Toddlers are a funny lot. They are at an age where they get bored quickly, and too young to be left alone to play. As a parent, you need to make sure that your toddler is never left unattended. With a short attention span and a widely growing curiosity, keeping a toddler entertained is quite a task. Here are few fun outdoor activities for toddlers that will let them have fun and keep them occupied.
Play Hopscotch: Regular hopscotch can only be entertaining for so long. Make it interesting by adding shapes.
* You can start with a caterpillar, and add on circles for as long as your toddler wants.
* You can make it even more fun by timing it.
* Get creative and add antennae and eyes to the caterpillar.
* A bunch of kids can be kept involved in this game for a good amount of time.
Soap it up: Fill a bucket with water and add some no-tears shampoo to create foam. You can also add in a few drops of bubble bath gel for added fun.
* Throw in some sponges and let the toddler have fun cleaning their bicycles, scooters and other favorite rides. Water is always a fun element.
* After sufficient fun of scrubbing, allow her the access to the water hose.
* You can easily engage a toddler for half a day with this activity.
* Since she gets a good workout, she is bound to get tired and sleep better.
Hit the road: This is a fun activity and can inculcate urge of discovery, expedition and curiosity in the kid.
* Make little cards with direction arrows on them.
* Walk out with your kid and every time you hit a cross road, let him choose the direction with the cards.
* You can make it more fun by asking him to guess what he might encounter on the way.
* Some examples can be a puppy, an ice-cream corner, a banyan tree and the like.
* You can also make this a nature walk by collecting things on the way - a leaf, a pebble, dried twigs, feather etc. and stick them up in a scrap book.
Mud up: This is by far the most favorite activity of all toddlers.
* Select a safe place and assemble with the garden play set.
* Help your toddler by digging the soil initially.
* Let her follow your lead as you add water and soften the soil.
* Dig more and engage the kid too.
* In no time, you'll have enough mud to make models with.
* Create simple shapes.
* Use items to make moulds.
* Take care to make sure that your toddler isn't eating the mud though.
Grow a garden: Instill the love of nature in your child from a young age.
* Start slow by making a little garden
* You can use a toy bucket for a tiny herb.
* Let the toddler be involved in the process of making the perfect soil, the burying of seeds.
* Let him water it every day.
* When the toddler marvels at the beauty of the first growth of the herb, it will all be worth it.
The writer is a contributor at www.momjunction.com