Things to do and places to go with 2 year old?

[RejuvenateMe]

I've decided to not send DS to nursery until he turns 3 and want to make sure his time is being spent well. We do a class most mornings then lunch and nap and that's when I struggle to fill the time. Sometimes we go to the shops and I don't mind doing that once a week, but where else can we go especially now that the colder weather is approaching? Also does anyone have any recommendations for educational games/toys besides Orchard Toys? I'm not very creative so won't be good at creating things myself

Library, swimming, messy play...

Honestly if you're out all morning emost mornings then he has a nap I'd spend the rest of the afternoon at home. Play with him, read stories, draw, dance, sing and allow him some time to wind down and use his imagination.

I would:

Library sing and song / storytime - free!

Forest school (or just get into nature yourself! )

Ballet/music class

Messy play/arts and crafts (I stocked up at The Works - lots of cheap craft bits)

Invest in a decent rainsuit and wellies and go out puddle jumping/playground

Swimming

Shes beyond smug, but An Activity A Day on instagram has LOADS of ideas of things to do at home

We've been doing some baking recently (just sponge cupcakes). Otherwise waterproofs on and park. We need to go out twice a day or she won't sleep 😩

Baking
Messy tray
Garden
Park/walk
Books
Crafts
Film

You tube kids yoga

My 2 year old is just fascinated by everyday life. We go to stand on railway bridges to look at trains, we go for walks and stop and watch builders, window cleaners etc at work, we go and see the children being picked up from school, we watch a lorry being unloaded etc. We chat about what is happening, he asks lots of questions and them sometimes we look up the answers together if I don't know them. Free entertainment and they love it.

My DD will be 3 in December.

Mornings are out of house busy, usually doing one thing active and a quiet thing after so;

Swimming, balance bike, exploring new places, walk, play ground, paddling and exploring the shallow river (I'm talking 5cm here!), Play group, scoot round the park, visiting people, squirrel hunting/duck spotting etc
Sometimes followed by a café visit (babycino!), Or library or reading, picnic lunch wherever we are or occasionally do the top-up food shop.

Afternoons spent at home.

Drawing,
puzzles,
lego/Duplo,
Magna tiles,
sand pit,
wooden train tracks,
cars,
balls through a big tube,
dolls (dressing and undressing, caring for them etc)
fort building,
reading,
role play,
sorting,
singing,
baking,
tidying up,
laundry (she has her own little washing line and pegs some clothes out on there ha ha and loves helping move stuff to tumble dryer etc)
Flash cards. She loves letter flash cards.

As for board games etc we like

• My First Orchard (by Haba)
• Animal stacking game
• Snap
• memory games (the ones with the tiles all turned over, and you flip them over)
• shut the box (modified. She rolls one die, counts the spots and flips the corresponding number up or down...game ends when she loses interest ha ha)

These are all great for introducing the idea of taking turns, fair dice rolling (eg, roll it and accept the results!), How to model winning and losing (especially the Haba game as it's cooperative), as well as number recognition, colour matching etc.

Get both of you decent wellies and warm, waterproof clothes and get outside as much as possible, parks, woods, playgrounds. Having plenty of unrestricted, free playtime outdoors, with lots of time to explore at their own pace is important for many areas of a child's development.

We've mostly done something out in the mornings and then stayed home after nap. Or done something low key like visit her DGM, little trip to the high street shops for food or cards or post office or something, or a short trip to a local park for a little play in the playground. I think if you're out once a day that's absolutely enough for them.

I also find the 2-5 slot hard. We do rhyme time once a week at the library but I am partly following for ideas - I find DS starts destroying the house if left in it for too long.

Swimming can work well, it’s a pain though.

Swimming
Parks
Soft plays
trampoline parks- only in term time, ours runs toddler sessions, they play Disney music
library
museums

messy play at home
colouring
play doh
puzzles
garden time
toy kitchen
toy cars
etc

and my fav: some CBeebies whilst I have a coffee!

What's a pain about swimming?

The amount of stuff you have to take- drying and changing a toddler whilst dripping wet yourself, having to keep them safe whilst you dry yourself and get changed. Then when you get home a bag of soaking clothes to sort and likely have to wash your own hair that evening.

Correct. I assume above poster was being ironic.

I wasn't.
We go swimming every week. Sometimes twice.
DD is 3 in December and we've been going since lock down finished. So even when you had no access to changing rooms etc it was fine.

We take our costumes, Micro fibre towels and shower gel and brush. All in our swim bag, and then my normal day bag with drink, snack, nappies etc.

What else do you need to take?

After swimming, we have a shower together. For this one shower, shower gel is fine for hair etc. Then she sits on a bench wrapped in towel. She's never got cold. She's having a drink and a snack whilst I get dried and changed. Have got the snack down to a fine art LOL. Has to be something that takes a bit of time to eat, like a small tub of nuts or whatever. No crumbs, nothing like a banana which is eaten in 5 seconds.

Then I help her dress of she hasn't started already, and it's fine. We go out and do the hair dryers and brush our hair and go home.
Nothing is soaking wet, a bit damp maybe, and it goes in the next wash.

Following for ideas as well. Mine’s not going until 3 either. At the moment we only go to groups three times a week which I thought was a lot until I read this.

I was always out when my kids were 2. When my eldest was 2 I also had a baby. So I was busy! Agree with getting waterproofs and wellies and getting out everyday. Parks, nature parks, soft play, zoo (we had passes) and lots of walks.

At home, painting and play doh. We had huge sets of Duplo and Toot Toot drivers. Jig saws and colouring. I miss those days when my kids were easily entertained by all this stuff!

FYI I wouldn’t even consider swimming either.

But... You have wet puddle suits and muddy wellies to deal with after stomping about in the rain. Nit sure that's any easier than the "soaking wet" clothes from swimming??

Oh well, never mind. Horses for courses.

swimming is also really cold for you and toddler as toddler barely moves and has to be carried round the pool

It isn't. The kids pools are heated and DD is always on the move (and therefore so am I) jumping in, splashing, kicking and paddling with her noodle etc

@AliceTheCamelHasFiveHumps the chlorine is harsh on coloured hair and mine’s long. Drying it takes a hour. Swimming is definitely a hastle

I do find swimming more of a hassle when I’m just going for fun and not our weekly swimming lesson, no idea why.

Maybe because you're in the water too?