Activity ideas for 1 year old not at nursery

[MummytoTM]

My LO is about to turn 1 and I’ll be staying at home with him instead of sending him to nursery.

I hear from a lot of people that children at nursery are a lot more advanced as nurseries do a lot of activities & there is the social element of it too, so I wondered if anyone has any advice on what I should be doing to make sure my LO isn’t behind when he goes to school. Or if anyone has any insights on what their toddlers get up to at nursery.

So far I’m thinking weekly music classes, swimming & messy play sessions. Also possibly a playgroup so he’s mixing with other children.

How about a little mud kitchen in the garden - maybe grow plants together?

Have you not done any groups in his first year?
I basically took my daughter to Rhyme Time at the local library and a couple of Stay and Play groups (aka playgroups) from the age of about 4 months.
We also went to the library to just read and look at books. Went to the park. Went to the supermarket....etc.
I never did paid for "classes" just the free groups (well I think the library Rhyme Time was £1).
Just live life doing everyday things so he will learn about the world and community he is growing up in.

I'd try out the local classes and see what you and he enjoy most. I really liked doing tasters of all the different classes available, they are all so different in vibe and it depends a lot on the teacher and the usual parent cohort.
With my dcs at that age, we did music, dance, Hartbeeps, playgroup, swimming, gymnastics and Gymboree. I didn't like the church type playgroups with less structure and a wider mix of ages, I liked smaller more focused classes. We also did lots of visits to places of interest, museums, galleries, and theatre shows and concerts (aimed at toddlers), and had a list of playgrounds and soft plays across the city so they could try out different equipment in different places.

My dcs went to pt preschool aged 2.5 although I was a sahm, and that was really useful for developing their social and independence skills, and would be hard to create those conditions elsewhere.

Do you have any outdoor based playgroups? We have a few near us; Nature Tots, Little Explorers and so on.

I find the day goes madly quickly with this age as we go out in the morning to an activity and then home for lunch and nap and then nearly time to do the school run and prepare for dinner and bath / bed.

Many preschools will take from two if you did want him to start doing a couple of mornings then.

We’ve been going to baby groups since he was 6 weeks old - baby sensory, baby massage, baby yoga etc. but he’ll be too old for them soon. Just wanted ideas to make sure he’s not falling behind his peers at nursery

There is an Instagram page called Jam and Jelly. I'm not sure if they still do them but you could buy a box filled with play ideas, mostly sensory play and craft. I would get yourself a tuff tray as they are so versatile. You can add different textures for DC to play with or use it like a water table. Play dough is great once a little older. Have a look in your area though, there should be toddler groups more catered towards your DCs age. Sometimes you need to look in various places to find them, the library, church, local gymnastics clubs, music clubs, swimming etc.

I've heard good things about the Love Every toy subscription too, but it is expensive. They list what they provide on the website so even if you do not buy one, it may give you ideas.

I stayed at home with DD. Over the years we did:

Various mother and toddler groups, NCT meet up with other Mums and children, music club, we tried an activity session but DD didn't enjoy that (in your case you have a son who might enjoy one), we took DD swimming - some might do lessons, get togethers with friends and their children, playgroup in later years. That all helped socially, helped me realise what her peers were able to do and what I should try and focus on. Good to get out of the house as well.

If we weren't doing one of the above, we'd always go to the park, for a walk or to the shops where I'd talk about what we were buying. Go into town on the bus/maybe go to a cafe. Often popped in the library to look at book and sometimes they had activity sessions.

At home, she enjoyed play equipment outside - trampoline, swing, slide, we had a ball, chalks for drawing. Some children like sandpits. We planted seeds together, watched plants grow. Regularly read, make up stories and encourage him to look at books. Children also learn through play, so things like catch, kicking a football around, putting blocks together, puzzles, looking at books together. DD loved the maths and English activity books around the age of three and that helped a lot..

When she started school, I was told they did a mini assessment as to where they were in the world and what they understood - I was told DD was 3/33 in the class. So being at home didn't hold her back and she was also the youngest in the year.

I made a similar thread a year ago when most of the friends we met on maternity leave were going back to work. DD is 20 months now.

I soon realised that dying spaghetti different colours to put on tuff trays was going to be impossible. I definitely wasn’t going to be able to recreate nursery at home.

But, now we’re in the groove, I honestly don’t think DD is missing out on anything.

We go to groups/activities most mornings, then the rest of the day she bumbles around with me. She’s really getting to grips with life, and my mantra is, as long as she’s learning something, it’s all ok.

Last week I was putting up some shelves and she was passing up tools/screws. She helps me prepare dinner most days, we take long walks around town, we spent A LOT of time doing jobs in our garden (veg patch/turning compost/in the greenhouse/trying to grow cut flowers..) It’s the little things she’s learning, what flowers to water, how to walk on uneven surfaces, repotting plants…

There’s a huge difference in keeping your kid at home and having them babysat by a screen verses actively engaging with them.

I totally agree with this. My DCs nursery spend a lot of time seed sowing and caring for plants as it incorporates so many skills so I'd definitely recommend growing some veg if you have space. It formed a large part of my DCs recent tapestry assessment that will be passed onto school.

You don't need to try to recreate nursery at home. Read aloud, endlessly, and don't bother with any screens. Make sure DC gets plenty of fresh air and chances to run about, climb, jump, etc. Be and out and about a lot - in nature, at the shops, library rhyme time, grandparents, church toddler groups, make friends with similarly aged toddlers and meet them in the park or at one another's houses. If you want a "class" then a music group is worth doing if you can find a good one run by someone musically educated, or maybe a forest group/nature kindergarten or similar. If you have a second language in the home then use it! I would personally not send a child to school who hadn't done one year of (preschool) nursery first - just 5 mornings or afternoons a week would be plenty though. You can always see how DC is doing at 3 or 4 and decide from there.

He won't "fall behind" by not being in nursery.
Just go to a few toddler groups and let him "help" with cooking and cleaning at home, read books, play with toys, go to the park and look at the plants and ducks, go on a bus, go to a shop....just regular life things.
🙂

Follow Five Minute Mum and/or buy her first book - full of brilliant low-effort games to keep little ones occupied at home without masses of setting up / tidying away etc. I discovered her account in lockdown when I had a 3.5 and 1 year old and have been a fan ever since (she now posts content for primary school ages too).

Nature, books and included in every day life.
Go out into nature and point things out, name the birds and trees, do nature scavenger hunts and just walk and chat or make up stories about the things around you.
Lots of reading. Take regular trips to the library and look at non fiction books as well.
Include them in shopping, chores and cooking/baking.
Nothing wrong with tv either. Lots of engaging programmes on CBeebies.

Continue with these groups they sound perfect!

And as your child starts walking then memeber ship to places with great playgrounds.

Member ship to aquarium

Some really great ideas here, thank you everyone !!

I would do a playgroup, got to soft play or park. Swimming. Messy play at home - google tuft tray ideas. Mud kitchen. Water tray. And lots of reading, talking, playing together. Go to the library. If you really want to get into it you could have a monthly theme so say animals - lots of books, toys, trip to zoo or farm, crafts. Or weather - again books/crafts, you could make snow, puddle splash on a rainy day, create wind and watch things blow. Christmas, Easter etc.
Try to create a fairly steady routine so he is use to the structure of getting up and being productive.

He’s not going to school for years. I can’t see how nursery is more beneficial at 1 than being at home? (I’m not saying nursery is bad but the op implies it is better than being at home?)
if you’re engaging with your child, surely simply having 1-1 attention means that’s going to be better for them? Or at least as good? Why do you think they’ll fall behind?
make sure you go to places where other kids are and try do some messy play and independent play, and surely that’s just the same?

re activities, paintings, colouring, water play, get outside and get fresh air, read books, ‘cook’ together, just talk to them whilst you run errands

They will not fall behind at age 1 compared to those in nursery. Maybe when they turn 3 you should worry about trying to prepare them for school if they aren't attending a nursery then but at age one? No.

Being at home with a primary care giver is more beneficial than them doing some finger painting and singing at nursery, trust me. I've worked in lots of nurseries.

This is all nuts!! For most of human history, small children pottered around in their home/garden/local community and their development was not hindered by not doing school-style activities... Activities are great if you enjoy doing them together but learning happens all the time (so long as you're not overly reliant on poor quality screen time!). If you're worried about your 1 year old's development then you will be doing just fine, so please relax and just enjoy your baby.

The main thing you can do is stay away from screens as much as possible, get outside as much as possible, have regular socialising and read as much as possible. Cooking with your LO is a great activity and way to get familiar with numbers, following a routine and patience!

I think it helps to have a routine so that when kids start school they are used to things happening in a particular order each day.