Here are a couple favorite activities as of the past couple weeks, guaranteed to keep Ellie thoroughly occupied for at least a half hour, if not longer.
1. Cutting paper
I knew that box of scrap paper from teaching would come in handy!
2. Pouring water from one bucket to the next.
best done on hot days, in the shade
I am already making plans for inside water play with a minimum of mess, during the winter! I usually save these activities for the 3:00-4:30 hours, when dinner needs to be made and Nik isn’t home yet. We did break out paper cutting this morning though. Sometimes, Monday mornings just need a little help.
I love her cute little face!
I wish you could see it in person!
The winter when A was almost 2 and D was an infant, he would spend 30-45 min at a time “washing dishes” in the kitchen. I gave him a stool, big bowl of soapy water in the sink and just washed or cooked around him. He always ended up soaked, but it was totally worth it. He loved exploring all our different whisks and spoons etc. It was a breeze to clean up. I wish I could let D use the scissors out of arms reach. She it not ready for that yet. I am pretty sure she is going to give herself a haircut. Your gated porch looks so nice Laura!
Washing dishes sounds great! Ellie will usually only wash dishes with me for 5 minutes so I’m going to have to work on that for her. I caught Ellie cutting our couch’s slipcover with her scissors so she’s not totally trustworthy with them yet! And yes, the gated porch is great except that Ellie has figured out how to open the gate! 🙂 Luckily, she’s naturally cautious and and isn’t an explorer so I don’t have to worry much. But I do have to stay within earshot, pretty much all the time!
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