Stuck At Home With Your Toddler?

With winter upon us and the next storm already on its way, many of us are having to spend another long morning or afternoon stuck inside with our toddler.  Without the possibility of a trip to the playground to break up the day, keeping kids calm and entertained becomes more challenging. My son’s favorite question to ask me at 6 am is “What should we do today, Mommy?” to which I typically have no better response than “play and drink coffee.” Luckily, the internet is full of great ideas for activities you can do at home with your child. Below I’ve included some of my go-to lists for fun stuff my overtired mommy brain never would have conjured up on its own.

Toddler Toddler’s 350+ Crafts, Games and More. This massive site has hundreds of activities you can do at home. It’s easy to peruse because it’s broken down into lists like “Rainy Days,” “Printouts” and “Arts & Crafts.” So far, my son and I have made a car tunnel, played a scaled-down version of connect the dots and transformed a cardboard egg container into a bus.

100 Fun Things To Do With Kids. When I’m not in the mood to do too much scrolling around online, I like this one-page list from Toddler Tamer. In fact, I’ve been meaning to print it out and hang it on the wall of our playroom.  Not all of the ideas are for inside (going on a nature walk and to the zoo are on the list) but most are. Many of the activities on the list you may have thought of before, but in moments of desperation, it’s easier to have someone else suggest to  “draw a family picture,” “make smoothies” or “have a tickle war” than to come up with those ideas yourself!

Parenting’s Room by Room List. This nice guide by Parenting.com is broken up by areas of the house, from the bathroom to the kitchen to the family room.  No special trips to the craft store required: everything here can be done with what you have at home. I like the idea of having your toddler help clean the bathtub, brush your hair while you read a magazine, or wash vegetables in the kitchen sink.

Pinterest. Even if you’re not a member of this site, you can still browse all its great ideas. A quick search of “toddler crafts” brings up a variety of projects, from creating a weather chart out of simple supplies to making turkey hand prints for Thanksgiving.

20 Indoor Activities For Kids Besides TV. This creative list by Simple Mom has lots of activities that engage kids’ imagination, from acting out a favorite book to having an indoor picnic. Some of the ideas–like rearranging the furniture in your child’s room–have to be tweaked to suit the toddler set, but all of them offer kernels of inspiration.