In my effort to provide a positive and enriched environment for Sarah during my hours at home, I learned very quickly that many of the toys stocked in the common malls are not very educational, in that there seems to be a gap in the market for high-quality and open-ended toys that are affordable. Many of them were battery-operated/electronic/”interactive” toys that do not allow many opportunities for parent-child engagement. Rather, these toys, while imo are not necessarily damaging for her, were not only expensive, but seemed like they were designed with the intention of letting the child play/distract themselves on their own. As a FTWM, I’ve been trying my best to make full use of my hours at home to fully interact with my girl. Sure, many of the Montessori-based/more “posh” toy stores have great toys but the cost reallllly adds up and what with our mounting expenses with the new house, I set out out on my own (with the help of books, pinterest, and countless youtube videos) to craft DIY/easy fun learning activities for my toddler.
ALL of these activities were inspired by stuff I’ve come across online and in books. I recommend, of course, for those just starting out, to create a pinterest board and start pinning all the fun activities you come across. I have a “pick your play” board linked here that you may look through for some of my favourite ones.
Colour Sorting Activities
- Coloured ice-cream/popsicle sticks in recycled egg tray
2. Painted wooden pegs on an “artist palette”
3. DIY styrofoam cube with matching foam notes
4. Coloured pom-poms sorted into recycled colour-coded plastic containers
AT X II 