Activity #5 - Shadow Puppets!
Shadow puppets are probably the easiest activity we have done together because all that is required is a dark room and a flashlight. The first time Izzy and I did this activity, daddy was there and got Izzy to giggle pretty good by making fighting shadow puppets with both of his hands. However, I am really limited on my shadow puppet skills and can only really do a bunny and a dog, but that's okay. Izzy doesn't mind. In fact, he almost likes it better when we just sit there and turn the flashlight on and off.
Age: 0m+
Skills learned: Difference between light and dark, on and off
Cost: Free
Activity #4 - Music Day!
One day we had a music day. And it kept him entertained for quite a while. First, we learned about the piano. We did this by listening to a song by the Piano Guys and then we played on the little keyboard we have here in our apartment. Next, we learned about the guitar. Since I play the guitar, I was able to show Izzy my guitar and play it for him. I also made a homemade baby guitar for him so that he could play along with mama. The last thing we did was work on our rhythm. For this portion of the activity we searched for nursery rhymes on YouTube. We both had toys that rattled (we used plastic Easter eggs filled with beans and then taped shut) and we did our best to shake them along to the music. Obviously Izzy didn't shake his exactly with the beat, but he did understand the concept of shaking his egg when I shook mine.
Age: 6m+
Skills learned: Music, rhythm
Cost: $1 for rubber bands
Activity #3 - Pots & Pans!
This was a very simple activity as well but because I felt the need to clean everything after we were done, the cleanup time did take a while. For this activity, we took out pretty much every pot and pan we had in store as well as a variety of spatulas and cooking spoons and arranged them in a nice circle on the living room floor. I then set him in the middle of the circle and he went to town exploring. We took turns banging on each of the pots and pans and listening to the different sounds they all made. We also talked about how some of the pots and pans were bigger or smaller than others.
Age: 6m+
Skills learned: Differences between sounds, big and small
Cost: Free
Activity #2 - Ball Pit in Tub!
This activity requires a bit of investment, but for us it has been worth it. The necessary ingredient is a pack of ball pit balls. We were able to find a pack of 150 balls for $15 at Target and they are one of my favorite purchases ever. Not only did we use them for this activity, but we have used them in countless other activities as well. And since they come in different colors, it is a fabulous way to learn about colors. Anywho... for the ball pit tub, we emptied out all of his ball pit balls into the tub. Pretty simple right? At first I let him just play in the tub without any water. After about 10 minutes (this activity kept him entertained forever!) I added some water to the tub and he played in the watery ball pit for another 20 minutes. He probably would have played longer except I was afraid he would turn into a prune.
Age: 6m+
Skills learned: Colors
Cost: $15
Activity #1 - Potato Flake Sensory Bin!
This has been our favorite activity we have done to date! However, before I explain the activity, let me warn you that it has also been one of our messiest activities to date. My attitude towards messy activities is that I am probably going to be a boring and uptight mom if I don't let him get messy once in a while. But to tell you the truth, the messy activities are probably my favorite because they are funnest for me... until the cleaning up part rolls around, but cleaning is part of my job description anyway. Might as well clean up a mess I actually had fun making. Now, on to the activity. For the potato flake sensory bin, we bought a box of potato flakes and dumped them into a good size shallow and rectangular Tupperware bin. This particular Tupperware bin is a staple in a lot of our activities and cost us $1 at the dollar store. To the potato flakes, I added some measuring cups and wooden spoons pretending that he would stir and scoop the flakes (not yet, but maybe someday). We played in the dry potato flakes for a while and then added water little by little until we had moldable potato like dough. With our potato dough we had fun building (and destroying) potato mountains and whatever else mama could think of to create. And he loved it! Plus the bath that he required at the end of our activity just helped us burn more of the time we had that afternoon.
Age: 6m+
Skills learned: Textures
Cost: $3 for bin and potato flakes