During the initial covid quarantine we had our kiddos home from school for several months. It was hard. Silver linings everywhere but IT WAS SO HARD. After settling in to a bit of a routine I found it made the days much smoother and more enjoyable when I had a few loose activities planned out ahead of time. I would pick a theme and the activities were based on it. For example one day was COLORS. We collected all our books about colors and read them throughout the day, we made a nature rainbow by exploring outside for something to match each color of the rainbow and we arranged our snack that day to be made up of all the colors of the rainbow. Small, very little effort or supplies on my end and something I could use to anchor each part of the day so we kept the kids engaged. Heading into the long holiday weekend with no people to visit or places to go I’m gearing up with some ideas and thought I would share in case you need to entertain your littles as well. By the way, this is one of the reasons to love love love the internet. There are so many amazing bloggers with these types of activities for all ages and I am insanely thankful for their willingness to share. Lastly, my kiddos are 3.5 and 1.5 and I will do these activities for both of them with small modifications if needed for my little Boo.

• Ice Cream Cone Christmas Trees – My girlfriend did this last year instead of gingerbread houses and said it was so much more manageable for littles. Flip an ice cream cone upside down on a plate and give the kids a scoop of frosting and some candies to decorate their trees. Dessert is served.
• Thanksgiving Cutting/Sticker Activity – Bought this a few weeks ago and am excited because my 3.5 year old will be very into the cutting practice with his big boy scissors and my 1.5 year old can not get enough stickers. Hoping for a double win.
• Dry Erase ABCs – Draw out the alphabet on a sliding door or window with a dry erase market and give your toddler a paper towel. Call out the letters and let them hunt and erase. My 1.5 year old is going to love this too as he loves a water spray bottle and a rag to clean.
• Pinecone Bird Feeders – I feel like this is going to be a fun multipart activity. Go for a walk and collect pinecones, make bird feeders and then go outside to find the perfect spot to hang them. I imagine we will have little bird watchers on our hands for awhile once these are up.
• Tea Party – We did this during quarantine and it was one of the most loved days we had. Activities include foraging the yard for our “flower arrangements” (a generous label…lots of sticks and rocks), setting the table, picking out our fanciest outfits, choosing the music, making the tea and hosting the party. Place card coloring and snack making included.
• Snow Mobiles – a can’t remember the blog I found this on but if you add a few tablespoons of water to baking soda and mix it together it will start to feel like packed snow (just keep adding a little water at a time until it feels like crumbly snow). We mix it in a big tub and throw in a bunch of the toy cars. Not even kidding this can be 30-60 minutes of entertainment. We often follow up with a “car wash” in the bath. This is an outside activity if you like a clean house but easily vacuums up as well.