flashlights and forts for a rainy day

On a rainy morning, we pulled out our largest blankets to construct a fort over our table and then crawled inside to explore the wonders of flashlights. This is another top of the list activity for being simple and easy to pull off with no prep beforehand.

Supplies:
Blankets
Table
Heavy books
Flashlight
Colors shirts or tissue paper (optional)

Activity:
Construct a fort over the table using blankets and heavy books to keep the blankets in place. Here's a photo, for reference.


(Okay, I won't patronize you anymore. You don't need me to tell you how to build a blanket fort. Do whatever you want for this step.)

Crawl inside with your toddler and some flashlights and have fun exploring.

Advanced version: Bring in a few colored shirts or tissue paper and put the flashlight in the shirts or under the paper and watch how it makes the colors glow. Talk about different colors. Perhaps explain the physics of luminosity.

What Actually Happened:
I build the fort - it was key to close up all the openings with blankets so it was totally dark inside. Genghis only crawled inside once I demonstrated how cool it was. We had two small flashlights, which he was completed enthralled by.

I snuck out and grabbed the "advanced version" shirts and tissue paper. Genghis was even more enthralled by the flashlight under the shirt. But he didn't quite have the fine motor skills to get the light in and out. He was a bit frustrated with that, and I, in turn, was a bit frustrated that what started out as a potentially wonderful independent play time turned into a mother-assisted play time. (Oops, did I admit to wanting less play time with my child out loud?)

Next time we'll probably just stick with the flashlights.


Trying so hard with the shirt. (Note: As I recall, we actually never got around to putting pants on Genghis the whole day. I think he counted that as a victory in the ongoing "I only want to be totally naked" battle.)


Without the flash, you can see Genghis's eerily glowing face on the left.

a simple color learning game

Genghis has been totally uninterested in color identification. So I was thrilled to find this super simple activity that actually got him saying colors - often, correctly. I love, love, love, how little supplies and set up are needed for this. Perfect for a quick, go-to game.

Supplies:
Colored construction paper (2-3 sheets per color)
Largish bowls

Activity:
Set out the paper and bowls. Together, tear up the paper and crumple it into balls. Sort the paper balls into different bowls, depending on the color of the ball. Direct toddler to pick up different colors and put them in appropriate bowls.



What actually happened:
Genghis couldn't quite tear the paper on his own (probably a good thing, considering the number of our books we keep at his level), but if I got it started for him he did pretty well. Same for crumpling the paper. He was very into putting the paper balls into various bowls, though not too concerned about matching the colors. However, for about 90 seconds, he listened to me talk about the names of the colors, repeated them back to me, and even identified some of the colors correctly without prompting. Success!

Also, he enjoyed walking around the room with the bowls on his head.

Video intended to show off his new color skills. Instead, just shows off his independent streak.