educational fun

anyone have any good ideas for educational things to do with 18 month olds?  i'm running out of ideas and need some help. 

Comments

[carosgram]

Water play is great for this age. I let my children and grandchildren 'wash dishes'. You can set them up at the sink or if you have a wadding pool or even a table with a bowl of water on it work. Give her plastic containers, measuring cups, strainers, wooden spoons, soap bubbles, etc. Pouring from one container into another is great fun and actually educational. Doing the same things with sand is great. Using chocolate pudding as finger paint is another activity she'll enjoy and it doesn't matter if she licks her fingers. Sorting is another activity she might enjoy - separating the darks from the whites for laundry or learning where to put toys. A 'dusting rag' can occupy an 18 month old for 20-30 minutes. This is the age where they want to imitate adults. Let her help you around the house. Enjoy! She'll never want to do any of these things when she is really old enough to be of help.

[mamamarta]

what do you mean by "educational"?

[mamaloo]

you should come get that play kitchen & set it up in your kitchen so she can "cook" when you cook.

check out the classes at Dishman too. maybe they still have that "messy art" class going...

[afrindiemum]

educational like - help her develop her mind her speech and vocabulary and exhaust some of her motor skills at the same time. does that make sense? things we can do together and things that will occupy her on her own for bits of time here and there.

[alchemist]

Do you have a "michael's" art supply store? They sell crayons that kids can use in the tub - draw on the tub, draw on themselves, etc, and it washes right off. Color wonder markers & paper are also cool (although maybe better for 2 year olds? not sure if an 18 month old will try to eat them). Anyway the color wonder markers only mark on the special paper, not on your rug and stuff.

Lego bricks (the big fat kind, for babies) are pretty cool too - good for color recognition etc.

And there's a bunch of good books for babies her age - there's one that's a book of emotions, with photos of babies making happy/angry/sad etc faces. Forget what it's called but it's in the board book section at any borders. "Brown bear brown bear what do you see?" is popular with the toddlers in my crew (sorry, that's probably not the right title).

[CityMama]

Oh, this is the hardest age. They're so on the move and thrive on interactive-ness more than ever.

If you can I would sign up for classes. Maybe take a swim class one day and a dance or messy art class another. We try to have one outing/activity to do everyday. Between playdates, museum trips or library outings, and classes, our week if full and that's how I like it! I panic when I look at the calendar and see a wiiiiiide open day!

Right now Wallie loves drawing and playing with Play Doh. Z. is also the perfect age for a sand and water table. You can make one or buy one. (or come get ours this weekend?)

[Ann]

Any children's museums or science museums in your area? We like going to our local museum a lot. Classes are great...gymnastics, music, art, etc.

The library is a fun activity...our has lots of puzzles, CDs and other stuff for kids in addition to the books.

Maybe plant some seeds together? Prepare food together? Visit a fun neighborhood and see what you discover. Visit a farmer's market. How about going somewhere to see something being made...a cider mill, ice cream factory, etc?

[Andy]

I've been exploring the Spring Catalog's for Portland Parks and Rec. The community centers have lots of fun things for little one's. They have a messy arts for kids under 2 and a tumbling class for kinds under 2 and a half (I think). There are quite a few in SE that are great, but I haven't explored many others.

http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?ShowResults=yes&AmenityTypeID=7

I'm looking for a great park for us now that it seems to be warming up.

[shannon]

Check it out:

http://twinklelittlestar.typepad.com/letter/2006/02/happy_1st_birth.html

[cloudscome]

My boys always love blocks and legos. Knocking down piles is a big joy at this age and they start building towers too.

Anything with containers, baskets, etc. that they can dump and put things in and out, in and out will keep them occupied for a while.

Sand and water are GREAT too!

We like wooden puzzles too. They make nice ones for toddlers with little red knobs to make it easier to take in and out.

Mix up some playdough and give her some spoons and bowls to play with. Google "play dough recipe" and look for the one with Cream of Tartar. It is the best and lasts a long time if you keep it in the fridge.

[HeatherJ]

Our daughter Aly is really into anything that has to do with the either a) food, she loves to repeat all the types of food at the grocery store, and b)animals, she is fascinated at the zoo or just the park watching the squirrels and dogs. I find at this age that almost anything we do with her helps her vocabulary skills, she is just a sponge.

[Katie]

Almost anything active, that she participates in, is educational at this age. About the only things that aren't, I reckon, are "just" watching TV (i.e. with no comment or interaction from whoever she's watching with), and trying to get her to copy what you say without any more to the conversation ("say dog" "say cat" rather than "ooh, look at the dog, what's he doing? he's playing with the ball, isn't he?" - slightly older children, and some nursery school teachers, tend to have the idea that the former is how to teach language).

[karenS]

as far as vocabulary - just talk! narrate everything and ask Z questions. activities - today we bought a box of ladybugs at the hardware store (in the plant area), then walked to the park and released them. it took hours and was totally engrossing. neighborhood walks are also fun and very time-consuming, since we stop to climb every fire hydrant, talk with every neighbor, etc. i second having Z help with housework, and i LOVE the bathtub crayons more than anything.

[shirky]

mowing the lawn would challenge her intellectually and physically. Plus, you get your lawn mowed for cheap.

[CityslickerMom]

We just got a leappad thing which is REALLY great for building on their reasoning skills, etc. Also, in the educational section of toy stores we like the different flash cards of sorts with pictures and letters and numbers. Both really great for one on one time.

[elsa]

Hi. See if you can find a copy of the book, _Things to Do with Toddlers and Twos_ by Karen Miller.

It is incredibly amazingly full of lots of simple and readily available things to do with your little ones.

A few ideas:

wash things : dishes, baby dolls,clothes

"paint" your house, or the sidewalk, whatever, with a big fat paint brush and plain water. For added kicks, draw with chalk first, then paint it off.

and she has soo soo many more.

Good luck. This is my favorite age. One is just so amazing -- it is a year of so much change.