If you had the week off with just your toddler, no other kids...

[PeterPan]

what would you do? Anything special? How would you schedule your day? I confess I don't even have a clue, and it's coming up next week! Dd will be gone to camp a whole week, and it's just me and the toddler. I want to max it out, and I need a plan. I've heard super nannies do, with a whole routine (sing now, bath now, walk now, something like that). Our world usually revolves around dd, so this is a whole new thing! Any ideas? :)

[m0mmaBuck]

Well, I just had a week with my 4yo while the 8yo was at camp. Some things we did: made breakfast daily (her choice), PetCo (to look at animals), bookstore, library, swam at the lake, zoo (and let her pick what to see), played games, read books, ate at her favorite restaurant (a Pho shop).

[kalanamak]

As much safe, fun outside stuff as possible. A shallow creek, a little plastic boat on string, some pails and cups and scoops, and a sun hat.

[lionfamily1999]

We got to do this. It was great. Luke wants attention all the time, so I included him in nearly everything (making all the meals, doing all the chores, &tc). We also went on some special trips (parks and things) and I let him play for longer than usual :p

[MotherGoose]

Follow his lead. Go outside a lot and just be,with no agenda. Play in the water and make a mess, and look at books until he gets tired of it.

[3lilreds in NC]

Isaac and I just had a week together while the girlies were at camp!

 

One day, we went to the library because that's what he wanted to do. The next day, he asked to go to Taco Bell for lunch, so we did. Wednesday we went to a neat place in Charlotte called Wing Haven, which is a house with lovely gardens designed to be wildlife habitat, and Wed. is children's day with crafts and the kids can "help" in the garden. Thursday we had friends visit from Raleigh so I picked the girls up early from camp and we all went to Chik Fil A for lunch and they have a play place. Friday we went to the yarn shop and then out to lunch.

 

It is TOO HOT here to play outside all day, which is what I would have loved to do. Do you have a nearby children's museum with a toddler area? There was one in Raleigh that was a lot of fun. I thought it was more fun for itty bits than for older children, actually. If you can play outside and involve water, that would be the most fun for a small boy, I'm thinking. Do you have a little wading pool?

[Tap]

DD3 and I had 5 days together last week. She played in her pool a lot, rode her bike and spent most of her day outside just free playing. She loved not having to stop and get in the car to drive people everywhere and mentioned it more than once.

[PeterPan]

Wow, you're right! Whole days spent outside playing would be just his thing! Now my mind is swirling with little ideas. As you say, it gets really hot, so he can't spend the whole time out, in the sun. But we could hang a blanket for a tent and get some variety to make it work.

[HayesW]

I've had my three little ones alone for a week with another week to go while the three big kids are at camp. WE've taken swimming lessons and gone out to lunch. Next week we will probably do the zoo or science center.

[swellmomma]

I had this last week. We napped together every day, read lots of preschool books, and watched pre-k movies the big kids don't like (I think we watched leap frog letter factor 7 times in 1 day). It poured rain many of the days so outdoor time was out BUT really we just used the time to cuddle and relax, something that NEVER happens in our home.

[Irene Lynn]

Play with bubbles

Go for walks

Go to the park

Go to the zoo or Children's Museum

Drive by construction sites and possibly park and watch from a safe distance

Have a play date with another little guy

Make fun looking lunches

Catch some bugs and look at them with a magnifying glass

Go to the library

Make a sheet tent and read some books inside it on some pillows

Make a box "castle" or something like that and let him help paint it outside

Go to a petting zoo

Cuddle a lot

[missmoe]

Make sure to cook or bake something yummy that little one can help with!

[PeterPan]

Make sure to cook or bake something yummy that little one can help with!

