More Tot Fun

I'm still working on things that really engage Miss L during our school time. Miss H still seems pretty content to sit in the playpen & play & such. Although, today I did switch them out for a bit & gave Miss H some time in the high chair & Miss L time in the playpen during school. That seems to work okay, but not great. Miss H is still pretty young & I find it hard to find safe things for her to do at 14 months old. I think another couple months will show great changes in that area though.

So today I cut down the tall Pringles can that we have been using for the straw activity. Miss L loves using the straws & can. When I made it smaller, it was that much easier for her to manage it now. The straws now stand a couple inches above the top of the can & that seems to be a good size for her. She isn't constantly having to pull it down to peer inside. ;-)

However, today I think I hit on a new love....

I cut a wide hole in the top of a nut can. I happened to have some state disks (not sure what they are really made for. I got them from my aunt who used to teach fourth grade). Miss L loved this! She spent at least 20 minutes playing with it.
She spent some time trying to figure out how to get the top off. She never did figure it out. So this is what would happen when it was full...
I was always happy to help her.

I did switch out the state disks for more durable poker chips. I didn't mind if she put these in her mouth since they are heavy plastic while the disks were just cardboard. She wasn't thrilled that I switched them out. I think she liked the colors of better on the state disks.
I love the look on concentration on her face in this photo.
I even managed to get sort of a smile out of her! She's a tough one. ::grin:: I pulled this out again in the afternoon for her & she was just way too cute. She saw the can & started doing her "uh-uh-uh" noises when she wants something & started flapping her hands. She spent quite a bit of time in the playpen putting the chips in & out once more.

I also found out what does not work for Miss L...

This is a matching game that I got in a preschool activity bag swap a few months ago. I knew she wouldn't be able to match it yet. I didn't even try teaching her that part. I just wanted to see what she would do with them. She smashed them on the tray & she picked up all the cards & held them in one hand. It did keep her busy for about five minutes.

I also put a bunch of liquid soap in a baggie (within another baggie). Then I gave her a matchbox car. I showed her how to squish it around, drive the car on it, just had fun with it. She wasn't impressed. She wanted the car but did not want that soap baggie at all.

I'll continue to try things out with her & make a list of what works and what doesn't. I'm hoping to have a nice long list of activities to keep her happily occupied for the three hours it takes us to get through our school day.