Conference moira::parenting

   There's lots of things you can do, depending on your talents, and the
   types of stuff you can collect around the house - eg, paper towel
   rolls, yarn, popsicle sticks (sold as craft sticks in some stores),
   egg cartons, paper, etc.  You can make or do some incredible projects
   with the most ordinary household scraps.

   You might want to check out the craft section of your local library..
   I know that my wife has borrowed craft books on more than one
   occassion that contain dozens (some had over 100) of craft ideas for
   different age groups.  Then if you find one you really like, you can
   always pick up your own copy.

   Regards,
   
   - Tom

I am trying to think back to last winter when my little one
was about 18-22 months.  We purchased (at a garage sale - $20)
one of the smaller little
tykes climbers (3x3 square with sm slide) and put it in the
corner of the family room.  She had fun crawling under, over and
around it.  About that time I also got two laundry baskets, one
for books and one for the misc. small toys.  These were available to
her for "chosing" a book/toy on her own.  Once an awhile (ok -
frequently) she might lose control and you would find toys/books
everywhere.  

That was also about the time our neighbor gave us a their daughters
kitchen set.  That provided some interest but seems to be used more
this year.  A no cost thought was our pantry.  We moved cans to the
lower shelf and Lauren continues to "play" with the cans.  Moving
them around the house, making a meal with them, using the as blocks
(for some reason they are better than the wood ones).

For Christmas last year she got a small, plastic tricycle.  She used
this in the house until Summer.  We have wood floors (that need 
refinishing anyways).  She also had a walking toy she sped around
the house on (the tricycle took a 3 months or so before she could
really pedal).

I also purchased a coloring book that you use a wet paintbrush with,
dobbers (they look like bingo markers) and bubbles (a big hit).

>>...A no cost thought was our pantry.  We moved cans to the
>>lower shelf and Lauren continues to "play" with the cans.  Moving
>>them around the house, making a meal with them, using the as blocks
>>(for some reason they are better than the wood ones).

I envy you.  Both our kids liked to play wth cans, but the most common
activities were:

    1. take off the labels ("hmmm, wonder whether this is soup or pineapple?")

    2. drop them on the floor to make a fine noise (when not aiming too well,
       dropping them on their toes)

					cheryl

   re: .3  Cheryl,

>>    1. take off the labels ("hmmm, wonder whether this is soup or pineapple?")

   Thanks for the chuckles!!  I've been there... it makes for, well,
   "interesting" menus...  :-)  :-)
   
   - Tom

    We made Sarah a playhouse.  MUCH cheaper than buying the Little Tykes
    kind and she enjoys it just as much.
    
    We just went to a local appliance store and asked if we could have an
    empty refrigerator box.  We cut out a door and a window with cardboard
    shutters and let her help decorate it.  She loves it and will play for
    hours, she's even gotten the dogs to join her in there a few times.
    
    It does take up space, but my house is overrun by toys anyway, so
    what's one more.
    
    Susan

    
    This isn't indoor at your own home activity but what about play groups 
    in your town or a nearby town.  My son is 16 months old and my husband
    cares for him 2 days per week (used to be 3 days). Now that Alex is
    this age he is greatly enjoying going to 2 play groups in our area. We
    tried them when Alex was younger but he didn't interact with the kids
    then so it wasn't worth it. One group only meets every Monday and the
    other group is every morning of the week.  This is also a lifesaver for 
    my husband especially on rainy days as he isn't into crafts, etc. and 
    climbs the walls on "indoor" days.
    
    Kathy

My daughter loves putting on music tapes and dancing around with them -- she's
4.

She also loves doing art projects.  We got an easel, and she has lots  of
paper and glue sticks and other supplies around.  She spends a lot of time
with that.

She loves empty boxes, too, and can easily and quickly fill up the house
with them -- one with marbles is the dog food; another one filled with 
kitchen towels becomes a bed for a stuffed animal.  If big enough to climb in,
that is also a bonus.

And she has lots of books.  Mostly she reads them with us, but she has
memorized some and reads them to the stuffed animals sometimes.

