Toddler FUN at home!

I have a toddler... 

When you hear those words, a rush of thoughts run through your head..

" Aaaaawwww.... ooohhhh.... woooow...., " hahaha.

Well, I have a toddler... I stare at him every day and still ask myself: where... I mean WHERE does he get all that energy from????????? ( sometimes I even get jealous, and wish I could figure out how to get some of that for me!!! whatever he's eating, I want it too!) there came a point in which I was running out of ideas on how to keep him entertained and happy, and still be able to get something done around the house!

So I talked to my sister Ines... She's like my other mom... she is the one who took care of me when my mom had to work two jobs to feed the four of us kids and wasn't at home all day... I look up to my sister and I absolutely LOVE her...

So anyways, she told me what she would do with me when I was a toddler and, later on, with her own son.

Her advice was to make the little one feel productive and that he's a part of the house. To get him involved in the house chores and make him feel he's awesome at it... to get creative and be ready for it to get messy! 

So, if you need ideas to get your toddler busy, here are four things that work like magic for me! 

#1 Do dishes:

It doesn't take much! Just give him a couple of clean plastic plates, cups, etc and a clean sponge ( I always put a drop of detergent because he loves bubbles, but he already knows not to put his little hands in his mouth or eyes).Voila!

#2 Wash his tennis shoes:

It's pretty much the same concept. I got him a small brush and put his converses in warm water with a tiny bit of detergent. HE LOVED IT! he was brushing away and playing with the bubbles. After he was done (which was a WHILE later), I finished the job and we had a happy child and clean shoes! (Although my kitchen floor became the Mississippi river =D

#3 Flour car tracks:

Ok, this one will get messy no matter what. But it's so worth it! I take his little wooden table outside, bring a bunch of cars, and make mountains of flour... he can spend an entire afternoon out there playing with them!! Of course, by the end of it, your child looks like he's been attacked by a gang of flour packs, but hey! the smile in his face is priceless!!!

#4 Gardening:

I have three words for this one: FUN FUN FUN! It's not hard at all, they love the "digging in the dirt" part of it, and by having to water their plants every day, it gives them a sense of responsibility. My mom planted some flowers in our garden. Every day, Josiah would grab his watering bucket and ask me to fill it so that he could water the plants "abu" planted with him. EVERY DAY. I mean, I don't even water my garden every day!. That's how much he loved it!

My kids are little, and I feel like there's so much I still need to learn!! But I love the journey, I love the smiles, giggles and cooes. In the end, it's all worth it!

ps: what do you (or did you) do to keep your little ones busy?

xoxoxo