toddler activities: kiddie pools

After owning a kiddie pool for over a year and seeing some of the wonderful and hilarious things that can come from it, I think this makes the cut for fantastic toys to own.

This fall and winter I'm hoping to explore some different ways to use kiddie pools, especially indoors. But it's just barely after Labor Day, I don't even want to think about the weather getting colder. So today I'm going to list some of my ideas on having good ol' water splash and play with toddlers.

#1: Bag up everything you need and bring it outside. I get a big canvas bag and fill it with our pool toys, sunscreen, snacks, lunch, water, and towels. Makes set up and clean up much easier.

#2: Involve the kids from start to finish. Genghis loves helping set up the pool, turn on the water, choose toys to take out to the pool, and dump the water out at the end. I usually don't like activities where I have to do set up and clean up by myself, because then I spend more time managing the activity than enjoying it.

#3: Get in the water, too. I've noticed a huge difference in how Genghis plays with the water and how long he plays in it when I get in with him.

#4: Use bowls and balls. Our pool toys mostly consist of Genghis' colorful plastic bowls, a few large tupperware, and an assortment of balls. We have a few squirting fish and squeaking sharks. Water is a great medium for moving, dumping, swirling, and floating - you don't need a lot of other stuff.

#5: Dish soap bubbles. Squirt some dish soap into the streaming hose to make great bubbles. I suggest holding your thumb over the hose so the water comes out harder, which makes more foaming bubbles.

#6: Invest in a big-ish pool. I have an inflatable pool about 5 feet in diameter. It cost less than $20. I love having the extra room in the pool, and the inflatable sides turn out to be really fun for bouncing plastic sharks or people.

learning shapes but mostly tape

Another toddler learning activity that Genghis and I tried out.

Supplies:
Paper
Scissors
Tape

Activity:
Cut simple shapes out of paper and then tape them to the wall with your toddler. Talk about the shapes as you cut and tape them up. (When I originally saw this idea, it instructed parents to prepare the shapes in advance, but that seems totally unnecessary.)

What Actually Happened:
Genghis was mostly interested in the tape. He loved getting a tape roll on his finger and trying to put it on a shape. He also enjoyed putting the papers up on the wall, but didn't ever quite get that the tape side had to face the wall. He was less interested in the shapes, but I'd said about 1 in 3 times he'd correctly identify a shape. (I won't mention that we were only working with 3 shapes.)

He was also flummoxed when the shapes got stuck to his feet. He would bend over to try to pull them off, but that just made them stick even more.

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.