Plush Alphabet Project

So, a friend I met through MOPS had a set of super-cute felt alphabet toys for her toddler son. She couldn't remember where she got them and I couldn't find any the same size to buy in a store or online (I wanted them stuffed-toy size not magnet size) so over a vacation I decided to try to wing it on my mom's sewing machine. They turned out passable - not as cute as the originals but they'll do for letter games and early phonics and reading lessons...and just plain imaginative play, which is what little Biscuit likes them best for right now :)

We use them to make some of his favorite words...
CAR, of course!

FROG...

and just for fun, a little rhyming lesson using the "at" words...

All you have to do to make your own set of plush ABC's is get 26 full felt sheets (8.5 x 11) in fun colors. Fold each sheet in half and draw on a big bubble letter to fill each half sheet using sewing chalk or washable marker (a template for the letters adds more hassle...just hand draw them, it makes them "yours!").  Cut out any holes in letters like A, B, D, P, etc. Then sew carefully around each letter outline leaving an inch hole for stuffing (consider leaving two holes on complicated letters like M, X, W); cut each letter out; stuff 'em with fiberfill (use a pencil or dowel to stuff hard-to-reach areas) and sew up the loose ends. Trim any loose thread and there you are...all done! Have fun!

Watercolor Wonder, Sticker Sillies and the Clothespin Challenge

Nothing too original, but Little Biscuit and I had fun with some with some new-for-us activities last week. First I let him paint on a giant poster taped to his Lego table.(here is the arteest at work)
Then we made a sticker montage around his artwork, letting him place them wherever he chose.Finally we played in a pile of clothespins! It was especially silly to clip them all over him and let him try to figure out how to get them off! Good times!

Easy, do-it-yourself toy train

Since Little Biscuit is so big into the train thing right now I made him a little steam engine of his own last week out of those Gerber plastic baby food containers. I turned three upside down, punched holes in the ends with a hole punch, strung them together with ribbon and added train stickers on the sides. It was super simple and Biscuit loved pulling it around and making it "choo choo!" Who knows, maybe when he's older and he starts losing his baby teeth I'll use this little train for keeping "track" of them. But if we do I guess we'll have to tell Biscuit to make it say, "Chew-chew!" ;)

Marker marbling: a toddler water coloring activity

Today we decided to hang out at home and do some playtime inside. I filled a tray on Biscuit's toddler table with about a half inch of water (it could also be done in a white mixing bowl or any container where the bottom is white so the colors show up well against it). After putting down a towel under the table and dressing Biscuit up in his Home Depot workshop apron, I showed him how to dip some non-toxic watercolor markers in the water to see the inky effect. He swirled and swished and smeared it all around and thought it was big fun. After a while we were left with a muddy-colored mess in the tray but starting over with new water every few minutes keeps things interesting :) It's fun to try to draw actual objects he's familiar with - dogs, trees, trains - and see how they end up. It's kind of like cloud scenes - there one minute, gone the next! :)

Fall Toddler Art/Home Decor Project: Leafy Door or Window Clings

Little Biscuit loves any excuse to go for a walk outside, so today he got to put on his backpack and walk with Mommy down the street to pick up some colorful autumn leaves. It was just step 1 of our outdoor/indoor toddler boredom buster activity today...Then, when we had gathered enough leaves, we came home and unloaded our finds. Since Biscuit loves stickers, leaves and also any excuse to stand at the windows and doors (more specifically, to pound on them!), we made glass clings from the leaves by wrapping them in squares of plastic wrap. Once assembled, I showed Biscuit how to "stick" them all over our glass door (I put up the high ones and let him go at the bottom of the door).
He had fun, (equal parts sticking them on and pulling them back off!) but when he was done I had a lovely seasonal masterpiece on my door to show for all his hard work...and one that wouldn't leave hard-to-remove gooey marks like stickers either :D (He's pretty satisfied too, as you can see!)

Toddler games, toddler fun, toddler activities, toddler ideas - introducing toddleratplay.com

The other day after an "aqua-painting" session (where Biscuit used a foam brush dipped in a little bowl of water to "paint" plain paper, his toys, his feet, you name it!), I decided to rename this blog with a title more relevant to what it's about, which is our toddler and all things toddler play-related, plus a little of whatever we learn along the way. We hope you can use some of the toddler ideas and adventures we share here (see my tags down the right-hand column for specific categories like games, crafts, indoor fun, free activities for toddlers, money-saving tips, toys, parenting solutions, etc) and even if you can't use 'em but just want to follow the life and times of a lively, loving Little Biscuit, well welcome, and happy reading!!

HAPPY YAY DAY, GRAMMY!

Today is a very special day for Biscuit's Grammy. On this very day seven years ago she had surgery for cancer and (praise God!) the doctors got it all and she's been cancer-free ever since!! We like to remember this day every year with what we call "Yay Day!" in celebration of God's goodness to our family through the whole situation...so here is a little "shout out" Biscuit helped me work on just for you, Grammy (he was the sticker "sticker"). We LOVE YOU :D

Hard at work (almost done)....

Let's have a parade!! Hip, hip, hooray!! :D

Easy press 'n paint fridge art (Biscuit's first toddler art project - playdough fresco!)