 

Oh my lands, we NEVER do this. It's always dd cooking with me. Well for that I will have to scratch my head! What in the world would he want to make??? Banana muffins? Popsicles? (I had been thinking I should get new, grown-up size popsicle molds.) Many things we eat are too boring for him to help with (salad and split pea soup tonight for dinner), so I just need the right things. Well what a cool idea!!! Oh duh, we'd probably make lunch together to picnic. But see, I always have dd either make it or help. I'm just so in the box on my thinking, aren't I? :)

[Mom0012]

I would hit the playground each day for a couple of hours in the morning, go to the local storytime at our library, head to a local pond to feed the ducks, read picture books, play with play dough and maybe do some finger painting. It's been a while since I've had toddler, so that's all I can think of for now.

 

Lisa

[Impish]

I had Princess to myself for the first time ever last summer. It was lovely, just relaxing, doing what she suggested...I never knew how quiet she could be until she didn't have older sibs bugging her! :lol:

[Irene Lynn]

When ds was just starting to help he liked to stir things like pancake mix or pudding mixes or Jiffy Mix muffins. All of those are not hard to stir and are small amounts. He also helped with drinks, like making juice from frozen concentrate. He liked to dump ingredients into the mix also. I would often put the ingredients into something that he could handle. I would measure out the ingredients, then put the amount he could reasonably handle into his dumping container, then refill it for him. That way he wasn't trying to dump a filled-to-the-top container and it reduced how big of a mess he could make at one time. :)

[Capt_Uhura]

I'm in the same boat. My 10 and 7 yr old boys will be away for 2weeks w/ the Grandparents. It'll just be me and DD3.5yrs old and I need to occupy her enough to pack the house in preparation for our move in 2 weeks. We'll do a small zoo which is perfect for her age but getting a bit small for the boys. We'll do a number of days at the park which she loves. Lots of tea parties. And I'll probably sign her up for 1.5hrs x2days per week at her soon-to-be pre-school's summer program. She is sooo excited about going to pre-school where her brother's went. It's all outdoor, nature play under shady trees with free-range chickens as well as horses. It'll give me 1.5hrs of packing time. DD loves to paint so now that the house is sold and no showings, I"ll bring out the paint. And we'll build her Duplo LEGO Farm again.

[Terabith]

Go to the park most days.

Field trips: zoo, children's museum, "free sample class" at kid's gymnastics place, etc

 

Read lots of toddler books

Bouncing rhymes (Ride a little horsey) and body awareness games (This little piggy and round and round the garden)

 

Play outside. Sand and water are great.

Go swimming most days.

Physical play (you be the horse, lie on floor with him on tummy and roll back and forth, throw him up in the air, hold him across your arms/ tummy side down and spin him and swing him around)

Go on walks where he walks, not in a stroller. Go at his speed. Stop when he stops. Look at what he looks at. Don't plan to go far.

 

Sit on the floor and really be present while he plays. Introduce activities: build a block tower for him to knock down, run toy cars through a paper towel roll, use tongs to pick up stuff and carry it somewhere else, do a shape sorter, pretend play, do a simple puzzle, etc.

 

Give him a massage.

Cuddle and take a nap together

Do art - markers, paint, that takes supervision

Give him a job in the kitchen: bang crackers to make cracker crumbs or something.

 

Just sit down and plan out a rhythm to dd-less days: think about what you want to do when you get up, where you want to go, what you want to do. A time for park and outside play, a time for a trip, a time for cuddling and reading books and singing, a time for playing on the floor, a time for something artistic or messy, nap time, etc. You just have to create a new rhythm for those days.

 

Have fun! The trick is just being fully present, which is HARD for me.

[Just Robyn]

This is a great thread! My two older ds will be at camp for a week here soon too. I haven't made time to think of things to do with ds 4 so this is perfect.

[Sue G in PA]

Great ideas already so I just wanted to say have fun! What I wouldn't give to have a whole week just me and my 2yo! Not that I don't love all my other kids, but he does seem to get lost in the shuffle sometimes and we certainly don't get a ton of one on one time. Enjoy!