From the category archives:

Toddler

Check out the library

May 2, 2011

Your challenge this week is to seek out the tot story time your library and go there. Space out while someone else entertains your baby with a new voice and stories. Double check the time before you go. And, hey, be on time. If you’re 5 minutes late, you’ll miss half of it. This is [...]

Activity #173: Chase the garbage truck

March 9, 2011

My friend Mike used to take his toddler Miles out for Garbage Truck Friday each week without fail. They did it for years. Their routine included picking up muffins from the local bakery and following the garbage truck all over Oakland for an hour or so. It was something that they both looked forward to. [...]

Activity #306: Photograph a day in the life

February 23, 2011

Create a photo series to capture your baby’s hobbies and routines (eating and sleeping!) at three months, six months, and nine months. They may seem like mundane moments to whip out the camera now, but that’s exactly why it’s a good idea. I wish I had had this idea when Holden was “little”… at the [...]

Activity #243: Play hopscotch inside

January 28, 2011

The only thing missing from this idea is the description of how I’m blissfully catching a few minutes on the laptop or drinking a cocoa while this is all going on. I love the toddler and preschooler games where I can sit in one place and still participate like if I’m the toll collector while [...]

Activity #239: Play with magnets away from the fridge

January 19, 2011

Whoever invented refrigerator magnets must not have minded their children blocking access to the refrigerator. I don’t get this. I like to take the magnets off the fridge. Put them in muffin tins or on a cookie sheet. Lots of fun and much more portable than the fridge.

What’s a toddler pillow? (Giveaway!)

January 13, 2011

You know how some words seem really weird if you say them over and over again? Well, “toddler pillow” is one of those for me. I said it a bunch and then I started to wonder if it even is a thing. Toddlerpillow? But it is! It is a thing! My kids both have toddler [...]

Photograph your toddler’s obsession

January 12, 2011

Are you tired of every other word being “choo choo” or “car” or “princess” (am I just projecting here?)? Whatever your child’s obsession, this too shall pass, so take some pictures of your babe at his happiest, surrounded by the objects of his affection. And make sure to get in on the fun yourself. In [...]

Activity #208: Pitch a tent

December 28, 2010

My friend Jeanine once told me there’s lots of fun time to be had with a baby at an outdoor store like REI: you just set up a sweet pad in the display tent with several of the Thermarest mattresses, chirping bird toys, and bright colored water bottles and have a blast. The first time [...]

7 gift ideas and 4 family outings

December 16, 2010

Last week on BabyCenter.com, I wrote up gift ideas for toddlers and preschoolers. (Hint: one of them is a ukelele.) Hop over there to read through them all 7 flippin’ awesome things for your kids! This week on BabyCenter, Heather shared four FUN outings for your dysFUNctional family. Don’t keep a houseful of related people [...]

Video post: making smart choices about toys

December 10, 2010

We made this video with the folks at LEGO and we are dying to know if you like watching videos or not. Have a look and tell us what you think!

Build your toddler a play kitchen

December 9, 2010

I love a kid-sized kitchen and the creative ways that my children can stay focused with their pretend desserts and imaginary pasta dishes (while I make a real dinner they may or may not even taste). I have been soooo close to purchasing a miniature kitchen for my boys the past couple years, but something [...]

Activity #344: Find your rainy day meccas

November 16, 2010

What do Studio Grow, Sadie Dey’s Cafe, Habitot, and even the Berkeley YMCA have in common? They’re all fighting for my rainy day toddler entertainment dollars. Whitney challenged me to go to them all (not a problem, I was making the rounds anyway) and write up my opinions. Several years later, it has led to [...]

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →