Plenty of dollars spent on toys this year and what keeps my son occupied for hours? A salad spinner. With all the sick and rainy days so far, we have spent more than enough time stuck inside. Even though it hasn’t even been a month, the new holiday toys are already old news. So, instead of playing with his new toys, my son has been playing with some basic household items. Here are some of the random household items that have unexpectedly kept my child entertained longer than his Christmas gifts.
1. A Salad Spinner
It’s green. It’s plastic. It’s round. It’s a salad spinner! But not only that. It is a merry-go-round for action figures. It’s a swimming pool for bath animals. It’s also a great fine-motor task requiring stabilizing the lid with one hand while pulling the string with the other hand. My son was so proud of himself when he learned how to manipulate it, taking up hours of independent play time.
2. Kitchen tongs
I have trouble reaching things in our top cabinet so sometimes I use a pair of kitchen tongs to reach for the things I need. My son saw me doing this and wanted to try using them. He practiced picking up his toys and transferring them using these kitchen tongs. Who knew kitchen tongs could be so entertaining!
3. Some sugar in a tray keeps the boredom away
No snow in Columbia? Think again! We created a “winter wonderland” with sugar in a plastic tray. My son used a plastic spoon to shovel the sugar like it was snow. He enjoyed burying different items then “raking” with a plastic fork to find the items again. His action figures also came over to play in the snow after their ride on the merry-go-round. He also loved using the handheld vacuum to help with the cleanup afterwards.
4. Containers
We had some empty pantry containers lying around so I gave them to my son to see what he would create. He filled them up with water then put his action figures in them so they could “swim.” It was fun to watch all the tools come together as he would get his action figures covered in snow (sugar), clean them off in the tubs of water, then dry them off in the salad spinner using the tongs to transfer them from one place to another.
I enjoyed watching my son’s imagination run free with these new “toys.” I also made a mental note that next time he requests a new toy to look no further than my kitchen.
What household items does your toddler play with?
