Busy Hands

A dear friend, mentor and mom of 3 boys once told me that if you can't keep their hands and mouths busy they'll get themselves in trouble. TRUTH. Trouble in our home = mass destruction. Luke uses the term "wild" or "silly." I would lean towards the side of tornadic activity. Luke does not stop moving. Ever. So when there is down time - ie, nursing Everett, unloading groceries, answering a phone call - this is usually Luke's que to derail and destruct. He just gets so antsy and energetic that without a specific task at hand things get out of control very quickly. Insert one of my favorite blogs, 1+1+1, here.

This mom has created a phenomenal resource for activities in the home. She homeschools, and while we are not homeschooling or putting Luke in pre school right now, there are fantastic (and FREE) resources that go on forever. I've created a drawer that contains several of these along with other intentional activities and hand-occupiers for the moments when I see Luke on the verge of being "wild" or "silly" and we can't make it outside. Since they're things that aren't always out in the open he enjoys the newness each time we pull them out. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Sorting the Easter eggs-

I laminated them (see previous paragraph about destruction..) so he just dumps out the bag and puts takes a loooooooong time putting them in the appropriate basket. Or sometimes just looks at each one and talks about the colors and patterns.

His "Cool Book" - he forgets the "S" on "School" ...

THIS is probably my favorite. Again, 1+1+1 came up with all the work by creating FREE printables for each letter and number, and all I had to do was print, stuff into sheet protectors and insert into a three ring binder. I found some washable dry erase markers so the fun keeps going and going. This was a huge help on our car ride to and from Washington, D.C. Not only did Luke have a blast looking through and coloring the different pages, he had even more fun taking baby wipes and wiping down every. single. page. And then coloring again.

Toddler Scissors

Luke thinks he's big stuff when he gets to use scissors. So I let him sit down with many sheets of paper and he goes to town. I don't care much about the mess because he also loves to take things to the trash when he's finished. It's a win win for both of us.

Songs & Hand Motions

When Luke gets impatient or irritable I can usually get him to sit down & focus to sing a few songs. Throw in some hand motions and this kid is tied up for a good 30 minutes. This is helpful if we're walking through the grocery store and he's getting impatient or if I'm feeding Everett and he wants to sit with us.

Sign Language

Y'all are going to think I'm crazy. BUT. Last week while we were on the Metro in DC Luke was getting VERY impatient and irritable. Since eating and drinking is a crime on the metro (ie: subject to a fine or jail) & I didn't pack anything for him to play with in the diaper bag, I randomly had him try to make letters with his hands. DISCLAIMER: I think the only sign language I ever learned was in 4th grade and all it included was the alphabet. I have no idea why this came to mind, but I'm so thankful it did! Billy helped him with his hands while I showed him with my own hands and he loved it! Crisis averted.

STICKERS

We have a huge bin of stickers that I pull out for him and he is free to use as many as he'd like on the paper. He's very generous with the stickering...

Please tell me - what are YOUR suggestions for keeping little hands busy???