Toddler Activity: Colored Ice

Food Coloring + Water + Freezer = Colored Ice

 Add toddler, warm weather, and a sunny sidewalk.

Let toddler play, discovering colors. . .

 Counting. . .

Melting, and so much more.

Miles LOVED this activity.

Actually, he ignored it at first.  Then, Mommy dumped the ice cubes out on the sidewalk and began pushing them around.  For awhile, they were cars, creating their own tracks as they went.  Then, he lined them up, counting, "Wun, tooo, freee, fow-ah".  Then, he listed their colors (occasionally, he even said the correct color - mostly, he just said "poor-pul" [purple]).  Then, he put the ice cubes back in the tray, and we worked on matching the colors to the residue left in the tray.

Then, we just dumped them, and put them back, and dumped them, and put them back.  And played in the cool, colorful, quickly evaporating puddles.

**If you choose to do this, know that one drop of food coloring per ice cube is plenty for a bright coloring.  I put the water in first, added the coloring, then mixed with a toothpick.**

Quack! Quack!

When Miles wakes up in the morning, I let him play for a few minutes before I go get him.  It allows me time to finish up what I'm doing, and it helps him build independence.  Plus, he usually wakes up grouchy, and a little quiet time often goes a long way toward improving his mood.

Monday morning, I was sitting in the living room, listening to him on the monitor, and waiting for him to yell, "Mom!"  After a few minutes I heard, "Mom-mom!  Cack!  Cack! Cack! Duck!"  I was laughing so hard.  The kid is obsessed with ducks and walks around quacking all the time.  After a couple of minutes of this, I finally went in to get him.

I found him naked from the waist down, and playing in a puddle of his own making, utterly proud of himself.  "Mom-mom!  Hi, Mom-mom!" he said, "Duck! Cack! Cack!"

Apparently, this was a fun game, because he has woken up this way three days in a row, now.  So, other mommas: how do/did you keep diapers on a toddler who is way too smart for his own good?

The Entertainer

Yesterday morning, we went to toddler story time at a local library.  Since it's designed for toddlers, the format included lots of music and finger plays, with two short stories.  It's supposed to encourage the kids to get up and move a little.

So, I was floored to see the almost perfect circle of almost perfectly behaved toddlers, sitting quietly in their moms' laps the entire time.  Seriously, these kids, none of whom was more than two years old, sat quietly, just enjoying the show.

Meanwhile, my adorable son stood up right away, and decided that the center of the circle was a stage.  He danced.  He jumped.  He spun in circles.  In short, he performed for the other kids and their moms.  Occasionally, he would run around the perimeter, trying to get the other kids to join him, but to no avail.  It didn't seem to worry Miles, though.  He just went back to performing, completely comfortable with having the spotlight all to himself.  And at the end of each song, all of the toddlers would clap.

And Miles would toss both arms in the air for a moment, as if to say, "Ta da!"

Best.kid.ever.

The Tunnel

For Christmas, Miles got this amazing play tent with an attachable, collapsible tunnel.  We've gotten the tent out a few times, but unfortunately it just takes up waaaaaay too much room to leave it up all the time (which is a shame, since he loves it).  The tunnel, on the other hand, collapses easily, so it stays accessible.  Lately, Miles has been obsessed with the tunnel.

Yesterday, he brought me the flat tunnel, shoved it at me, and signed, "help, please!" while jumping up and down.  So, I opened it up and threw it down in the middle of the floor, expecting him to run away and ignore me for the next twenty minutes.

Instead, he moved the tunnel around until it was where he wanted it, then came over, closed my laptop, put my feet on the ground, and grabbed my hand like he was going to pull me out of the chair if he had to.  All the while, he was saying, "Mere! 'Mere!" [trans: Come Here!]

I followed him, excited to be involved in his play for once.  He led me to one end of the tunnel, and indicated that he wanted me to sit down.  Then, he pointed at the end of the tunnel, ran around to the other side, then crawled about halfway in, yelling, "Mere! Mere!"

I sighed, laid down flat on the floor, and wiggled my torso into the tunnel.  When I couldn't go any further, Miles crawled up until he was inches from my face, grinned really big, then laid down on his back, and started talking to me.  We stayed there, chatting, for the next twenty minutes.

My heart threatened to bust with the sheer joy of sharing secrets with my son.

Blowing Fire

So, I may have mentioned that my child occasionally watches that evil device known as a television, right?  Well, his favorite show is a beautiful little cartoon called, "Jane and the Dragon".  It's about a young girl, destined to be a lady-in-waiting, who has managed to earn the right to train for knighthood.  Her best friend is a full-sized, fire-breathing, snarky dragon.  This show is pure genius, in so many ways.  But, that's not the point.

The point is that this adorable show has been the catalyst for Miles' very first bout of pretend play.  He adores the show, and often gets very excited and jumps up when Dragon comes on the screen.  The other day, Dragon got really frustrated with a situation, and threw his head back, exhaling a stream of flame into the air.  Miles immediately threw his head back, exhaling sharply out of his lower lip.

I gasped.  I must have, because he turned to look at me.  "Miles?" I asked, "are you blowing fire like Dragon?"  He grinned, and did it again.  Since then, whenever he is frustrated with the world, he throws his head back and 'breathes fire'.

Then, on Tuesday, as Dragon flew off into the sky at the end of the episode, Miles threw his arms out to the sides, flapping them up and down like wings, and ran around the room, blowing fire.  He was pretending to be Dragon.

And they tried to make me feel guilty for letting him watch TV. :)

Mommy's Little Mimic

I have to tell you, I am loving toddlerhood.  The independence.  The personality.  The communication.

One of my favorite things, though, is having my own personal mimic.  It's hysterical (and a little bit scary) to see him act out things he has seen me do.  And it's not always immediately.  On the contrary, it's often hours - or even days - later, when he suddenly breaks out with something unexpected.

Most recently, it was a dance move.  To be fair, this kid has been copying dance moves for ages - he was copying gypsy dances before his first birthday.  But, Monday was the first time he has copied my silliness and turned it into a dance move.

Let me back up and explain, for those who don't have toddlers, that one of the best ways to entertain them is with a dance party.  Turn on the tunes and just go for it.  The crazier your moves, the more they enjoy it.  So, while listening to Remarkable Cows from Sandra Boynton's Philadelphia Chickens CD,* Mommy broke out her Rockette's style kick-line.  All by myself.  And I may or may not have fallen over at the end of it.  But only because I was kicking and shaking my foot wildly to induce a Giggle Fit.

Two hours later, when Miles played the ABC song on his music table, I saw those same high kicks coming from my son.  He was shrieking with laughter, wiggling his butt, waving his arms, and kicking his leg up every couple of steps.  When the song ended, he fell over backward and wiggled his feet for all he was worth.

And then, of course, he applauded himself.

*Seriously, go find this book/CD combo if you have a toddler.  It is the.best.  Bar none.