Rainy Day Activity Series, 1

I have a very busy son. He has always been busy. Even as an infant, if he was awake he wanted to be entertained or moving. His energy/craziness level has only increased since becoming a toddler. I contribute a lot of this to being a boy and Ryan being his dad.

With the weather changing and running outside not being an option every day, we have had to get very creative with activities to keep him busy and help focus some of his energy.  A few weeks ago Ryan and I decided to take 20-30 minutes of our individual time with him as "school time".  During this time we do 1 fun learning activity, 1 active play activity and then read some books.

We have found that giving Sam this focused time has helped a lot.  We don't feel like we are always saying "No" or chasing after him as he finds new things he shouldn't get into.  Basically gives us a time set aside each day to enjoy some shared experiences while we are cooped up in the house this winter.

I am going to post some of the activities throughout the next couple of weeks.  I hope this helps give you some ideas to keep your kiddos busy and your family sane this winter.  

Here is the activity for today:

Materials:

1lb dried beans

A few bowls, tupperware or pots

Misc. kitchen utensils

We emptied the beans into 1 bowl.  Let Sam play and explore with the beans.  The learning part of this was showing him how to "measure" the beans with some measuring cups or showing him how to scoop them up with a spoon and transfer them to another bowl.  We also had fun "burying" things in the beans.  The beans kept him busy for almost 25 minutes and then he helped me pick them up and put them away (in a gallon ziploc bag).  Once they were picked up and the bag was zipped he played with the bag and beans for another 5 minutes.  Sam had so much fun with this activity.  The bag is now labeled "Sam's beans" and put away for more fun later.  

The hardest part of this activity was Sam LOVES to snack on boiled beans so he was constantly trying to eat the dried beans.  Towards the end he was catching on that the beans were for playing not eating.