It was another rainy day so I decided to let Biscuit get colorful and artsy here at home. I didn't really want to do fingerpaints yet as I know he'd still try to eat it (same goes with crayons and markers) or splash it all over the place. So I rolled a ball of playdough onto some copy paper and mashed it into a thin layer; then I scraped off the excess with a plastic knife and back into the container. Biscuit used this no-mess surface as his toddler-friendly "paint" - it was a fun texture to doodle and play in with his hands (but I didn't have to worry about him eating dough since it was stuck on the paper). I showed him he could use his megablocks, some alphabet magnets, shapes from his sorter and random stacking toys as stamps by pressing them into the dough. He caught on quick so I just let him go at it. He got creative, as you can see - here's a peek at his finished masterpiece, which now adorns our refrigerator.

"Sticky Starry Night" by Biscuit Van Doh

Toddler-Style Game Cube ;)

A NOTE ABOUT SAFETY: this project contains small parts and sharp wire so if you make your own cube, make sure to take measures to keep the components securely fastened to the basket and fold down all sharp ends inside the basket; tightly tape small sections of plastic neon straw over any connecting ends of chenille stem on the tangle maze. A cardboard wipe box or other object can be fastened inside the basket to limit accessibility. Always supervise your child when using this toy.

The past few weeks Biscuit has been getting really impatient. Specifically, he cannot bear the idea of waiting for me to finish doing something in the kitchen. For instance, if I have to wash the dishes, warm up milk, make dinner or anything whatsoever in the kitchen, he stands behind the gate and pounds his head on the bar until I'm done. I really needed something special to let him play with to distract him ONLY when I have kitchen responsibilities to attend to - something he might actually look forward to using while I work. He really likes those little wooden play cubes they have at doctor's offices and the library, but they are super expensive. So I decided to try to improvise one out of a plastic storage bin I already had from the dollar store. First we went to Hobby Lobby for a few odds and ends to add to it and I worked on it while Biscuit took his nap. For part of the first side I made a mini-abbicus for learning to count one to five; on the other section of that side I tied on an old shoelace for him to maybe eventually learn to tie his shoes (I colored it with a marker for some visual interest). The next side was inspired by toddler book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar; I made it out of fuzzy bright pompoms strung onto bead wire with chenille-stem antennae so Biscuit can slide the pompoms up and down to make the caterpillar seem bigger or smaller. On the third side I made a yellow tangle maze from chenille stems with baseball beads and foam star beads to glide along. And the final side was an over-sized jingle bell (Biscuit's favorite part!) with some washers and nuts from Big Biscuit's tool box strung on for more fun sounds and movement.



















I realized it had something for all the senses except taste and smell, but then it hit me that the top of the cube can be used as a snack tray. So I guess it covers all those bases. He has really enjoyed it so far (particularly the bell). But now the real test is whether it'll work for those "waiting times" when I'm busy in the kitchen! I'll keep you posted ;)

No-sew sleepytime sack

UPDATE: the new-sew sack worked fine for Biscuit but not for his mom and dad - too big of a pain to get over his head. So when I get my sewing machine back up and running I'll probably just try to make one for him the old-fashioned way out of the same blanket. In the meantime, since we don't want to pay for another defective new one, I just cut leg holes into one of his old sleepsacks (it's zipper works fine, it was just too small). Hopefully that'll help for now.

Biscuit has always slept in a Halo SleepSack since he grew out of his SwaddleMes. Now that he's too tall even for those, he graduated to the
Big Kids SleepSacks. Problem is, the zipper on it is messed up so half the time he wakes up at night all unzipped and it takes forever to get it fixed. I wasn't too thrilled about the $25 it would cost to get another one, which would probably have the same problem. So I (very nervously) attempted to make one for him that didn't require sewing (all my sewing machine needles are broken at the moment and I haven't had time to get anymore or put them on). I got the basic technique for the knots here and then sort of improvised the rest. It didn't turn out terrible but it's not exactly a work of art either. It does fit Biscuit and seems like it'll work just fine, especially when it's cooler outside, without posing any kind of suffocation hazard. Instead of a zipper I just pull it over his head like a big nightshirt. I made it with the bottom open so his feet could breathe if he wanted, from one of his favorite blankets (and mine too) with a fun jungle print. He was rolling around on it all afternoon while I was trying to make it :)

Silly Biscuit! :D

"D-Day!"

We were all three excited to welcome back Big Biscuit from his week-long mission trip to Mexico Saturday night :) Before we headed to the airport we decided to decorate one of Little Biscuit's onesies with a simple "welcome back" message for his dad. The picture above shows what we ended up with (since both are big baseball fans). "Daddy's Home" has always been one of Little Biscuit's favorite phrases and he goes running whenever I say it (usually when daddy pulls into the driveway after work). In this case Little Biscuit was asleep when we got to the airport so we had to wait for the reunion until he woke up (which was after we were back at the house). At his first sighting of Big Biscuit, he had mixed emotions - he was obviously thrilled to see his daddy again and wouldn't stop giggling and smiling shyly at him, but he was a bit unsure if he could really believe his eyes enough to touch him ... it didn't take very long until they were in each other's arms though :D