Creative Toys Ideas for an Active Toddler

Yao is at the age where she just wouldn't sit still. So it takes up a lot of my energy and time entertaining her. I was looking for alternatives to keep her occupied without the television. A friend shared some toys ideas and I find them very creative. I have tried some of them, not all works for my super active toddler but I would like to document them here.

Non-cook playdough with natural colouring (April 2015): 

At first I tried the non-cook version, but Yao got curious and tasted it. So ever since then, I opted for the cooked version. If store in air-tight container, it should be able to last for about 1 year.

The red colour is from beetroot, recipe from here

Stickers made from felt (May/June 2015): 

I was researching for suitable stickers for ~1 year old plus toddler, but noticed that Yao is still not ready for it. So a friend suggested that I make one from felt instead. However, Yao is not interested in it, only SJ enjoyed playing with them so far. 

Face parts stickers

Shapes stickers

Kumon Lets Sticker and Paste(May/June 2015):
It took awhile for Yao to learn how to peel out the stickers and pasted them accordingly. She tended to paste them on top of each other instead of spreading them out. But over time, she learnt how to paste the stickers at the allocated boxes, even though not exactly inside. She still needed help with peeling the sticker as it will tear. She finished the sticker part in just 2 days, so I kept the book for sometime before introducing her to the 2nd part, which needs to apply glue and paste it herself. I should probably take a picture of her work, but till then, you can refer to here on how it looks like inside.

Taken on one of the nights she refused to sleep!

Colour sorter using pom pom balls (June 2015): 

This is considered a hit so far. Yao can play and play with it for a longer period of time without getting bored. Initially, she adhered to the color code. But after a while, she refused to follow. She only likes to insert the pom pom balls into the holes. I love it in the sense that the balls won't fall out by itself, so it reduces the chance of losing the balls when I'm not watching her play. Even both Jie Jies also enjoy playing with this game.

Stacking Tower(June 2015): 
This is something that Yao designed on her own. I have no idea where she got the idea. She even put away those containers herself after playing with it!

See how tall the tower can go up to? :)

Things That Go Together

Guess what I've been up to? Yes, I'm busy sorting things out. I've got this pressie from Aunty Swee Lin during my 2nd birthday where I need to find the matching pair of the things that go together. And hey, I've got all these correct! All by myself :)

Mommy considered this as a great accomplishment because I took just 1 month to get them all right. I could even teach Mommy the difference between a basketball and a tennis ball coz she always mixed them up. But I've been lazy lately and wouldn't want to complete the whole thing now, so that's why you only saw the above.

Of Pressies and Toys

I had many presents from my 2nd birthday, and most of them were toys. I did get some clothes, shoes and books too, of course apart from the ang pows.

Here are some of my belated birthday gifts, but I loved them all the same.


How do I play this, Daddy?

Amah also gave me a bicycle, which was rather different from the one that Kim Poh gave me (hey, yes. I have 2 bicycles this year!). After a few days, I managed to cycle around on my own, much to her delight. You see, there's a small compartment at the bag to put my bunny backpack too. And I've had fun playing with the drawing board that Mommy bought for me. However, I always crossed my boundaries and even scribbled the red frame too. That caused Daddy to be angry, so finally he put some papers on top and reminded me not to cross the boundaries.

Well, there were other boundaries to take note of too, but I didn't comply. One day, I was left alone for awhile, and when Mommy came to check on me, she saw that I've scribbled my hand, arm and even the sleeve of my T-shirt with the blue marker pen. She was really angry and tried to clean me and my T-shirt. Unfortunately, my shirt's ink could not come off. So from then onwards, everytime I wanted to draw, Mommy would let me wear her black T-shirt so that the ink wouldn't show. Daddy laughed at me and said that I looked like Harry Potter... What do you think?

What friends are for...

I have lots of little friends at home... here's my own collection:

And here's the passdowns from Mommy. She's a fan of these as well, and most of them are gifts from Daddy :)

Well, they have become my little companions in a way. Now, I would insist to bring at least one or two of them when we go kai kai. And if I fell down or hurt myself, besides seeking comfort in Mommy and Daddy, I would also ask my doggy or bear bear or miao miao to sayang me. There's once I decided that I don't want to sit on my high chair when eating dinner. I insisted to sit on the couch and watch TV at the same time. Mommy doesn't like this idea so she brought Doggy to the high chair and feed him instead, praising him all the while! I can't stand all the attention he's getting, so I finally went to sit on my high chair and poor doggy has to give way to me.

Also, when I was reading at my desk, I would insist to have Doggy or Barney to sit beside me on the same chair. Of course they would fall down most of the time due to lack of space, so Mommy would have to hold them (since only half of their buttock can fit on the chair only) while I did my readings.

And hey, would you believe me? It reached a stage where I wouldn't let Daddy sat on that chair (we were in restaurant and there's an empty chair between mine and Daddy's. Just because it's supposed to be for little Pooh Pooh!

Shapes & Colors do matter

Daddy & Mommy have got this shapes & colors sorter toy for me long before I was born. I used to throw them around when I was smaller, since I didn't know what they really were. Now, finally I know how to play with this toy. But unfortunately, I've lost 3 of them.

Anyway, there are 9 more for me to play with. I've mastered them all and could insert all of them into the sorter. After repeated this for a few times, I finally get bored and would try other alternatives to insert them into the sorter. But towards the end, shapes & colors do matter.... there's no other way to put them in except at the right hole!

Daddy knew it when I purposely placed one of them at the wrong hole and looked up at Daddy to see his reactions. Then he would say, "Yes, that's the right one", to test me. I would then shake my head and put at the right hole instead.

Here's a clip of how I managed to put two of them into the correct hole.

My first Lego set

Daddy bought me my first Lego set yesterday from Jusco. Today, I was experimenting with it and trying to build some blocks. This is the robot that Daddy made for me, don't you think that it's cool? :)

Tigger

I got a present, a CNY gift from Aunty Lean Nee, mommy's good friend on Feb 16, 2007. When I first got it, I was quite afraid of it, coz it'll vibrate when it's tail is being pulled. At that time, I still don't know how to pull its tail.

Now, after 2 months, I could actually pull it's tail, and know that it's called Tigger. Thanks a lot, Aunty Lean Nee :)