Toddler Tested: Pinterest Activities

If you read my other blog posts, you'll know that I like books, puzzles, finger paint, blocks, and other activities to entertain my little man. However, you know, sometimes I want to think a bit outside of the box. Not often, which is why I only have three things to share, but there are those days.  Here are three activities we've done that I found on Pinterest. I'll share the pros and cons; what worked and what didn't.

Drive in Movie

In theory this sounded like the cutest idea, ever! Here is the link I found on Pinterest, and what an adorable thing it seemed! I wasn't going to do a projector or anything, just a normal movie, but it was raining that day, and I thought this would be a fun project before so much media time. 

Pros: He liked decorating it! This part was a success! We used finger paint, so it's a bit transparent, but he didn't seem to mind. This gave us probably 20 minutes of messy fun. 

Cons: I needed a bigger box. Little Man did not like curling his legs, so I made a hole for his feet. Even then, he didn't like being in the box so he was out two seconds after this picture. If you have a bigger box handy, then this might work!

Colored Soap Foam Sensory Activity

I used a recipe with half and half water and dish soap, cornstarch, and food coloring that's mixed with a blender on high speed. I put 1/3 cup of water and dish soap and that filled half a large plastic container. I threw in some bath toys, a whisk (his favorite thing to play with when I wash dishes), shovel, and some cups. 

Pros: He thoroughly enjoyed himself! He likes to play in the bubbles when I wash dishes, and this just brought that to a new level. However...

Cons: The food coloring stains! He was almost naked, so it didn't hurt any clothes, but we had a graduation rehearsal to go to in the evening, and we both had blue hands. He had blue on his legs and arms as well. My solution would probably be to either put less, or none at all. He seemed to enjoy the bubbles part of it, and I think he would enjoy it just as much color free. 

Using Paper Towel Tubes to Paint

This last one is a bit of a no-brainer. There aren't really any cons, but I thought I would share, because it's a fun idea, and its easy. Just save your toilet paper tube or paper towel tube and let your little one dip it in paint and go to town. In all honesty, my toddler enjoys using his hands, probably the most, but he had fun with this. You can use a lot of things as tools to paint with, so take inventory around the house for things that can be used. Here is an example of The Very Hungry Caterpillar painted with paper towel tubes.



What are some of your favorite Pinterest activities for toddlers?