Check out these early learning activities for your little ones!
You get a stuffed animal!
You get a stuffed animal!
You get a stuffed animal!
(In my Oprah Winfrey voice. 🙂 )
Oh, the joys of cute button eyes, custom fur colors, and heart eyes when our little ones meet these forever friends for the first time. Apparently, no one, and I mean absolutely no one, can refuse the cupid darts they throw our way. Grandparents must get two-for-ones with every purchase and tuck away a little stuffy for rainy days. Aunts and uncles seem to love mission impossible vibes because someone always show up with the largest one they can find. I must admit neither of my baby showers would have been complete without the new crew on the block showing up to live their best lives, holding up the corner wall on the floor next to the baby crib.
If you are as concerned as my friend Woody and I that playtime is scarce with lots of stuffed friends too … well, fret no more because you’ve got a friend in me! Our house is in no shortage of furry friends, and they surely deserve some time in the game. I walked by my son’s room the other day, I thought I heard Catboy yell out, “put me in the game, coach!”
So here are some sure ways to give some play time and possibly rekindle a spark between them and your little ones.
ALL of these examples can be modified for any age, skill, and child.
Game 1: Letter and sound recognition
Write letters on a post-it or blank piece of paper. Give each stuffy friend a letter. Call out the letter name and or sound to help with the recognition of letters and sounds. You could even say you’re thinking of a picture name (ex:dog). The child would choose the stuffy friend whose beginning sound matches that letter.
Game 2: Counting
Assign a number to each of the friends. Tell your child that the stuffy can only eat that quantity to avoid a belly ache. Set out your child’s favorite snack, and it’s a playdate! Identifying numbers and quantifying. It can easily be modified for addition and subtraction as well.
Game 3: Matching
Clean laundry take off. Place socks from the laundry on one foot of each stuffed animal. Put them all into a laundry basket, toss them up into the air, and have your little one match the socks to its mate. You could integrate shapes, colors, things that go together; the possibilities are endless.
Watch one or two of those furry friends make it off the bench and back into rotation.
If all else fails, we can all meet up at midnight to carpool and do a mass drop-off at Andy’s house. 🙂
