Thank You, Easter Bunny! Bawk! Bawk!

Paint with Easter Eggs

YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Does it offer an educational experience? Yes
• What does it teach? Patterns, colors, following directions, holiday
• Is it age (i.e., 2 - 3 year old) appropriate? Yes

What You’ll Need:

• Large piece of white paper
• Plastic eggs
• Washable colored paint

Adult Prep Work:

1. Open the plastic eggs and give your child one half
2. Pour the paint

What Your Child Will Do:

1. Dip the egg in paint
2. Stamp it on the paper

This was a fun alternative to painting with our hands. My son loved stamping the egg on the paper and seeing the colorful circles it made.

We also read some of our favorite Easter books to round out the activity!

Rain, Rain Play All Day

Make a rainy day picture

YAY!

• Does it offer an educational experience? Yes
• What does it teach? Weather
• Is it age (i.e., 2 - 3 year old) appropriate? No

This is a terrible activity for toddlers

What You’ll Need:

• Cupcake wrappers
• Construction paper (light colored)
• Blue construction paper
• Markers or colored paint
• Scissors
• Glue

Adult Prep Work:

1. Cut large raindrops out of the blue construction paper
2. Glue rain drops to the paper
3. Cut cupcake wrappers in half

What Your Child Will Do:

Color the cupcake wrappers

You basically need to complete this entire craft. The only thing my son was interested in (beside the glue stick and scissors!) was coloring the cupcake wrappers.

I find activities that involve glue to be very difficult at this age. If you have any suggestions or recommendations, please let me know...

Stuck Like Glue to U and 2

Learn Letters & Numbers

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Does it offer an educational experience? Yes
• What does it teach? Letters and numbers
• Is it age (i.e., 2 - 3 year old) appropriate? Yes

What You’ll Need:

• Large piece of construction paper
• Glue
• Glitter or sprinkes

Adult Prep Work:

Write the letter on the construction paper using glue

What Your Child Will Do:

1. Shake the glitter or sprinkles over the glue
2. Shake off the excess

This is such a fun way to teach letters and numbers. One lesson learned, if you are using Elmer’s glue, don’t use too much or you’ll end up with a goopy mess.

Give Me the Finger

Fingertip painting

YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Does it offer an educational experience? Yes
• What does it teach? Colors, following directions
• Is it age (i.e., 2 - 3 year old) appropriate? Yes

What You’ll Need:

• Art paper
• Washable paint

What Your Child Will Do:

Dip his finger in the paint and then dab it on the paper

My son loves painting with his hands so this was right up his alley! This is such fun for toddlers who like to experiment and do unstructured art.

Weather or Art

Learn About the Weather

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Does it offer an educational experience? Yes
• What does it teach? Weather, nature
• Is it age (i.e., 2 - 3 year old) appropriate? Yes

What You’ll Need:

• White paper plates
• Washable markers

What Your Child Will Do:

1. Color the weather on the plate (i.e., sun, rain, snow)

Then, an adult can label the plate with the day & date, and hang it up on the wall.

This is a great way to learn to about the weather and the days of the week!

I Spy Fun

Build a Fort & Look Out Tower

YAY! YAY!

Does it offer an education experience? Yes

What does it teach? Creativity, gross motor, critical reasoning

Is it age (i.e., 2 -3 year old) appropriate? Yes

What You'll Need:

• Two toilet paper rolls
• Tape or glue
• Markers
• Large blanket
• Two chair

Adult Prep Work:

• Glue or tape the paper rolls together to make binoculars

What Your Child Will Do:

1. Decorate the binoculars
2. Build a fort using the chairs and blanket

This is such a fun rainy day activity. And one where kids can really let their imaginations run free.

Clap Clap Moo!

The Farm in The Lincoln Park Zoo

Address: 2001 N. Clark Street, Chicago

Hours: Monday - Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Admission: Free

YAY! YAY! YAY!

• Offers hands-on learning? Yes
• Engages an active toddler in play? Yes
• Provides interaction with other children? Yes
• Allows children room to play without long waits? Yes, except the John Deere tractor
• Is clean? Yes

I have always been a fan of The Lincoln Park Zoo. It is in the heart of the city, free of charge for all, and home to an amazing array of animals large and small. So when we stumbled upon the Farm’s indoor play area, I could not have been more delighted! I grew up farming and I love to expose my kids to it. It’s great at this age because toddlers know “Old McDonald,” the sounds animals make, and they’ve read “Mr. Brown Can Moo.” And so a farm brings all this to life. Plus, I don’t want my kids growing up thinking that milk comes from a store!

But enough about us....The indoor play area has a giant John Deere kids can climb on; although it has a bit of a wait. Kids can also climb in and out of large eggs, watch chicks hatch, replicate how animals are fed, play in the soil (just tires full of dirt - but what could be more appealing to little boys?). And there are a number of hands-on and computer games, including animal sounds and seed planting.

We had a lot of fun. And highly recommend!