Ideas for The Dog Days

Things sometimes get a little boring around our house during these dog days of summer. Ok, maybe a lot boring. The girls are so done with their toys. TV is a no-go for us. We've danced to music, blown bubbles, colored with crayons, read books, and played in the kiddie pool. Then we did it again. I feel bored right along with them, so (thank-the-man-that-invented-Google) I've started searching for some new activities that toddlers could do.

Here's what we've come up with and have been playing over the past couple of weeks:

• Discovering the Produce Drawer - touch and describe the veggies/fruits, their colors, names, etc
• Paper Airplanes - show them folding the paper and then throwing the airplane
• Ice Kitchen - (thank you Rachel!) fill a mixing bowl with ice and give them a random utinsel to stir with
• Pull them around on a blanket - lots of giggles and bumped heads!
• Bucket of Water - sometimes I turn the back porch faucet on drip, put a bucket underneath, hand them a cup, and let them play (supervised of course).
• Domino Tip - they like "helping" me set them up and "oooo" when we knock them down
• Make Jello - I sat on the floor with my ingredients and let them help me mix it. Once it set up in the fridge, I let em go at it with their hands.
• Couch Cushion Bounce - take all the cushions off the couch and put them in the middle of the floor, then let them go crazy
• Head Shoulders Knees and Toes - they think this one is a crack-up. I have a video for another day :)
• Playdough - just make sure they don't eat it. I'm always catching Jocelyn nibbling on the brown playdough, I think she thinks its an Oreo.
• Petco - can't go wrong with taking them to the pet store. We shriek at the mice, and then the birds, and then the fish. I think the employees there are starting to remember us.
• Construction Paper Painting - let them "paint" with water onto construction paper. It shows up darker and it doesn't make a mess like paint would! I got a cute video of them "painting" the other day. They're probably just as interested as dipping the brush in the water as painting. :)

Books still have to be our main source of entertainment though, so I'm constantly looking for new ones. I use ListMania on Amazon all the time to find new favorite toys, books, and kitchen stuff. It's nice to see others favorites, what they've tried, liked, and hated, and I've found some really great things from browsing around.  I've made a couple of book lists in the past detailing the girls favorite books at certain ages The most recent one is "Favorite Books at 18 Months Old". So if you're in the market for books in that age category, feel free to click-the-pic and check out what we've liked!

 And if you have any other good, in-house ideas for toddlers (its too hard for me to go out in 109 degree weather with them), PLEASE share them!!! I'd be SO grateful!