Just wondering what some safe toddler things are?? I would really like to start doing more with Jasmine now that it is getting too crappy to be out all the time. I dont want to get into the habit of too much tv. I dont mind a little, but you know!

I do finger painting. Just have a bath ready

I don't know. I am kinda stuck too. Crayons and markers she still tries to eat. I was going to bake cookies with her today but I don't think she will get it at all.

We make homemade playdoh and finger paints, color alot. I buy craft kits from Oriental Trading too, I have to help Hayden alot but the older 2 do them on their own, I buy for the seasons or holidays so they can hang them up to "decorate"

Fingerpainting with baby cereal tinted with some beet juice for color

homemade playdough (all natural that way)

painting with water on a chalkboard, cardboard box, etc. (once it dries you paint again, the wet spots show up)

squeeze painting -- mix some flour, water and food coloring in a squeeze bottle or old glue bottle and let her squeeze designs onto an old cookie sheet

sponge painting -- cut some sponges into shapes and put out a plate of a few kinds of nontoxic paint, let her stamp shapes onto paper (if you like, clamp them with clothespins so she doesn't get her fingers messy -- theoretically at least)

sensory bins -- fill a small tub with something to scoop like dried beans or rice and hide some little matchbox cars and such in there. give her scoops, spoons etc to scoop and pour (kids love this!) watch her carefully, so she doesn't eat the beans or put them up her nose or anything (one of my little ones used to do that!)

sensory bottles -- fill an empty water bottle with rice or dried corn and lots of little knicknacks (especially colorful ones). screw the lid on super tight (or glue it) and let her turn it and shake it to find the little hidden treasures inside.

~Alicia

wow AP mama those are some great ideas!

you should try cooking with her Wendy, Hannah loves to help us cook. Even dinner she enjoys throwing things in the green been when we are chopping up veggies

We do painting and coloring mostly with Hannah. She prefers to have a paintbrush though, she's not much on getting her hands dirty I have also noticed she likes to have small objects to paint so I'll get things from the dollar store that she can hold in her hand and paint on, or pinecones from outside etc.

You've been given some great suggestions here. I don't think anything is out of bounds as long as properly supervised


I do a lot of cooking and baking with my kids including the little ones, playdough, card making, stickers onto sheets of paper, painting the patio floor with a paintbrush and water is clean and simple too

I let Helena shake some nuts into some cookie batter That was my extent of "baking" with her. We did colour again with markers today and she didn't try and eat them!