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Activity for 2 and 3 year olds
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Trying to entertain your toddlers seems like a never-ending task. They are developing at an increasing pace, and that translates into them wanting to try new activities at every minute of the day!
Coming up with all sorts of activities is a possibility... if you have all day every day to play and teach them. Or you can tweak activities they have been doing for some time, and make them more challenging or establish a different purpose for them.
One example, is the use of a kitchen colander and pipe cleaners. Your child may have been interacting with these materials while they were 1, or it could be a brand new situation for them. The basic purpose of the activity is to put the pipe cleaners through the colander holes. This will keep them entertained and practicing fine motor skills for a while!
Once your kid has done this for a few times (or gets bored of doing it), you can move onto making different patterns by "weaving" the pipe cleaners in different shapes. You can also use a kids' beach sifter for this activity, since it has a flat surface and it would be easier to replicate patterns and shapes.
You can set whatever goal you want your kid to achieve: sort all the pipe cleaners in the holes by color; make a crazy "hair style" using the colander as the head and the pipe cleaners as the hair of a pretend character; organize pipe cleaners from shortest to longest according to how far you push them, etc.
No matter what approach you choose, this activity is sure to provide a myriad of benefits by developing hand-eye coordination, pincer grasp, manual dexterity, and the most important benefit: it will give you some great quiet time to go about your day, do some chores, or simply rest while your little one is immersed in this fun versatile activity.
Leave a comment with your favorite pipe cleaner and colander activities and how they work for you, so we can learn from each other and grow our beautiful community.
Thank you and have a blessed day.
Maria Ignacia