Toddler Activities: 14 Months Old (Part 3)

Here are a few more simple activities that you can do with your 14 month old. You may also be interested in Part 1 and Part 2.

Ocean Sensory Basket: Discovery baskets, or sensory baskets, are a simple way to engage your little one in learning about the senses as well as language learning. When Emma was younger, we had a lot of fun with our ribbon sensory basket, but now that she is older and less apt to put things in her mouth, we are expanding our sensory experiences! In our ocean sensory basket, we have a variety of shells, stones, coral and driftwood. Let your child touch and explore each object, and try to use many different words to expose your child to language as you describe the texture or appearance of the objects as hard, crunchy, shiny, etc. Let your child move things around, and you can describe objects as they are over, under or beside each other, etc.

Pushing Pom Poms: This is such a simple idea, and very easy to make. Take an old plastic container and cut a few small holes in the lid. The holes I made are just about the same size as the pom poms, so Emma doesn't really have to push them in, but she does have to line it up pretty well. It's a good fine motor activity and keeps Emma occupied for a good length of time. 

Squishy Bag: This fun activity will aid in developing your little one's hand muscles! This is a pretty basic recipe using water and cornstarch. I've included the amounts I used, but you could probably adjust the amounts with the same results. To begin, boil 3 cups of water. In another bowl, add a small amount of cold water to 4 tablespoons of cornstarch to make a paste. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the boiled water. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture is thick, then add food coloring. Allow the mixture to cool and pour it into a Ziploc bag. You can also add glitter or small toys inside the bag. Seal the bag securely. I put a layer of duct tape or packing tape over the opening for added safety. Let your baby enjoy squishing and squashing the bag!

Update: While my original recipe did turn out okay, I've made a few more bags since then and tweaked our recipe a little each time. My most recent recipe had the most "bulk" to it. Mix 4 cups water, 1 cup cornstarch, and 1/3 cup sugar. Heat in a pan until thick. When the mixture has cooled, pour into a Ziploc bag. Put some drops of food coloring, and add glitter or small toys inside the bag. Seal the bag securely.

And, as always...

Read! Reading is one of the best activities you can do with your child at any age!

A few of Emma's current favorites are:

• Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett
• The Napping House by Audrey Wood
• Moo, Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton

 
My 3 good things for today are:

1. I had everything on hand to make a squishy bag for Emma! There's nothing quite like finding a recipe that you'd like to try and already having all of the ingredients in your pantry. 
2. Moo, Baa, La La La! is such a fun book! It is always nice to find a book that Emma and I both enjoy, especially when she wants to read it over, and over, and over again!
3. I got all the laundry done today - even laundry basket is empty - for the next five minutes at least!