Hellobee

I love that I have a very diverse group of mommy friends where I can mix and match my parenting styles. Sometimes I feel totally fine buying the hottest toy on Amazon (ridiculous blinking lights and all), and sometimes I want to save a few bucks and try creating random things from around the house. Here are some of my personal creations and some things I bought that lasted longer than a few weeks. These have kept Baby Pencil entertained at 21 months!

Ball Pit in a cardboard box: Baby Pencil absolutely loves this! I ordered something that came in a large box – and I mean huge box! I knew there were lots of possibilities with this box. First it was a fort, but now it’s a very successful ball pit. I liked how it’s much more sturdier than the ones you can buy online. It’s big enough to fit another child for playdates. The most kids in this box was 4!

Reusable Stickers: Baby Pencil got into the sticker phase and it’s been really fun having him stick and re-stick things. I realized what a waste it was to buy stickers when they just ended up being garbage within 2-3 “sticks.” So I found these cute reusable stickers with cute backgrounds. I taped them to our Ikea easel so that it could be more at his eye level.

Interesting puzzles with noise: We got this as a gift and Baby Pencil loves it! He’s actually not too great with puzzles (he gives up way too quickly), but these create a noise when you get the right puzzle in so there’s a greater reward. Super cute and easy!

Crayons in a box: I think it’s great for Baby Pencil to have the freedom to draw as much as he wants in a safe space. I try to make it clear that crayon drawing can only be done in the box. But he loves being able to scribble on the bottom sides and top of the cardboard box. I tried this with markers and it got messy pretty quickly, so I would stick with crayons!

String + random item: I knew there were endless possibilities with this string (used to tie meats), so I started out by tying it to a car and having Baby Pencil walk around the house. I made the string very long so that he can see the effects of dragging it from a short distance and a long distance. I change it up by tying it to different things around the house, even if it doesn’t have wheels.

Oatmeal or formula can with popsicle sticks: Baby Pencil grew bored of this a couple months ago, but when I brought it back he started to like it again. I cut holes in a lid and had him insert popsicle sticks in the slots. He can do this for a very long time.

Cups: My goodness, why do kids like cups so much? He likes to pretend drinking out of it and we have little tea sessions with his animals. We make believe with cups and take sips until we are drunk off of air. I love that this was one of the very first ways I saw him “taking care” of someone other than himself. I clap and reward him with praises when he’s generous and offers a drink to me or one of his animals.

Trying on hats: I have several different hats and for some reason Baby Pencil loves trying them on! Of course, I have to be wearing one to start it off and then he’ll want to wear one. He runs over to the mirror and likes to shake his head. This one is a very emotionally exhausting one because you’ve got to have a million different compliments and things to say each time!

Slinky: Baby Pencil got a mini slinky as a party favor from a birthday party and he couldn’t get enough! I decided to buy him a bigger one on Amazon and he loves swinging it around. It’s lost its original form now and the poor slinky has been through a lot, but Baby Pencil still enjoys bending it in all sorts of directions.

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What are some other things you can do around the house? I like to call these “rainy day projects”!