Hello again. How are we all going? The UK is officially on a 3 week lockdown period and with this, many of us are trapped inside with our little ones (or ourselves) and are looking for ways to entertain them. As I’m on 12 weeks isolation, I’ve been semi-planning activities to try with Jasper throughout this time so here’s 5 of the ways I’m entertaining my toddler during lockdown.
Painting
I ordered some crayola washable paints off Amazon over a week a go with contactless delivery. I figured I’d be able to do some different types of painting with Jasper to keep him going. Firstly, we painted a rainbow (obviously), but then Jasper did some very abstract, emotional pieces that brought out his inner Pollock and I felt all kinds of confused over his skills. If you don’t have a paintbrush, then get creative. you can cut up potato shapes and keep them in water to reuse for a while. This is especially handy if you have any bits like this going out of date. Let’s re-purpose them and you can wash them after to compost.
Daily Dance
On day 3 of isolation Jasper displayed toddler tantrum symptoms that can only be put down to cabin fever and I felt all kinds of sad and stressed. I got annoyed, then felt upset and then decided to switch it around. Enter the daily dance. It takes minutes each day, but brings us both a heck of joy. I stick on some of Jasper’s favourite tunes and we both have a really good shimmy in the living room. If you’re feeling stressed, I highly recommend.
Substitute Swimming (aka the bath)
Yes, we’re really having to use our imaginations. I’ve been looking at ways to imitate his favourite activity (swimming) and of course the bath tub was the first place I thought of. Take different toys to the bath each day and do some imitation play. Act out different scenarios and let your child’s imagination go free. You don’t need to worry about them getting wet (it’s part of the fun). Look at ways you can add things to the bath to make it even more interesting (bath slimes etc).
Baking
Something my son and I do on a weekly basis. Find an easy recipe (scones are good) and let your child do the mixing, stirring, kneading etc. They’ll absolutely love it and you’ll come out with a delicious treat at the end. Things do get messy, prepare for flour EVERYWHERE, but it brings a lot of joy to their faces for a little bit of time and teaches them about making something and being patient enough to watch it develop.
Collecting Game
If you have a garden then this is such a good game for you but it can easily be adapted to the house. I draw pictures of the things I want Jasper to find, say ‘Can you find a leaf?’ and send him on a little hunt around the garden. You can add twigs, toys, stones, anything you deem as safe for them to handle to your list. It’s easy, free and passes a lot of time.
Will you be giving any of these a go with your toddler?
Violet x
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