So I've been trying to get Henry interested in some different games and such, because we've been home a lot due to the weather and some persistent minor illnesses. Here is what we are into at the moment:
1) Anything that has to do with the alphabet. I swear I am not one of those moms who spends her days grilling the baby with flash cards, but Henry is absolutely obsessed with letters and has been ever since he was able to point to them. He loves his ABC Dr. Suess book, and asks to read it (places it on my face) every day. We also have this cool LeapFrog refrigerator magnet thing with magnet letters that you place in the dock and it says what sounds the letter makes. Since we got it he has started to recognize a ton more letters and say some of the sounds too. We also have the Letter Factory video that goes along with it. He likes Starfall too, but I have to do most of the clicking still.
2) Shape sorters. We currently have three. He has gotten a lot better at recognizing which shape goes in which hole.
3) Coloring. I bought the colorwonder paper and markers. They are expensive, but worth it I think considering how he likes to run around with them. I thought that he might be too little for coloring, but he took to it right away, and now everyday he spends a little time sitting at this tiny desk we have scribbling away. He also loves to take the caps on and off the markers and yell "on!" and "off!"
4) Puzzles. He's got a few of the chunky wood ones and they are a little hard for him at this point, but he can still learn to identify animals, shapes, etc by playing with them.
5) Trips. We try to to somewhere just for Henry about every other weekend. It can be hard to find places to go that are interesting for a baby, but we've been to a zoo, a couple different Aquariums, a petting zoo, a train expo, a mall with a big carousel and playground, and some other random places that we thought he would be interested in, like a kids' consignment store that had aisles of used toys for him to look at. When it's just me and Henry, I like to stay closer to home, so it's usually just the library and places where I am running errands for us. Our local mall is like a wonderland to him, there are those little kiddie rides all over and he just likes to sit in them. There is also a Barnes and Noble with a huge kids section where he can run around and look at everything. When I'm out taking care of errands I try to remember the baby and talk about what we are doing and seeing as much as possible.
6) The House. We have a tiny little cottage, and the living area is actually pretty much one big open space, but we play a game sometimes to learn about the different rooms. At first I would go stand in a room and call "Come to the Kitchen" and Henry would follow me. Now I say "Go to the Kitchen" and Henry runs into that room. Light switches help with on and off, the toilet seat with up and down. (I don't really like him playing with the toilet seat, but also don't really want to make it taboo, so I just keep the bathroom door closed unless I'm in there with him.) I'm also trying hard to teach him about putting stuff away when he's done. All of the really annoyingly messy toys (ones that have a ton of pieces that get pushed under the couch) are in little plastic bins, and when he wants to open up one of them he knows we put the current one away.
7) Music. He's always loved singing and music. Every so often I put on a youtube clip with a new song and he is always fascinated. He also likes playing with shakers and a little tambourine, although not as much as he used to.
That's all I can think of right now. Any other suggestions for how we might keep busy when it's too cold to go out?
