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Mum2ET 
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Location: Whangaparaoa
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 Topic: Entertaining a 10 month old
Posted: 02 May 2008 at 9:19am |
Help! I need ideas for entertaining a very mobile 10 month old at home. Have enrolled her for jumping beans this term and have a free trial music lesson, so hopefully they can fill up some of the time, and I am also looking at taking her to a playgroup....but I need some ideas for what to do at home, particularly on a rainy day. She seems to have a very short attention span (which I am assuming is normal for her age) and plays with one toy for 5 mins and then is ready for something else. I am also looking for activities that she can do by herself, so I can get a bit of housework done.
TIA
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Ella (5) and Tom (2)
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MrsMojo
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Location: Wellington
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Posted: 02 May 2008 at 10:11am |
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We used to sit Michaela in a washing basket with a pile of toys.
A banana box (or any box with a hole cut in the bottom) turned upside down and a bunch of pegs or other objects are hours of fun - kids love to post.
Jolly jumper (my life saver!!)
Obstacle course: when (or if she is already) Ella starts moving around the furniture you can pull chairs into the lounge and set up a course using the couch, chairs, tables etc with each piece of furniture a step away. This will help with her confidence too, as she gets steady on her feet you can move each piece of furniture further away from the next piece.
Tunnel: We got a tunnel when Michaela was younger and then were given a tunnel and tent set for Christmas. She loves crawling through her tunnels. I think you can get them very cheaply brand new (under $15) or even cheaper if you find one on TM.
I can't think of anything else right now but I have a book at home full of toddler activities so will check tonight to see what else is recommended for her age.
Edited by MrsMojo
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Mum2ET
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Posted: 02 May 2008 at 1:27pm |
Thanks MrsMojo. Would be interested to see what else your book says. What is the name of the book? maybe I can check our local library to see if they have it.
Yes she is walking, so I like the idea of an obstacle course. She loves climbing over things, so I quite often pull all the cushions off the couch and let her climb all over them. We just got one of the tent & tunnel sets, which she enjoys playing in.
If only the cats would stay inside and play with her, then she could just chase them all over the place and that would keep her entertained for ages........
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sparkle
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Posted: 02 May 2008 at 3:13pm |
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I have a kitchen box for Cooper for when I'm making dinner. It's an old cardboard box filled with different food boxes (crackers, egg carton, paper towel etc) and cooking utensils. Seems to keep him occupied for the time we're in there.
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kebakat
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Posted: 02 May 2008 at 5:44pm |
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Cardboard boxes are great! I did the groceries today and used boxes rather than bags and Daniel thought it was heaven playing with them and hiding in them.
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MrsMojo
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Posted: 02 May 2008 at 7:53pm |
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The book is called Toddler Play (100 fun filled activities to maximise your toddler's potential). I got it out from the library so hopefully your library has a copy too.
There are 35 pages of activites for Ella's age group (well 12m and up actually but close enough). They include:
* pass the ball (roll, kick or hand it to each other)
* lots of rhymes and action songs
* bubble bursting (you can even get a bubble machine pretty cheaply from the warehouse if you want to do something else while she's playing with bubbles)
* kitchen musical instruments (Michaela loved having a pot and a couple of wooden spoons to bash it with when she was younger - my wooden spoons now have ribbons tied to them for her to dance with)
* peekaboo boxes: gets lots of small boxes in different sizes, shapes & colours. Paste pictures of family members and or easily recognisable objects (toys, animals etc) inside the lid of each box.
* cardboard cottages (we built little forts for Michaela with dining chairs and sheets)
* fun filled jars: put toys or colourful scarfs inside a couple of jars and encourage her to open them to grab the item out.
This is the first time I've had a decent look through the book, it's actually quite good, definitely worth seeing if you can get your hands on a copy.
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Mum2ET
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Posted: 02 May 2008 at 8:09pm |
Thanks Mrs Mojo- will see if our library has that book
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Rachael21
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Posted: 02 May 2008 at 10:39pm |
Just trying to think what we did with Jack. The upside of having 2 close together is that now they play together most of the time
-Blocks, Caprece loves knocking down towers
-Pegs and 2 buckets Jack would spend hours putting them into each box
-Books are always great
-Crayons
I used to just take Jack around the house with me and find something in each room for him to play with, usually just a new environment was exciting enough.
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Glow
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Posted: 03 May 2008 at 9:29am |
There are heaps of neat books re entertainning babies in the library. One I like (& got out of the library several times lol) is "Baby Games" it covers from birth to 3yrs indoor/outdoor activities, songs etc.
I agree with Rach, its been easier the second time with the older sibling as Kalyx has someone to follow other than me. Playcentre/playgroup would be a good way for her to watch & play alongside other kiddies
Brae always enjoyed water & messy play as a toddler so i set up an indoor sandpit for him- where i poured rice etc into a large box or tray provided small containers, funnels etc, to scoop & pour with. He had fun for ages with that & i would even let him help to vacuum it up ( since he had a fetish for the vaccuum as well) Another was gloop on the highchair or the non messy version i did was shaving cream with food colour into a snaplock bag. He loved to bang etc on the bag. And if all else failed he loved music
Happy playing
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Mummy of Two Boys
B: 2004
K: 2007
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aussiegirl
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Posted: 03 May 2008 at 10:17am |
Could you get some different toys from a local Toy Library? Something different to keep Ella's interest? Then you can go back and get something else next time etc
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Mum2ET
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Posted: 03 May 2008 at 1:58pm |
 aussiegirl wrote:
Could you get some different toys from a local Toy Library? Something different to keep Ella's interest? Then you can go back and get something else next time etc |
Yeah have just been checking out our local toy lirbary this morning and I think we are going to join- luckily there is no waiting list and at $80 a year I think it will be worth while.
Thanks for the suggestions guys
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miss
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Posted: 05 May 2008 at 7:32pm |
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Here is a link to heuristic play boxes, which kids love.
http://www.helium.com/items/522182-really-themprobably-notthese-heuristic
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Entertaining a 10 month old
Mum to Hayley 
