Help! Full-time working to stay at home mum - activity ideas for my nearly 2 year old?

[cityangel]

In August my son turns 2 and I leave work to go on maternity leave. He is currently in nursery full-time and loves messy play. At home we've got some washable pens and an easel with paper, but I'd really like to be more creative with him.

Our second child is due in September and I am worried I won't think of enough creative things to keep him occupied as against all my family and friend's advice I am taking him out of nursery.

My initial thoughts are playdough and washable paint.... and I'd love some ideas on activities and young kid friendly arts and crafts materials that active boys love?

Oh and are there any good books people recommend with ideas?

look at this fabulous blog for loads of ideas

www.playbasedlearning.com.au/2010/05/gack/

it is the blog of an australian nursery

-make biscuit dough
-cut out biscuits (then you bake them)
-decorate biscuits
-eat biscuits
(has to be separate activities because of short attention span)

-make bread - messy but he will enjoy the kneading.

-aquadraw (or the cheapy alternative, draw with wet fingers on sugar paper)

-stickers

Ooh thank you all lovely ideas and making me hungry

I've never made biscuits, we'll have to learn together!

get some value pasta in tube shapes (I dont eat pasta normally so dont know the posh word - possibly penne??!?!) put it in a box of some sort (if you can bear the noise - use a quality street tine - but bewarned they are NOISY!) and a vehicle and he can sort of play with the vehicle in it. Also my daughter has enjoyed threading the penne onto a piece of string - for a necklace or decoration.
Then you could always get him a sandpit/table - hours of fun - sibling can join in when olde (ELC do a good one) - though not great in the winter.
You could teach him to use scissors - he may not be dextrous enough yet - but my boy likes just cutting into things..?!?!
Aqua draw very good - there's a Thomas one..?

cityangel - Sorry to put my oar in, but I'd reconsider taking him out of nursery entirely, unless you seriously can't afford it - can you keep him in part-time? This will mean he has the continuity, and security of his routine, and you will get some time alone with the baby.

.. I speak as the mum of 2 who are 2.7 years apart in age.

there are some good ideas on this website

Giant glue sticks (like Pritt stick) and foam sheets (from Tesco) cut into shapes keeps mine entertained on a daily basis.
It's a bit time consuming to cut up loads of shapes but they last a long time.

........and then they stick them onto coloured paper.

big bits of coloured paper or a roll of lining paper on the easel and draw with chalks, or buy some cheap sponges, cut into shapes and use with paint to make some stamped shapes?

paper plate masks

paper plate monsters - stick on arms and legs, ears, hair etc

make a mobile out of old cereal packets/ cd's and decorate

wooden spoon people

fashion a sword from cardboard and cover with foil and sellotape then decorate with stickers

make pirate hat from roll of lining paper (v cheap from wilkos) and decorate

salt dough, use cookie cutters and food colouring then bake to make random decorations

agree re keeping him at nursery for at least a bit of time if you can afford it. we went to 2 afternoons per week when i got made redundant as it was the cheapest sessions and i think he would have been v upset had he had to leave completely.

I agree re nursery too - take him out for most of the time so you get to spend time together, but if he stays in for an afternoon or two, you will probably both benefit from it.

We're possibly moving house in the next 2 months and then I will look at options in the new area if I find somewhere that meets up to my expectations. He has outgrown where he is now and I need to have more confidence in the place to put him back in part time.
I really value the interaction he gets with other kids there.

Hi - if you have any Sure Start centres near you they do free messy play activities that you could try out between now and when baby arrives so you get an idea of what you could recreate at home.

we go to weekly stay and play sessions at our sure start centre. They are fab and ds loves it. its a good way to meet new people if you are moving too, plus lots of the mums there have little babies as well as bigger kids. ours also has a playgroup (from age 2 i think) and a pre-school attached to the centre too.

Won't be long until he can go to a preschool rather than a nursery, and he can just do a couple of sessions a week. That might suit you better. If you are moving get his name down as soon as you have got there and had a look at them, as some get full up.

Some things we have done are printing pictures from cbeebies website and 'colouring' them with rolled up balls of tissue paper, painting pine cones then rolling them in glitter, tents with blankets and chairs, playing with magnetic letters on the fridge, singing with a box of musical instruments to choose from, obstacle courses, rolling balls between us, letting them 'help' with cleaning (they use wet wipes and the toy hoover), fill the sink up with water and let them play, playing with a big bag of milk bottle tops and straws to arrange them to make a picture of the floor.

Warning: Mine won't do any activity like this for more than about 20 minutes most of the time, and different DCs like different things, I know lots of children who don't really like any craft for example.

jelly in a bowl
weetabix and water
shredded paper
glup( cornflour and water)

Mine weren't particularly "crafty", apart from Play dough

A popular one (my DHs idea) was rice or lentils in a tray or roasting tins, and let him play with his toy cars and diggers - kept my DSs amused for quite a while

"Painting" with water on the outside walls/drive

Anything with stickers involved

Making a big deal out of making sandwiches

Stained glass window made by sticking the corners of some sticky backed plastic to a table (sticky side up) then covering it with ripped up tissue paper and glitter, then another sheet of plastic.

first activity books

Some good ideas for all ages

DS loves drawing on the patio with different coloured chalks. When it gets too messy we get plant sprays and spend an hour washing it all off. Then he gets to start again.
For some reason this game never gets old.

He aslo loves walks to the shops (we've started trying to go everyday because he enjoys it so much) so I spin out my grocery shopping (eg I have a letter to post and we need meat and veg - butchers today, grocers tomorrow, post office the next day...) and the park. He adores the park.

Finally there are loads of homeschooling websites with activities that are fun, even though DS is too young to understand the educational aspect. For example, we made butter the other day. The website wanted me to explain to him how the particles were being broken blah blah blah. DS just thought it was magic that we could turn 'milk' (actually cream) into butter. He was immensely proud to show daddy too.

Also I bought a big cheap shower curtain (99p from asda) which we spread on the floor and I strip him down to diaper so we can do real painting if it's too cold to go out (although to be honest I take him out in pretty much all weather - he loves the rain and likes to come in and put dry clothes on and have hot milk!).

Best part is when he is done I put him straight in the bath and throw the shower curtain over the washing line. If it rains it gets clean, if it's sunny it dries. Then I fold it up and put it away with the paints for next time.

Playdough and Playdough Barber Shop kit keep DS (21 months) entertained for HOURS!

keep odds and ends of pretty bits - leftover wrapping paper, magazine pages, coloured envelopes, decorations from front of cards, milk bottle tops, scraps of ribbon, sequins, decorations from christmas crackers, stickers, sweet wrappers, any odd coloured bits really - in say a margarine/icecream container - chop bits up into smallish pieces

when LO wants to 'make' provide box of oddments, a bottom thing - paper, card, box, yoghurt pot etc, and a glue stick

takes 2 seconds preparation, so when child is bored afterb 3 minutes you are not cross, and whatever gets dumped onthe floor can be saved for next time!

Here is great for ideas, it has suggested ages next to most of the activities too.

Oh and a tp roll is a toilet paper tube, I guess they think we are too delicate to say loo roll

www.dltk-kids.com/

for example this page has lots of great fish ideas, take your pick!

[http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/fish.html]