Toddler Activity
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Indoor activity with my little ones (ages 2 and almost-4) can be tough. After all, how many times can you watch Sleeping Beauty and remain sane?
One of my favorite free ”emergency” go-to sites is ColoringBookFun.com. They have a huge selection of coloring sheets you can print out — from Spongebob coloring activity pages to print out, Hello Kitty (a must in our household), Strawberry Shortcake, and the latest cartoon and movie characters. I keep a little stockpile in the kitchen along with a couple of crayons for those moments when the phone rings or I just need a moment’s peace.
We’ve taken coloring activities a step further (partly out of desperation some days with trying to keep 3 girls from killing each other out of sheer boredom), and here are a few ideas you can use along with these coloring sheets if you have time and want to do something fun:
- Cut out the characters and create a shadow box — whether you choose Spongebob activity pages to print out or Hello Kitty, once the coloring is done help your child cut out the pictures on the page. Get an old box and a little string, and make a shadow box creation. We made one recently with Spongebob and found it to be a wonderful way to also add some of the rocks we’ve collected on recent walks. Get as creative as you want!
- Got some tracing paper, or some plain white paper? Learn to draw the characters and pictures. Start by tracing. This is an excellent way to learn basic shapes (Spongebob is basically a rectangle, his eyes are circles, etc.), and it’s something that will entertain your older kids, too. Once the older kids have traced the character once or twice, have them see if they can draw it “freehand” for practice. Have them add their own outfits and accessories, too.
- Invent your own cartoon characters — Can you see it? The adventures of… Ballerina Girl: leaping into action at a moments notice… Bat Boy: saving the world one home run at a time… whatever your kids are interested in, go with it. We’ve had endless fun coming up with characters, creating costumes from things around the house (you can even do a little contest almost like a scavenger hunt), performing theme songs, and even acting out scenes. (Sometimes the adults get into the action, too. We jokingly call my husband “asthma man,” able to save the world as long as he has his inhaler!)
- Turn the sheet into a play… with one person as Spongebob, another as Patrick, another as Mr. Crabs (my husband always plays him), dress up and act out the scenes. See if you can start by performing the theme song or another favorite song… we sometimes even add commercials, too. For costumes, I’ve found CostumeCity.Com
to be a reliable spot for shopping, and much more convenient than trying to find a specific costume in a store. They have some adorable Spongebob costumes, including a really cute one for girls.
Our other must-go-to-site is the “Jack’s Big Music Show” page of the Noggin website. My kids absolutely love this show (as do their parents, I have to admit). On the website you’ll find many of the full-length music videos your child can watch — and there’s nothing like singing about boots to put you in the right frame of mind!
For info on toddler stories I like to use, click here.
Do you have a favorite site for getting coloring activities or other kids internet sites? You can email me at liz@HealthNutMom.com
Hope to hear from you!