Indoor activities for 19mth old

[SuperGrrrl]

DS1 is very active and needs lots of entertaining. Have started putting together an activity box for him, as weather often crap and i have 3mth old too.

Have got card, crayons, glue and glitter. Also made him a rice 'maraca' with a bottle, rice and glue. I also go to playgroup once a week, and he has lots of books which he loves.

Where can i get some kid size instruments for not too much cost? ie, drum, xylophone, tambourine etc?

And some good flashcards?

CBeebies is getting too frequent.

The book clearance centres do cheap instruments also check out car boot sales. I got a fab set for £2.50. You could make a vareity of your own shakers as you already have begun to - scrapers, a drum etc. Get DS to help!

Sticking? Sweet wrappers, catalogue pictures.

Stuff to write on - junk mail envelopes.

CBeebies colouring printables.

Flashcards again I'd get down to book outlet places for some of those very cheap.

Junk modelling - egg boxes, yog pots, bottles, lids etc.

Visits to library - most run "under fives" story times weekly.

Register with Sure STart for all kinds of activities in your area at the centres, all free often food provided.

will he paly "fetch and carry" boy is pretty happy to be sent on "errands" , get this take that, hold these for me please. he will trail around fairly happily after me as I sort/ hang/laod unload washing. he'll "help" with cooking- he mangles a mushroom into dust for me beautifully and is good at transfering chopped veg from a board to a bowl to a pan. Doesn;t speed anything up but keeps him wonderfully busy while I cook tea.

formula tins make good drums when hit with wooden spoons...bargain! Not sure how to fashion a tambourine though

This may be obvious, but have you got some duplo? Not cheap, but we spend hours (dd, me and more often than not DP) making new things for her tiniest toys to play in or on: houses, cars, steps (which she really likes), slides, a tent ( her suggestion); sometimes all the above combined... It started with me and DP doing most of the building but now DD joins in a lot and builds some really wacky things (the box can also be used as a hat, for rides, and as a tea tray...). You could probably pick some up second hand (we got half of ours that way).

BTW kitchen roll tubes make good megaphones...

hiya Chaotica!

We have Mega Bloks, are they like Duplo?