angathome

I have just been blessed by a lovely assortment of table time activities for toddlers and young children from a busy bag swap organised by my friend Kristy. You will be hearing more from her in the next couple of posts, but today I wanted to share the photos she took of all the quiet time tasks put together by the many women who attended. It was so popular in fact that she needed to form 2 groups. For those who are not familiar with how a busy bag swap works, take a look here for some more ideas and an explanation.

Kristy’s cute toddler feeding the tennis ball with a little help from Mum. A great finger strength activity, this is one for the 3 to 6 year olds to do independently. My 4 and 6 year-old boys loved filling Mr Ball to then turn around and have him puke everywhere.

Mix and match superhero picture strips, foam sewing cards, pipecleaner and straw threading and shape matching plate.

The fact that this pizza came in a cute little box was the highlight for my children. The order cards gave lots of options for the children to follow as they completed different customer orders. Other bags included a wipe-off tracing page, mask and stickers and paint chip colour matching.

Open-ended tasks are best for toddlers as far as keeping their interest for the long haul. This pasta and bean scooping tray was popular although it did create a bit of mess. An assortment of plastic lids, frogs and bugs was another open-ended activity that kept my little one going for a while.

This mini eye-spy bottle had some interesting bits and pieces inside. Another idea I have seen is to have a recording page for the children to tick off each tiny item as they find them. My 2-year-old was too young for this as she found it frustrating to not be able to open the container. She did enjoy the pom-pom transfer tray although still refuses to try tongs. The last task was taking elastic bands on and off a cardboard tube with some pattern cards to match and extend for the older children.

Having a bunch of engaging tasks prepared is a must for successfully including highchair time in your flexible routine and the self-control your toddler will learn is invaluable.

Filed under: mat or table time(mathematics | Tagged: 2 year olds, busy bags, highchair activities, home-made Montessori, homeschooling with toddlers, table activities |