I've made baby food in the crock pot:

My favorite veggie to make in the slow cooker is squash. Simply scrub off the squash in cold water, then use a knife to poke holes throughout the skin of the squash.Place in the bottom of a crock pot. Add enough water into the crock pot that it's up to about 1/3 or so of the squash. Put the lid on the slow cooker and then let cook on high heat for about 4 hours or low heat about 7 hours (or until squash is super tender). When the squash is tender, turn crock pot off and let it cool off. Once cool, cut open squash and scoop out the insides (minus the seeds) and place in a blender along with a littl

e of the water that was in the crock pot. Blend until squash is nice and smooth.

Purple Carrots my husband grew in the garden

Another veggie we've done is carrots. To cook carrots in a slow cooker, scrub carrots well in water. Peel carrots and place in crock pot (cut the carrots into slices if you want it to cook faster). Fill the crockpot with water, add lid. Cook until carrots are tender. It took about 3-4 hours on high if carrots were sliced first.

Purple carrots cooked in the crock pot with applesauce frozen into cubes

After you've pure'ed the baby food, scoop into a clean ice cube tray and set in a freezer. After baby food is frozen, pop the food cubes out and place in freezer bags (labeled with what food is and date). I find that one full ice cube tray fits into a 1 quart sized freezer bag.

To serve, thaw 3-4 baby food cubes in the fridge or in the microwave. My 9 month old usually eats 3 cubes worth per meal (which is about 3 ounces).

You can cook all kinds of foods for Baby in the crock pot. We've done apples picked at the orchard and made delicious apple sauce! You can do basically any fruit, veggie, and even add in chicken. The fruits and veggies come out so tender and soft after being in the slow cooker that often times I don't need to do any blending at all. I simply use a fork to mash it up a bit and it's ready for my baby to eat!

It's an easy way to save money and to ensure your baby is eating healthy, especially if you're able to grow some of the food in a garden!

***My husband bought the seeds for the purple carrots through amazon and planted them last spring. He pulled up a few of them in the fall, but they were only a few inches long. He went out into the garden the other day and was surprised to see that the carrots were still growing. He was even more surprised when he pulled them up and saw how huge they had grown! The purple color was really cool and cooked up into a red violet. Here's the link to the seeds he used in case you'd like to try them yourself:

Ideas of What to Include in Baby's Scrapbook

Each of my children has their own scrapbook. The scrapbooks aren't all that fancy, but they are fun for the kids and I to look at. They LOVE to pull out their book, lie down on the floor, and flip through the pages remembering what fun things they've done. Now that my oldest two can read, they also enjoy reading the stories I've written alongside the photos. Making a scrapbook for each of the kids has been a lot to keep up, but it has been worth it to get our family history on print for the children.

Here are some of the things I include in my Babies' Scrapbooks:

*Intro. page with Baby's birth info., meaning of Baby's name, Baby's hospital bracelet and bassinet card
*Family Tree up to Great-Great Grandparents
*Photos of my husband and I as kids and photos from our wedding. I write a little about how my husband and I came to know God, our childhood, and how we met and fell in love.
*Ultrasound Photos & Pregnancy Test photos. This is where I'll include how we found out we were expecting a baby and little details about my pregnancy with Baby.
*Pregnancy Photos- bi-weekly or monthly belly shots
*Baby Shower Pictures
*Birth Pictures
*Photos of Visitors and list of gifts received
*Pictures with Baby's Siblings and Grandparents
*Letters from Mommy and Daddy. We write about Baby's birth, how glad we are that Baby is part of our family, and our blessings for Baby's future
*List of Baby's "Firsts". See "Growing Up" photo below
*Growth Chart
*Page full of "what things cost" and "what's popular" from year Baby was born.
*Monthly Photos of Baby (a photo from each month of Baby's 1st. year shown side by side)
*Photos from Baby's major milestones
*General snapshots. As baby's growing, special trips, holidays, ect. Anything I think might be important to him/her when they're older.