I ended up getting all my supplies at Dollar Tree. Ever heard of it? I hadn't either, but a new one just got built right by my house, so the kiddos and I walked there to check it out. They basically have all the same stuff as Dollarama, only everything is $1.50....no sneaky $2.00 or $3.00 items. Wonderful!
On this particular day, Coral decided against having a nap, or quiet time, so she became my little helper. She had a blast. It took me two full hours to put everything together. I basically just spread all the supplies out on the table and went to town. Here's what we ended up with.
Look out grandparents...noodle necklaces coming your way! So all it is, is a roll of yarn, and some dyed noodles. Coral and I dyed the noodles together, which she thought was amazing. You just take some noodles, place them in a bag, add a few drops of rubbing alcohol, few drops of food colouring and shake shake shake. Let them dry completely before letting your toddler play with them.
Beads and pipe cleaners. Let your toddler get creative. Coral will spend SO much time putting the beads on the pipe cleaners, making necklaces and bracelets. You can also work on patterns with your toddler. Coral knows how to do basic patterns (green, yellow, green, yellow).
Alphabet match. These letters are magnets, so Coral likes to place the sheet on the fridge and do the alphabet match there.
For this one I took a bunch of plastic eggs, put a number on each one, and Coral has to match the number of Pom Poms with the number on the egg.
Colour match. I went into the paint store, grabbed a bunch of samples (get double of every one you grab) and hot glued one of each of the samples onto a close line pin. I made sure to get some that were very similar in colour to try and trick Coral (greens that are very similar shades, but just slightly different).
Measuring. I cut pipe cleaners, yarn and straws, all the width of each thing on the page. Coral has to measure to find out where each one belongs.
Straws, Pom Poms, painters tape. Place painters tape all over your floor and your child has to blow the Pom Pom with the straw along the tape.
Counting lizards. Your toddler has to match the number of lizards with the number on the paper.
Learn to spell your name. Corals a little old for this one, she has known how to spell her name for a long long time already, but she still likes to match and gets excited when she spells her name. If your child doesn't know how to spell their name yet, this is a great way to teach them.
Shape match. Cut out doubles of every shape, and place one on top of the other. Your toddler has to match the shapes, colours, and in the right order.
These are little plastic links that we sort according to colour, then shape, and then make patterns out of them.
Basically the same as beads and pipe cleaners. They are little foam shapes with holes in the middle. Again you can work on patterns with these.
Another way to work on counting and numbers. Match the number on the clothes pin to the number of stars on the wheel.
Sorting and matching. Have your toddler sort through all the foam shapes, and match them in the egg carton. If you know Coral, you know this girl loves to sort and match.
And that's it! Coral gets so excited when I bust out an activity bag. Of course the first time I bring out a new bag, I have to sit down and help her with it, but once I show her how to do it, she's free to learn by herself, and I'm free to get done whatever I need to get done.
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