Beryl

    This one's always been a favorite .... take 20 paper cups, using 2 at a
    time, tape together the open part of the cup - instant bowling pins. 
    You can put popcorn seeds or something in them if you want extra noise.
    Then any ball will do, and set up a "bowling alley".  Your son can have
    fun setting them up too.  The plastic cups make more noise, which, of
    course, they seem to like better (-:  
    
    A girl at work saves yogurt containers and makes pyramids with them for
    her son.  Keeps them both busy! 
    
    A make-shift basketball game - toss the ball in the laundry basket.  
    
    A race-car 'ramp'.  If you have a wide-ish board, that works good.  Or
    maybe you can use the coffee table?  Tilt it at an angle using a few
    books to prop it up on, and watch the cars glide down the hill.
    (matchbox type cars work best, but any will work).  Just be sure that
    if the 18mos old climbs on the 'ramp', it won't fall.
    
    This is weird, but at about that age, Chris and Jason LOVED empty
    boxes.  They'd get a small toy, and sit in the box and play - just a
    regular size "printer paper" box, get all scrunched up.  Sometimes I'd
    drag them around the floor in the box - they thought THAT was
    hysterical!
    
    A skateboard can be fun to roll around on, indoors.  You pretty much
    have to sit on it, but it's safer that way anyway.  
    
    Paper People - from a newspaper, you can usually get the ends of the
    rolls of paper.  Roll some out on the floor, lay on it, and then trace
    the body.  Color it in to match the person - not sure if the little one
    is too young for that.
    
    "Pillow Piles" - get ALL the pillows that you can find, and stack them
    all together in a bunch, then let the kids try to crawl on/around them.  
    
    "Fort" - If you have a card table, that's ideal - open the table, and
    drape a blanket or sheet over the top, to cover all the sides - instant
    "fort".  Let them have a snack inside, and if it's dark, a flashlight
    is a lot of fun!You might need/want to clip the blanket to the table
    somehow so the baby doesn't pull it off.
    
    ....now you get an idea of what my house looks like by the end of a
    w/end! (-:
    
    

    
    Pillow Piles!!! Just last night my 3 1/2 year did this in the family
    room and my 8 month old had a blast!!! She was crawling around and over
    the pillows and laughing that belly laugh whenever Anna would pop her
    head out from under a blanket or pillow. It was great fun!!

    This is alittle messy but my 21 mos old likes to play with Play Doh on 
    the kitchen table. I bought Play Doh but I know you can make it if you
    can find a recipe for it. This needs to be supervised as it gets all
    over everything. He also likes to color with big crayons on paper. His 
    fav color is boo. 
    
    Another one of my son's favorite inside activities is playing with his
    Hot Wheel cars. He'll play with his cars and trucks for an hr at a
    time. 
    
    Another toy he uses inside is the L.T. Cozy Coupe. I've never brought
    it outside so the wheels are still clean. We have a Colonial with an 
    open floor plan so he drives around the whole downstairs in it. He also
    puts his little cars and trucks in the back compartment. 
    
    He just recently got into playing with Duplo blocks. He'll play
    with these for about a 1/2 hr at a time. 
    
    That's some of his favorite toys. He likes books too. I can sympathize 
    with what one of the noters said about her house being overrun by toys.
    :)
    
    Karen 
    

    I can't remember what the definition of "small" was in the base note,
    but when my kids were pre-schoolers they loved those color with water
    books.

    1) My son is 19 months old. He likes to play with the washable markers
       (find that he can't apply enough pressure to really user crayons yet).
       I trace cookie cutter on paper and he scribbles on them.
    2) Since before he was born, I've been cutting out cute or interesting
       pictures. Although he's still quite young to get full play value,
       we improvise, play the 'what's this?' game, etc.
    3) He loves to string cups and things. I have the small Dixie cups that 
       I punched holes in, Cody likes to string them with wool (on a bobby
       pin or something similar) and then he trails them around behind him,
       shaking and rattling the chain
    4) Match the shoes and socks at clean up time
    5) Making handprint cookies (his handprints)
    6) Hide and find games - (kids love)
    7) He loves to undress his stuufed animals I dressed in his first
       clothes
    
    Our house is full of laughter......we are always improvising, making up
    games. Use your imagination - at 18 months, everything but getting changed 
    can be fun, everything you do as a parent can be very amusing. ENJOY!

