Need some new ideas for keeping the toddler busy!

[mothergooseof4]

Yes, I'm a seasoned home schooler, but this little one doesn't seem to stay occupied and doesn't want chill with the teens while I work with another.  She wants to be ON ME all the time.  She isn't fussy, just hyper and distracting!  All of my old tricks aren't working!

[domestic_engineer]

Assuming DD is past the put-everything-in-your-mouth stage:

Kinetic Sand

safety scissors (or those dull fancy-edging scissors for papercrafts), tape, glue stick and paper

water beads

paint with water

 

 

Edited September 7, 2016 by domestic_engineer

[purplejackmama]

I sent my toddler to preschool. Seriously. It was the only way I could work with the others without losing my mind. :)

[pinkmint]

I sent my toddler to preschool. Seriously. It was the only way I could work with the others without losing my mind. :)

Glad to hear some people do this. I have a toddler who is an incredible handful and I feel like a wimp sometimes for not being able to handle homeschool and keeping him alive/ not screaming/ destroying property at the same time but it is basically impossible.

 

If it were in our budget to put him in a bit of preschool I would.

[Zinnia]

With one of my toddlers, I had a big, garden tub in my bathroom.  He was little enough that he couldn't climb out, and he couldn't operate the water yet.  For about 4 months or so, I was able to use it as a playpen.  Bliss.  Absolute bliss.  

 

 

[purplejackmama]

Glad to hear some people do this. I have a toddler who is an incredible handful and I feel like a wimp sometimes for not being able to handle homeschool and keeping him alive/ not screaming/ destroying property at the same time but it is basically impossible.

 

If it were in our budget to put him in a bit of preschool I would.

No way!! Don't feel like a wimp! It's tough stuff managing all these tiny humans.

[bookbard]

I wrote a cheap ebook with weekly ideas for your baby/toddler, if that's any help goo.gl/PD433z

 

 

I used a baby gate to keep toddler in a room for one kind of play, then move to a different space for a different kind of play . . . different spaces used to keep em occupied for a while . . .

Edited September 7, 2016 by bookbard

[prairiewindmomma]

Search busy bags and sensory bins on Pinterest. I add a new bag a week and keep everything in rotation--4 or 5 bags a day keep mine busy.

[Rachel]

Let her play with plastic cups at the kitchen sink?

[Guest]

Not sure if you've done this, but I suggest buy a cheap water table. Fill with something different every couple of days: rice, shaving cream, water and dish soap bubbles, dried peas, water beads (although I think these things are a ridiculous mess and quit using them, some like them). That was my life saver fairly often with two toddlers. Playdough, Lauri toys......clothespins can be mineblowingly fascinating to two years olds. 

 

And note- those are each OR, not all at once. ;)

Edited September 8, 2016 by texasmom33

[MotherGoose]

baby wearing?

[Emba]

A bowl or pie plate of dry pinto beans asnd a spoon to pour and stir them. I'm not joking, it keeps my 4 year old quite busy, long as I don't use it to often. Sometimes he puts toy trucks in there to haul the beans around. Sometimes he uses doll dishes to play cook and serve them.

[Guest]

I remembered another thing we did- contact paper and pom poms. There's something about the sticking, unsticking that can keep them occupied for a bit, and at that point 15 minutes of them being busy would make me ecstatic. I used to tape it to the window with masking tape and let them go to town. 

 

ETA: Oh and glow sticks and a dark hallway. Put one in an empty plastic water bottle, draw some antennae, legs and eyes and bam. Lightning bug. And the mystery of THE GLOW.  :D

Edited September 8, 2016 by texasmom33

[mellifera33]

My 3 y/o is fascinated by the glittery putty in the toy section at Michael's. She has been having a blast making all of her little toys get stuck in the "goo." 

 

 

[mamiof5]

I had to remove mine from where I was. For part of the morning he's in his room (with older sibling), sometimes downstairs also. Older siblings know they must entertain him for certain time. If he's by me nothing gets done.

 

Activities? Puzzles, aqua mat, train table, cars, car ramo, coloring, legos, blocks, signing time videos etc

[TheReader]

My youngest was beyond active, and never napped. The things that worked best were:

Him, in the bathtub, water running very low but no stopper in the tub, and water toys, shaving cream, etc. We would sit in the doorway and watch, and whichever kid wasn't being worked with could play too. Having no stopper made it safer and of course not too hot, we were right there, etc.

 

Access to pots/pans/plastic bowls/cups. He would empty the cabinet, stack, knock over, etc. lots of fun for him, kept him occupied, and an easy mess to pick up after we were done.

 

School at the table, during snack time, with him in his high chair. Mixed results there, but it worked sometimes.

 

Rice bucket or bean bucket, with scoops, spoons, hot wheel cars, etc. Include some paper towel tubes or toilet paper rolls and cars to roll through, or funnels and cups, etc.

 

If you have a safe outdoor space with toddler climbing things or activities, that got us a lot of time usually. A baby pool, or a climbing structure, or balls and hoops, or ride ons, or a baby swing...the change of scenery were always a big help.

 

Other than that, we just got less done, and agreed to clean up messes as the price we paid to get the stuff done that we actually did.

[Guest]

I've put the kiddo in an upstairs bedroom to play, turned on overly much Octonauts, rotated activity bags and boxes every fifteen minutes, and even saved difficult subjects for before the kid leaves their crib and then again during nap time. I've even debated preschool but the time it would take to organize a drop off, plus the cost, makes that a no go here.