As a busy mom of two (soon to be three) I'm always looking for fun and easy ways to entertain my children without putting them in front of a screen. Sometimes you just need ten minutes to finish up dinner or to clean up the front room real quick and your children are hanging on you the whole time. Don't get me wrong, I love snuggling with my munchkins but I also need to get some things done every once in a while.
So we are always trying to come up with fun things to do but I also want the activities to be engaging and educational if possible. These activities do not require a lot of prep and probably use things that you already have in your house. If you want even more fun and easy ideas check out this other post I did last year: 4 Easy Highchair Activities for 1 Year Old's
Cap Drop Box
Take an empty container (I used an empty snack cylinder) and cut a slot opening in the top. Collect a couple of milk or juice bottle lids and let your child have fun putting them through the open slot. This will keep them busy for a while and is a great activity to work on their fine motor skills.
I also decided to use a sharpie and add numbers to the caps. My toddler is currently very interested in numbers so I figured this would be a great way to help her practice counting. You could also do ABC's, colors or shapes depending on your child.
Magnet Fun
All you need for this one is some fun magnets and a magnetic board. I used a basic white dry erase board that I have on my fridge because it fits perfectly on the high chair. You could also use a small baking sheet.
Give your little one some magnets and let them have fun while you have a few minutes to do something else. My daughter kept saying the names of the animals for this one and making their sounds. While I was doing some dishes I was also asking her to pick out certain animals for me and point out what colors they were for some added educational value.
Water Painting
Who says you need actual messy paint to do a painting activity? Simple grab a piece of colored construction paper and tape it to the highchair or table. Give your child a shallow dish filled with water or if your highchair has cupholders fill up one of those with water. That way they cannot throw the dish or spill the water.
Hand them a paintbrush and let them dip it in the water and paint! The paper will turn darker from the water so they can still explore making a picture or shapes while not making a huge mess. If they get a little on themselves it's just water so no big deal!
DIY Felt Puzzles
If your children are like mine they probably like to throw everything off of their highchair. I have a ton of cute wooden puzzles but they would always end up getting tossed and hitting someone or something.
So instead I made up a couple cute puzzles out of felt. All you have to do is grab a large piece of felt and cut out some simple shapes. Draw with a marker on the large piece to create a puzzle for them to match up. It's so easy and as an added bonus if they are thrown they will not break anything!
Did you try any of these activities with your young ones and if you did what was their favorite? Leave a comment below and don't forget to subscribe for more fun ideas!
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