Classic Re-Post: What Can a Two-Year-Old Do?
Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 12:41AM From January 2006
♥
Many moms I know are frustrated by the constant activity of the under-three crowd. Normally, their busyness is just exhausting, but in a homeschooling household, their activity can thwart an entire day begun with good intentions.
What can a two-year-old do to keep busy and stay out of trouble but still be learning, thriving, and contributing to a household?
Today I have been tracking what our two-year-old has been doing just so you could see how it might play out in your home. While we never want to push our little ones away from the family activity, we do embrace wholeheartedly the idea of confinement. 
Breakfast- in the booster for about an hour
Circle Time- on mom's lap. This is great practice for church and other situations that require her to be still and happy.
Table Activity- blocks at the table, sitting in her booster. Today she was completely busy with the Shape Sorting Cube
Room Time- gate's up and she has free play in her room for about 30 minutes. When it's time to come out, she picks up the toys with mom so cleaning up becomes a habit.
I was in the hallway today hanging some pictures and I was so delighted to hear her say "Hi!" to every child who walked by. Very cute.
Stroller Ride- one of the older children takes her for a stroller ride around the property. This can last anywhere from 10-45 minutes.
Lunch- back into the booster
Nap- several hours of constructive confinement.
Video- 30 minutes. We are currently loving the Praise Baby DVD's. I often find older children wandering in to watch and sing the praise songs.
Table Time and Snack- we eat dinner late, so a little snack tides her over. It also keeps her busy and near me while I prepare dinner.
Reader Comments (5)
Good reminder! I have the one-year old confined but have allowed the almost three -year old too much freedom. Confinement practice- here we come!
An older two year old can fold washcloths (or if you cloth diaper; cloth wipes) while you or an older sibling are folding other laundry.
Move clothes from the washing machine to the dryer (if you have a front loader).
Scissors and a piece of paper can entertain a two year old for a long time, but make sure they are well supervised! ;)
[...] Classic Re-Post: What Can a Two-Year-Old Do? | Preschoolers and Peace [...]
Not sure where to leave this comment... I posted about our Memory Time at our home (aka, Circle Time): http://tullyfamily.blogspot.com/2011/04/memory-time.html Mentioned your blog! Thanks for the inspiration through the years! :)
Thank you, Heather!