Our Favorite Toddler Activities

Quarantine Day 27 — I truthfully cannot remember what day it is or how long it’s been since things have felt normal. I have a feeling even when things return to “normal'” they won’t exactly be the normal any of us remember. Kiel and I are keeping positive and passing the time by staying busy with work and hanging with Harry. Harry has no idea of what’s going on in the world and for him every day is a new adventure. So many of us are at home with little ones right now and I wanted to share a few activities that Harry is loving. They might not work for everyone but I thought I would share what works for us.

1.  KiwiCo subscription: We received our first subscription last month for Harry. Activities are available for kids 0-16. The brand was started by a mom of three and all activities are created by an in-house team in Mountain View, CA. They are tested by kids using the STEAM model. Harry had so much fun fishing indoors while building skills through sorting colors, shapes, and sizes. In his first Koala Crate (the name of the activity box for his age group), he received a fishing set, a book, and a paper arts & craft activity. I’m looking forward to seeing his Koala Crate for this month. It’s the perfect activity to keep kids engaged during this time at home. Use code Sarah to receive 30% off of your first month at KiwiCo.
2. Decorating Sugar Cookies: I had a sugar cookie kit leftover from Halloween that was going to expire soon. Instead of decorating pumpkins I thought Harry would love decorating cats (his favorite animal). Kiel’s mom gave me a cat cookie cutter a while back  (I’m also a cat lover) and I had a good number of baking goods leftover from the holidays in addition to the Halloween kit. Harry had a blast throwing sprinkles, frosting, and sugar googly eyes on the cats. His dad might have had the most fun. The second picture in this post is Kiel’s take on cat cookie decorating. Mine would have looked nothing like this lol.
3. Sandbox: Since our trip to St. Barth’s, Harry keeps asking to see boats and go to the beach. We bought this sandbox from Amazon last summer and decided to open it early this year as the beach is no longer an option. While the nice weather comes and goes, any day we are outside Harry loves spending time in his sandbox playing with Tonka trucks and building sandcastles. It keeps him busy and leaves me time to respond to emails knowing that he’s staying in one place where I can have my eye on him. The sandbox has provided hours of entertainment for us.
4. Bug Collecting: This is probably Harry’s current favorite activity.  I bought him this net(similar) and this kit on Amazon. We have an old home and a few ladybugs have been lingering around the windows. He gets a kick at putting them under a microscope and capturing them in his net (unharmed). When we go outside he loves to seek out fuzzy bumblebees and ants. It’s so cute to see his excitement after spotting a bug.
5. Yard Toys: Harry loves being our little helper. He’s been obsessed with the vacuum since before he could walk. During these weekends at home I’m loving the opportunity to do yard work. I’m so thankful Harry is just as entertained by it as we are. I bought him a mini rake set, garden gloves, and wheel barrel. He loves filling up his toys and stacking in them in the wheelbarrow as he follows us around the yard. He’s content to stay outside for hours.
6. Tractor: We bought this John Deere tractor for Harry last Easter and it’s been one of our best toddler purchases. He loves driving this around the yard, Bennie always by his side. Every night before bed he mentions waking up to go on his “beep beep.” I also don’t mind the exercise I get it following him around the yard.
7. Bubbles: This is an obvious but beloved activity. We keep lots of bubbles on hand at all times. Harry gets such a kick out of blowing and chasing the bubbles. Bennie also loves to chase the bubbles which always gives Harry a good laugh.
8. Picasso Tiles: For the rainy days spent indoors Picasso Tiles are amazing! Harry will spend hours building different structures. He loves to build a house for his animal toys. I cannot recommend this product enough.