Looking for things to teach a 1 year old? Get ideas for educational games, sensory activities and places to go with your toddler, at home and out and about! I'll admit, I'm the mom who wants to make sure her kids are learning all they can, even at a young age. After all, we've heard that kids are primed to learn about the world, and that giving them a head start can make a huge difference in how well they do in school. That said, I'm the last mom who'll stress about milestones or rely solely on apps and enrichment classes. I truly believe we can give toddlers all they need to learn using … [Read more...]

Want ideas for weekday evening activities for toddlers? These fun ideas offer quality time with your child during after work hours. Includes a free printable! For many parents, our time in the evenings can be pretty limited, especially during the week. Working parents might only have an hour or so to play before we need to cook dinner or pack for the next day. Lengthy bedtime routines or early bedtimes could cut our time shorter than usual. And even our go-to activities can get stale and repetitive, and we end up stuck in a rut. Here's the thing: For the most part, doing the same … [Read more...]

Discover fun 2 year old development activities! From educational to outdoor to craft activities, get a list of ideas to do with your toddler. I'll be upfront: I'm not your typical crafty mom. I don't stock sensory bins or organize trays of card stock at home. I also don't like how many activities seemed to focus on the parents' crafting skills, not necessarily the child's. And I'm more interested in child-directed learning, not necessarily the "final product." It's not so much about creating a beautiful item as it is about allowing kids to be curious and ask questions. Still, even … [Read more...]

Looking for fun places to take a 1 year old? Check out these ideas for things to do and where to take your toddler to play, both indoors and outdoors.   "I can't wait until my baby is a little older, maybe when he turns a year old," I confessed to a coworker. "That way, I don't have to carry him around so much. He could just walk anywhere he wants!" He tilted his head and smiled as he said, "I don't know about that. Things actually got more complicated when my kids learned to walk because they wanted to walk everywhere! Restaurants were the worst—we could never just sit down and … [Read more...]

This list of rainy day activities for 1 year olds is the best thing to have when bad weather hits! These indoor activities will keep you both happy and sane. Here in southern California, we don't get much rain the way other parts of the country do. We even joke that a light sprinkle is enough to set Los Angelenos in a frenzy driving on the road. Still, when it does rain, we wonder what to do with the kids all day. Even now, my kids love being outside and go stir-crazy when they're cooped up indoors. You can imagine how much harder it is for the 1 year old stage, when you can't exactly … [Read more...]