Spirited Essence Works

Fall is here! Cool weather, leaves changing, crisp air, the baking itch begins, and holidays! In the summer, you kept your toddler busy with tons of outdoor activities but now that the weather is changing its hard to sometimes keep your toddler busy indoors. Here are a few ideas to occupy your little one, expand their creativity, and make life a little more fun!

1. Fingerpainting It’s messy but your little one will have a ball! My sweet pea will paint for the longest time. Then he eventually paints himself, the table, and sometimes even my hands. It’s super easy to clean up though. I just have a bucket of water and wash clothes ready for when he is finished to wipe down him and his activity area. Then, I normally take him to bath time right after. If you don’t have fingerpaints on hand, here’s a super easy recipe to make your own:

Fingerpaints

3 tbsp of Sugar

1/2 tsp of Salt

1/2 cup of Cornstarch

2 cups of Water

Directions:

Combine in a small saucepan and warm until mixture thickens. Cool and pour into containers (baby food jars work the best). Add food coloring to make desired colors.

2. Playdough Who doesn’t love Playdough? It’s a fun a molding activity, stress reliever, and brings a spunky creative side out of your little one. And it’s as fun to make as it is to play with. If your toddler is anything like mine, he loves to cook as well as play. This playdough recipe takes about 10-15 minutes to make and the dough last for about 3 months in an air tight container. 

Playdough

2 cups of Flour

2 tbsp of Vegetable Oil

1/2 cup of Salt

2 tbsp of Cream of Tartar

1 1/4 cups of Boiling Water (adding in increments)

Food Coloring

Directions:

Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a mixing bowl. Add food colouring to the boiling water then into the dry ingredients.

Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky, combined dough.

Allow it to cool down then take it out of the bowl and knead it vigorously for a couple of minutes until all of the stickiness has gone. If it remains a little sticky then add a touch more of flour until just right.

3. Baking  My little one loves to cook, so I always try to find easy recipes for him to help me with. One of our favorites to make is Snickerdoodles. Here’s a link to our recipe: Sweet Treat: Snickerdoodles

4. Coloring  If you have crayons and paper on hand, this is one the simplest activities for your toddler to do. Coloring books are great too!

5. Holiday Crafts  With Halloween and Thanksgiving in the fall, there are plenty of crafts to be done. With some construction paper, glue, markers and crayons, the possibilities are endless. One of our crafts this year, we made Thanksgiving cards to send out to all the family. 

6. Enjoy some outdoor time while you can! Now, the weather is not always perfect in the fall, so enjoy the nice days before it gets too cold. My toddler loves to run around outside and especially play fetch with our two dogs.

Hope this gives you some new ideas to do with your toddler this fall. If you have any other fun activities you enjoy doing with your little one, please comment. I am always trying to find new activities to enjoy! Most importantly, enjoy every minute with your little ones because time just goes too fast.