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? :)