At-home activities with a 1 year old?

[momm]

What kind of activities did you do at home, with your 1 year old?

DS is 15 months old and I'm running out of ideas for things to do at home.

We read books, play with our toys, blocks etc. I was wondering what everyone here does/ did when your LOs were that age?

Thanks!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Decorate cookies and cupcakes
build a fort out of blankets
create an obstacle course
play doh (you can even make your own)
wash dishes (non fragile one; be prepared for a mess!)

We tried to get out of the house as much as possible though. :) I needed the social interaction so library story time, Music Together, errands, gym, museums...

[Momit]

I was struggling to come up with ideas when DS was that age, and I was a newly SAH parent. I picked up a couple of books:
the Toddlers Busy Book http://www.amazon.com/Toddlers-Busy-Book-Activities-3-Year-Old/dp/0671317741/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326377902&sr=8-1
and a similar one from Gymboree

And a once a week structured playgroup was a huge help - we looked forward to that every week

[BabyH]

I may have bookmarked this thanks to a post on here... but here it is again :)

http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/search/label/Things%20to%20do%20with%20infants


And I also have that Toddler Busy Book. While I haven't used a lot of the ideas yet, there are some great ones and it seems like a good book to have nearby!!

Other things we have/do around here are a six foot tunnel (I keep it out of sight when not in use and ds gets SO excited when I bring it out), balance bike (Xmas gift and he loves it), finger painting, follow the leader type games, and we get outside every day. No matter what, I just think it's good for the mind, body and soul. If it's pouring down the rain, we bundle up and go jump in puddles!

DS goes to a one year old "preschool" twice a week, and we do a music class one morning a week. I'm in a moms group, and I'm looking very forward to the playgroups and different activities this winter! I even think I'll take him swimming at the gym (indoor pool of course) if we get really desperate!

[Simon]

Both Ds loved to take baths at that age.

Dance party + jumping on a bed/trampoline.

Make a sensory table/bin (use a shallow plastic storage tub)


Kids that age love to scoop things and use funnels (dry beans + empty shoe box + a few glass Mason jars = tons of fun) I add spoons, measuring cups, etc.

Our 1yo loved to "help" with sweeping and wiping counters, washing anything (I let them wash their own toys), cleaning mirrors, drying things with towels.

I used a lot Montessori ideas for that age range and there are some great Montessori-at-home blogs out there, though I don't visit any regularly these days.

[wellyes]

Go outside every day, is the most important thing.
If all else fails, let them play with tape (supervised).

[momm]

Oh wow, thank you so much for the ideas! I need to look up some of these.. thanks again :)

[bostonsmama]

14mos-old DD loves to "cook" with me. I can't afford a learning tower, but I have a small 2-level step stool that I push up to the counter and let her stand next to me while I prep. If I peel a carrot, I hand her the peels. She breaks them up, bites them, throws them...I don't care b/c she's not whining or getting into trouble (i.e., escaping out the dog door, eating kibble/turning over the dog dish, climbing on top of the kitchen table). She's an avid eater (she ate lemon-dressed arugula and whole anchovies yesterday), knows her colors well (b/c I tell her the color of everything I'm chopping/prepping), and is learning minor math concepts (I do fractions when I cut things into pieces or addition/subtraction when we eat stuff we're prepping).

My favorite non-learning activity is glow-in-the-dark bathtime, where we toss dollar-store glow bracelets in the tub and turn out the lights. She loves seeing them glow beneath the water's surface!