Fun with One

The more active my spirited little Miss B gets, the more I have to think of creative and fun ways to expel her energy.

Arts and crafts are out because she's not interested in them just yet.

Baking or cooking is also out because her interest can't be held long enough to get out bowls let alone measure flour.

Playing outside is off the list because it's way too cold and she's battling a cough and runny nose.

So how did we amuse ourselves today?  With a sheet!  A cheap, no frills, double-bed sheet served as a parachute as we sang and shook it to our hearts content.  Here are some of the games I came up with:

• Tent or Castle: We would lift the sheet up and run underneath it.  When one person calls "tent", we sit down.  When one person calls "castle", we stand up.  Miss B thought this was hilarious.
• Fast and slow: Start by shaking the sheet.  When someone yells "fast", you shake the sheet as fast as you can.  When someone yells "slow", you slow it right down.  Miss B prefers the fast one.  It makes her giggle.  It's also a good workout for my biceps.
• Bouncy Ball: Hunt down all the balls in the house.  Lay them in the middle of the sheet and start shaking.  Try to guess which one will stay on the longest.  Or... shake the sheet and try to keep all the balls from bouncing off.
• Tunnel: I draped the sheet over the couch and two bean bag chairs to create a tunnel.  Because of where the bean bags were placed, there was one long tunnel and one tiny tunnel.  Miss B could crawl through it and even walk (since she's still so little).  We had a blast chasing each other around and through the tunnel.
• Kerplunk: We climbed on the couch while the tunnel was still in place.  We took all the balls from before and placed them one at a time on the edge of the couch.  We let them go to see how far they would roll off the tunnel.
• Secret Slide: I used the sheet to cover the top of the little slide that Miss B has downstairs.  She thought it was great to "break through" the sheet while going down the slide.  We even used the sheet as a magic carpet.
• Train: Fold the sheet up lengthwise and you've got yourself a little train to pull your munchkin around on.  This is something that Miss B loves.  She sits or lays down and takes in the scenery.  There have been times when I have pulled her around for 20 minutes!

The great thing about only having one child is being able to participate in games and activities with her.  The drawback is that I have to become not only the mom but the sibling too since there's no one else to entertain her.

If you have any other great, simple, easy to prepare activities for engaging and spirited toddlers, please share!!