Toddler Toys

Parker is a typical toddler. Which means he's very busy! And he doesn't have a very long attention span. So I've been looking up some little toys and activities I can make (and do!) with him. Pinterest has all kind of ideas for 'busy bags.' The idea is to have several ziploc bags, each of which contains a simple, homemade activity that you can pull out if your little one is bored and needs something new to play with. Or they're perfect to toss in the diaper bag if you're out waiting at a restaurant, doctor's office, etc. The best part is, most of them are pretty inexpensive to make! This one stood out, not only because it doesn't take many supplies, but also because Parker loves to put toys into other containers right now. He's all about stacking and dumping things out.

I wanted a small container with a lid for this, so I started looking around the house for something that would work. I found a small plastic bucket with broken sidewalk chalk. Perfect! I got rid of the chalk pieces and washed out the bucket. Later while Parker was napping I went out to Michaels and got a bag of jumbo pompoms.

I cut two 1-inch square holes in the lid. Although this wasn't the easiest plastic to cut. I think I'd recommend something a little softer... a can from baby formula or something similar would work great! These holes aren't perfect, but it works!

I wanted to make sure the edges weren't too sharp for his little fingers, so I cut short pieces of duct tape and stuck them along the sides of the holes. Nothing says homemade like duct tape, right? :)

Fortunately, I don't think Parker cares what it looks like. He had been sitting at the table while I was making it and he couldn't wait to get his little hands on it! I showed him how to stuff the pompoms in the holes and he quickly took over.

He liked it! I'm going to try a few other toddler ideas, too...will let you know how they turn out!