Keeping toddlers busy

As I may have mentioned before, my boys are busy!


I don't necessarily mean running through the house, jumping off the walls all day long (though that does happen), but I just mean their attention span is short and they like to be stimulated all. day. long.  Now that they're nearing 3, their attention is starting to increase, but it has been a challenge to keep them busy up until now.

On the weekend and family days, we tend to spend our time outdoors at the beach or on a hike or at a park.  This is stimulation enough and much more manageable with two adults.  On the days when it is just me and them, it uses much more energy to go out so I try to do one activity out and spend the rest of the day finding activities at home.  I'm always on the hunt for affordable (read: cheap) ways to challenge them and give them something to do.

This post is a bit old (I kept meaning to update it) so these are some activities spanning the ages from 18-30 months.  Here are just a few of the things we have tried:

Water table scooping and pouring

Cheerios threaded onto spaghetti noodles

Letter matching (find two that are the same)

Matching toys to a piece of colored flannel (this was when they were younger, closer to a year old)

Toilet paper roll bowling (cause who doesn't love to do this???)

Cotton ball/Q-tip painting

Pom-Pom Counting

Hide-and-seek counting activity.  This is a current favorite.  They have even requested it multiple times.  Bonus: we even got in some chopstick practice!

There you have it!  See, you don't need tons of toys to keep toddlers entertained and challenged! Some of these ideas have come from a great website, filled with activities like this that you can easily do with household items.

So tell me, what are some of your tried and tested ways to keep your kids busy???  Please do share!