Play Pen School- Sensory Play Pen

Brandon is my first child to really use his playpen as a play pen. My other children have used them for sleep but never really for playing. Brandon is a very feisty baby and he has been having a hard with taking others toys and knocking down their buildings. My solution is the playpen but, only during school -free time(about 1 hour 3 times a week). When it is just my children I don’t use it because I want him to learn to be kind and my children to learn patients and kindness:) At first a few snacks and some baby toys were more then enough to keep him happy but then he started to get bored and cranky quickly! So know I am trying to come up with more engaging activities for him to do in his play pen. I’ll be posting more because I will have to keep this up for the next 2 months! I will be calling it playpen school:)

For this activity I used, pompoms, melon baller, tongs, little containers, and a big pretzel barrel! This kept him VERY happy for the full hour!!! I kept an eye on him and would stop to play a little. The older kids would also walk by and toss any that he threw out at him. He loved the visitors:)

Toddler Activities

I get the question- “What activities should I do with my toddler?” so often that I decided to search through my blog and collect a bunch of pictures from toddler days!! These are all from about 12-24 months. they do not all have descriptions but it is pretty obvious from the pictures what it is:) Now when I get this question I can refer them to this link:) It is a very long post!

CAUTION: You know your child, please supervise them around small objects. Also follow their lead! Toddlers should be having fun! Not sitting at a desk;)

Sorting by color with ANYTHING is fun for toddlers! Make this simple mat using construction paper and laminating it! then you can sort anything!

Click the picture for a post all about playing outside with chalk! Toddlers love to play outside games and chalk is a great way to get them moving and thinking!

Sensory Tubs are a huge hit with toddlers. Search Sensory tub on my blog or on Google and you will find lots of ideas!

In this next picture you can see a bucket on the bottom left. I called it the messy bucket. This day it had a Gatorade bottle and checkers. toddlers love to fill and spill things of all kinds!

Pom poms go in the top, get them from the bottom hole!

Below you can see the messy bucket with balls and a scoop and basket. Also the cubes in the little yellow basket! Toddlers love to stack!!

Spooning flat marbles

Tiny plastic bears and metal containers

Stacking wooden blocks

One big pom pom with a table spoon and nesting cups

Nesting cups with little plastic cats

Golf tees to stick into the straw hole of a Red Robin kids cup

Small pom poms and a plastic rolling pin from a playdoh thing. She LOVES this one! When it gets full they start popping out of the bottom. One of the boys may have shown her how to shoot them out by blowing…hmmmm.

Sensory bottles(plastic test tubes). I made 4 for her at this time Glitter in water, Jewels in water, Beads to shake and the last one has a single marble to roll back and forth. She loves these and says “Ooooooo” as she shakes them around. She also loves putting them in the holder!

Shape sorters

Little hoops

(party section of the dollar store)

Halloween peg game(I grabbed a Christmas one at the dollar store that I know will be a big hit as well)

Color wheel (by crazyart at wal-mart)

Wood bead onto a dowel

Plastic Beads on a drink stirrer

Elmer’s Glitter glue on wood makes great sensory boards! You can do letters, numbers, shapes or colors! They can’t rip them off the wall like paper posters!