Ideas for Creating Kids Activities in the Home

My little boy is two now and his creativity is growing by the day. I was watching him building his Lego towers earlier and realised how much they have changed in a few months. They used to be straight up structures made from single Lego pieces. Now he's building four different towers from one main brick, all unique in shape and size with lots of added dimensions! I was pretty amazed, gave him lots of praise and he was so pleased with himself. Pip played with his Lego for about an hour this afternoon, much longer than usual. He's always loved exploring and been curious about things but now his imagination is growing and growing. We live very close to the seaside, parks & play groups but as the days are drawing in we're likely to be spending more time inside. I wanted to share some of our ideas for creating activities in the home.

Painting & Crafts
I've always painted and I love the fact that Pip enjoys it too. I take him to a fantastic painting class nearby that we both love! We usually do anything potentially messy at the kitchen table but I also like the idea of a long paper roll on the floor or an easel. And of course there are a million other crafting activities you can do. Have a look at the Artful Parent blog which has over 500 amazing craft activities for kids!

Singing and Music
All children love singing and music & a lot of the playgroups/classes I go to have a little singing session at the end. In our house we have an electric piano and toddler has his own little piano, tamborine, shakers and xylophone. You can buy some wonderful musical instruments for kids in music and toys shops. Toddler rarely plays with musical instruments unless I'm playing/singing with him so that's what I do! It can take some energy but usually ends up being quite fun and is a great natural mood uplifter too.

Pip painting

Soft Play

Until recently I hadn't thought of creating a soft play area in the house. However, my little boy has so much energy he seems to think the house is a soft play area at times! Here are some soft play mats from Ikea which look quite fun and I'm sure a DIY job with sofa cushions & pillows would work. Let me know if you've tried it!

Sensory/Messy Play
The same painting class I mentioned above also has some wonderful messy play activities. We've followed some of those up at home including playing with whatever is in the cupboard. If you want some edible sensory play ideas or inspiration for messy play these two websites will keep you busy for a long time! On my list I still need to bake a cake with toddler (I predict he'll eat all of the ingredients before it's even baked though) and I want to introduce him to glitter! Famous last words hey!

Toys
When we play at home I try to pick something different each session and focus on that. We have so many toys and toddler's favourite ones are Lego, anything with wheels on, his animals and funnily enough carrying oranges and lemons around the house! He has trains but not an actual train & track set. Oooo, Scalextric just entered my head for when he's a bit older! For now I love the look of this one from John Lewis. I'm sure this will give him hours of indoor fun.

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Reading
Reading isn't only for bedtime is it. If we're in a lot, I read to toddler in the day too and sometimes he likes flicking through the books himself. We have a great selection of books at home although at the moment he picks the same two books at bedtime, Peppa Pig and his Vehicles book!

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Designing a Creative Space
In toddler's room he has wall stickers, colourful designs around the fireplace, safari animals on his curtains, his name in letters, art work on the wall, a wall chart with lots of animals, a pretty lamp, a hanging mobile that I made for him and a basket full of toys. It's a colourful room and I'm sure it feeds his imagination as he's always pointing & referring to things! If you are designing a creative space have a search on google for 'children's wall stickers' and you'll come across so many ideas. If stickers aren't your thing an alternative is VELUX blinds that include a range specialising in Disney characters. Be as imaginative as you like!

This is a sponsored post. All words and opinions are my own. 

I hope I've given you some new ideas for creative activities! Let me know how you get on!