How to Entertain a One-Year-Old

As I've said before, the laid back days of having a newborn are long gone.. in fact, we're now in full blown toddler mode! Jackson is definitely his own little person with lots of personality and opinions and I want to make sure he keeps learning, engaging, and growing. With that being said, I've tried to find different hands on activities for him to do that build his motor skills and keep him busy (this kid will not sit down to watch a movie which is both a blessing and a curse).

Here are a few of the different activities/crafts we've tried so far:

The Homemade Ball Pit

One of my friends gave me this idea.. I bought a 150 count bag of ball pit balls and poured them into his pack and play--he had a blast sifting through them but was more interested in putting them back into the bag (pictured). This little activity has gifted us with hours of entertainment and I plan to continue using the balls for future activities (like learning and sorting colors)!

 Stickers

I never knew that a one-year-old could grasp the concept of stickers until we went to dinner at a place that had them on the kids menu--Jax was hooked! I thought he'd be too young to really get it but he's been stickin' away! We're currently decorating Valentines for family which has been fun for both of us--he loves choosing which sticker to use, putting it on the card, and then scribbling around them with his (washable) markers.

Edible Play-Doh

I made this edible peanut butter play-doh and gave Jax a few cookie cutters, plastic utensils, and bowl of sprinkles and let him go to town! He was a lot more interested in the sprinkles than he was the play-doh (for the record, the dough tastes amazing) but it was a fun thing to do on a snowy Colorado day.

2-Ingredient Play-Doh

Who would have thought that mixing conditioner and corn starch could make such an interesting toy? This was another snow day activity that we did (recipe here) and it was a hit! This was much tackier and easier to mold than the PB dough and Jax seemed to like playing with it more.

Sift & Find Bottle

Our local library has a little shelf with "I-Spy" books with these bottles and I thought they were the coolest thing ever! To make ours, I used an empty water bottle, about 1 1/2 cups of rice, and little knick knacky things I found in my office (giant paper clip, clothes pin, cotton ball, etc.) and let Jax shake the bottle around to find the different treasures. He may still be a little young for it but he seems to be understanding it a bit more each day.

These are a few of Jackson's and my favorite things to do when we're home (other favorites include building blocks, Little People play sets, chasing the cat, and crawling through tunnels). What types of hands on activities do your toddlers enjoy?