    My son, who is now 4, has lots of energy to burn.  We take advantage
    of indoor sports during the Colorado winters (as well as outdoor
    activities by wearing winter clothes - biking, soccer, baseball,
    sledding, skiing, ...).  Indoor activities include swim lessons, 
    gymnastics, visiting indoor McDonald's play areas (bring your ear plugs), 
    wrestling at home.
    
    When you invite a child's friend over to play (and they invite your
    child to their home) that provides learning and entertainment (for
    everyone).  This is what our son enjoys most.   It lets him interact
    with his friends in different settings and play with someone else's
    toys too !
    
    For the less active moments: playing with toys, coloring/drawing,
    listening to music while they play, helping cook with Mom or Dad,
    telling stories, and a little (maybe 1 hour per day) TV or video watching.

Boxes, boxes, boxes!!! My son from infancy on up (now age 4) has loved boxes, of
all different shapes and sizes. Big boxes are for climbing in (right now he has
one in his baby sister's room that is his "spaceship", and he flies to space to
visit her [he made that all up himself, I swear!!!]) and riding in (pull in a
wagon or just slide on the floor). Smaller boxes are for piling stuff in. 

Cut doors in them and you can play all kinds of fun games. One favorite we used
to have: he would go in through the big door, and I would start stuffing toys in
through the little door/window. He would start tossing them back out as I
stuffed them back in, accompanied by insane giggling. Good for when he was wound
up. Several big boxes with various cutouts can be stuck together in different
layouts for variety. Imagine a small tunnel between a couple of bigger ones.
Those expandable cloth play tubes are good for this as well. Another similar
item is a small nylon tent, like a dome tent. You can either use a real one, or
get a kiddie play tent.

Stacking is also a fun thing, and seems to be pretty common behavior in all
little kids. Cans, sofa cushions (there was a period where you could never sit
on any of our couches), books, blocks, toys. As long as you watch out for sharp
edges and can stand the noise, this is a great use for aluminum cans waiting to
be recycled. Some of our cushions are just big flat blocks of foam with
upholstery covers, and these were his favorites. You might try making some
yourself that are a variety of good sizes, say 8" thick in dimensions of  
1'x2', 2'x2', etc. These are just giant building blocks, and are soft enough
that they won't hurt anybody when they fall over. Just watch out: the kids
*will* climb on top of them, so make sure they have enough to build a stable
stack.

One thing I am planning to do this year: a foam pit. This is something our
gymnastic school has. Theirs is a big 10'x20' pit filled with 8" foam cubes.
They have the kids line up and jump in. I guess this is to get them over fear of
falling or something. I was thinking of making a pit out of a big appliance box,
filled with smaller foam cubes. This is a variation on the plastic ball pits you
see at McDonalds and Burger King playgrounds. You just have to make sure it is
big enough to accomodate all the kids at once, since they will doubtless jump
around in it like maniacs.

And a recent discovery: Floam. This stuff is some kind of matrix of goo and tiny
styrofoam pellets. You can play with it sort of like Play-do or clay, although
it is grainier due to the pellets. But you can roll it and form it, cut it with
plastic kiddie scissors, and it sticks to itself instantly, so you can build
things up. The package basically warns that nothing will clean it up, but so far
it does not seem to have too much tendency to get stuck in things (like hair,
carpet, clothing) unless it gets ground in, and in that respect is much better
than clay. It's wierd stuff, lots of fun. Just watch out that chunks of it could
be swallowed by an infant.

    >>>>>NOTE - about McDonald play areas and other fun places that have
    the pens with the balls in them <<<<<<<<<<<<<
    
    My pediatrician and those of several friends have been trying to get us
    to spread the word - these can be the breeding grounds for head/body
    lice.
    
    

Kinda makes me hungry... ;^)