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We mostly have Melissa & Doug wooden puzzles, but I don't think I've seen them above 48 piece.

A great place to shop for books and puzzles, if you have one near, is Ollie's Bargain Outlet. They have name brand stuff for well under half retail price. I literally bought a shopping cart FULL of books, puzzles, markers, etc. for about $100. It may sound like a lot but if you could only see the pile of loot! DD has yet to look at half of it.

Mary, a few more ideas.. we cook with our daughter also, and she particularly enjoys cracking the eggs. We have her decide what to put, how many, in a smoothie then blend it up for her, that type of thing.

I fully agree with getting a decent laminator. I figured with two kids and plenty of crafts and projects for years to come it was a reasonable investment.

I don't know how I feel yet about workbooks, but I pretty randomly grabbed one at Target several months back (I really didn't even look at it when I got it, long story) which turned out to be Pre-K same and different concepts. Finally decided to try it, and I had her point to the item instead of circling etc. I have been meaning to go back and see what else they have.

We also have the crayola gel fingerpaints which require special paper but don't make much mess. She likes those a lot.

I constantly ask her questions about what she is thinking about, things she sees, etc. Figure it's only fair for the questions I get

My daughter got candyland just after her 2nd birthday. It was good for learning about taking turns, and she likes getting to the candy castle. I remember loving it as a child, but I can barely stand playing it now. I much prefer playing Hi-Ho Cherry-O with her. I modified the original spinner to make the game more educational for toddlers. First I modified it to teach one-to-one correspondence. Later I modified it to teach simple addition and subtraction more overtly than the one included with the game. I could dig up the images if anyone was interested.

Sunday driver: How do you make cornstarch color bags? What are they?

I have a workbook we got at Target too and we pull it out and talk about a page here or there - we use it more like a book and usually only pull it out on snowy/rainy days ect.

ETA: DAD, I am interested in seeing the images from Hi-Ho Cherry-O, do you have them around?

This is the version for one-to-one correspondence. I printed it, stuck it on some cardboard, poked holes in the dots, and stuck the plastic spinner in the middle. When the spinner points to one of the numbers, the player moves the appropriate number of fruits from the tree directly on to the spinner. Then the player moves the fruits into their basket.

This is not the final version, because the computer with the final version died. In this version, the 5 dots are a little too close together, which caused me issues when I was poking the holes. It should be an easy fix.




This is the version for simple addition and subtraction. When using this version, the player spins the spinner, and moves the appropriate number of fruits into the selected area. When positive numbers are spun, the fruits move from the tree to the spinner, and then to the number line. When a negative number is spun, the fruits move from the number line to the spinner, and then to the tree. There are only two number lines, but additional players (real or stuffed) can continue to use the baskets.

If I were re-doing this one, I would separate the number lines from the spinner, because the act of spinning the spinner can spill the fruits. Currently, I hold the spinner in place when my daughter spins, so fruits don't go flying. Rubber feet might do the trick as well.



Preview isn't showing the images... my apologies for any BB errors.

Thanks! Those are so fancy! I just moved the dots by copy/pasting w lasso. I am sure there is an easier way but it worked well enough. Thanks for sharing.

When I worked as an intern with a child physical therapist they loved this game because of everything it helped with (namely writing muscles) and I have been meaning to get it. DD just turned 2 so the whole choking hazard thing but it will need to be a game I play with her anyway. I plan to just keep it way up as I have done w/ other games. Have you seen the Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game? Same spinner concept w/ acorns and a very beautiful game board. I may use this spinner for that game until we get Hi-ho Cherry-O.

Thank you!!!

GHS:

They are basically primary colors in gooey form that the child can squish in the bag to make secondary colors. If you don't expect too much (it will entertain but not for a long time), it's a fun project. My dd played with the bags for a few minutes at a time across 3 days, then we tossed the bags. The cooking/stirring part is a little tedious. I did the prep while the kids were sleeping, would be tricky otherwise.

To make color bags, you need:
1 cup corn starch
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups cold water
food coloring
3 gallon locking bags

put dry ingredients in a medium size pot, slowly add cold water, stir together, then heat over medium heat for approximately 10-15 minutes (may vary based on your stove), stirring continuously. don't let it overheat or boil.

when it thickens like pudding (felt like this would never happen but it does), remove from heat, stir for 1 more minute.

Let cool for about a half hour, divide mixture into three bowls.
Add drops of color to bowl, so you end up with a red, blue, yellow.

Pour half of each bowl into a bag, creating a bag with blue/red, blue/yellow, red/yellow.

Firmly seal bag, tape closed if you are concerned (I wasn't).

Let kid pound/squish/step on bag etc.

You're welcome. If you use one of those spinners, you'll be the second person ever. So let me know how it goes.

I had never heard of the Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game until you brought it up. The funny thing about that, is I had imagined a game built around my spinner concepts and number line. I called it Chipmunk Challenge. The chipmunks and squirrels would need to store nuts for the winter. The squirrels would store their nuts in trees (with number lines up the trunks) and the chipmunks would store their nuts in underground burrows, also equipped with number lines. My wife is a wonderful artist (actually, that's an understatement) who could easily help me to create the game with appropriate graphics, etc. But, we have two kids under the age of 3, two full time jobs, and almost no spare time.

I may end up getting Sneaky Snacky Squirrel when my son is old enough to play. It looks like fun, especially for numerous children.

Books on tape or CD are great for tired parents of smart toddlers with long attention spans. Look for Curious George, Dr. Seuss, the Lighthouse Family, and Beatrix Potter.

When my DD was that age she started doing the jigsaw puzzles "upside down" after she did them a few times with the picture and could do it quickly...she seemed to think doing it by shape only and no picture was really entertaining. That gets a bit more life expectancy out of puzzles.

She also got lots of entertainment out of a bag of mixed dried beans (the kind you buy to make soup) and an emmpty egg carton...so many opportunities for sorting, etc. That was good at the kitchen table when I was preparing a meal and wanted her in sight.

Also an inexpensive little electronic piano goes a long way, as does Shoots and Ladders. We still play that and it's really funny when you get to that high number and slide back down.

If you don't have those classic wooden blocks with the letters on them you could get them, if she loves letters she might want to copy words out of books, my DD did that when she was your DD's age (they were a mirror image but otherwise accurate).

My DD (8) has "mean" parents, not alot of screen time and still no DS for her!