Hitting

What do you do with a two-year old that hits?

Bean Box

 

Fill a  storage bin with dry beans and popcorn kernels, throw in some old pans and spoons, measuring cups and an old table cloth and you have your very own "sandbox" to go.  The hardest thing for my two-year old is keeping the fun to stay on the old table cloth.  But half the fun is using his dump trucks to scoop the run-aways back up and return them to the proper area for play.  He loves it.  The table cloth eases the cleanup at the end.  Simply slide the beans back in the bin.

Edible Peanut Butter Play Dough

  

Ingredients:

1+1/2 cups natural peanut butter

1/2-3/4 cup powdered milk

Steps:

Mix! Enjoy! Eat!

(Last two steps in no particular order)

Thanks again goes out to Megan, who sent me a great list of ideas for toddlers.

I didn't have natural peanut butter on hand, so I am wondering if mine turned out a little softer than it should have.  It was still perfectly entertaining for little hands and perfectly yummy for little mouths!  I even cut up matchstick celery to stir with and got out sprinkles to roll little PB play dough balls in.

Emotion Faces

Not a new idea, but a good one.  Use paper plates and whatever else you can find to create different emotion faces.  Our public library has kits that you can check out.  It is a little themed backpack full of books, a DVD or CD, and a card full of activities and songs on the subject.  We checked out one on emotions to go along with this art project.  Great fun and super cheap!

Lunch Idea: Muffin Tin Meal

 

An idea borrowed from Megan over at The Foods We Love. 

Fill each little cup of a muffin tin with foods little fingers love.

My two-year old loves this idea because it is fun for him and I love it because it is fun for me.  It forces me to serve a variety of foods.  Megan also said it is great because you can serve a treat and if they choose to eat it first, they can, but then the only other choices are healthy ones.  She has some great theme ideas.  Give it a try!

One favorite in our house is an orange themed muffin tin lunch:

macaroni and cheese, fish crackers, oranges, carrots (+dip) and orange juice

Celebrate the Boy!

 

So inspired.

Cozy Car Caddy

I want to make one of these.

Tutorial found here on Homemade by Jill.