I’m 37 weeks pregnant and it’s so difficult and uncomfortable to move around at all. I feel bad that I haven’t done educational type things with dd as much as we used to. My brain is too tired to think creatively anymore. But also I think it’s because she has mastered lots of the basic stuff, I just don’t know what to do next. She can read. We do adding and subtraction a little bit here and there with blocks, toys, fingers, etc. She has a Kumon book for practicing writing and stuff, and some similar ones I made her. She’s tired of her brachiation ladder and won’t go on it anymore…we used to do countries on the globe and she knows a few, but I guess I feel bored of that…! We did planets a little bit a couple times…
I need inspiration and help! What can I do with her? She’s 2 and a half.
You could work on telling time or money. I wish I had your problem (not the pregnant part too old for that). Does she know her shapes and colors? I have just made categories on 3D shapes, different shapes, and one with lots of shapes and colors look under shapes. If she knows all that how about some science, sink or float, or what materials are things made of. I just made a category about materials. Look under my name I have put several new categories out there.
Nursery rhymes to boost her memory and increase her vocabulary? Are you teaching foreign languages?
You can do some crafts with her. You could just sit beside her and help her with them. There are several threads about crafts and activities for toddlers to give you ideas.
can i suggest you take a little pressure off of yourself?
i just had my baby 6mo ago and was in the same place as you… with a 2 year old and some nice heat to make ankles feel nice and puffy :laugh: and all i can say is that you two only have so many weeks left to just take it easy. things are going to be a little different after the baby comes too. make or buy some play dough. do some water ‘painting’. walk through a mall or library. visit sesamestreet.org. scoop dried pasta or buttons. take some pressure off of yourself and plan fun things. your little girl will not lose her intelligence or her love to learn if you take a few weeks off. maybe encourage a play date with some good friends/grandmothers that allows you to take a nap?
maybe part of your need to plan things is a sign of nesting?? it was that way for me. i got really itchy to get things in order for my 2 year old right at the end and felt really badly that i hadn’t done something structured in some time. in the end of that week #2 came right along.
remember if you keep yourself light and happy and at ease your two year old will take your lead right into life with a sibling. so put your feet up, breath deeply and read some good picture books.
good luck. :biggrin:
A nice easy one for you would be to play classical music or any kind of music for that matter. She learns by simply listening and not much work for you. If you play music you like it should be relaxing for you.
I took a break teaching towards the end of my pregnancy with my DD (she turned two around the same time I had the baby). I would just do a few “formal” things with her but mostly just be around her when she played. I ended up taking her out a lot more on field trips where I could sit and she could play or I let the trip be the entertainment/teacher rather than me.
Reading laying down together and in the rocking chair became a favorite. The closer I got to my due date, we’d lay down together and take a nap. I can’t remember how many weeks along I was but at a certain point, I couldn’t stay up anymore without a midday nap without getting terrible headaches. So, that was nice bonding time for us.
Mostly, I would put out activities she could explore on her own like a bucket of shells, colored pattern blocks. I’d also have her cousins over more often so I could just loaf while she was busy playing. Playdates!
Also, using flash cards on the computer and programs like Little Reader don’t require you doing much. Just sitting and being engaging. I’m not a big fan of leaving my DD to do the computer alone but I’ve found since #2 came along, sometimes I need something playing while I tend to the baby. I found making playlists on youtube helpful. I’d make them on different topics or just an alphabet, color, shape, etc a week. The clips were short but would play continously. Good for if you just need a short break. There are lots of resources on there. I find those especially useful now with the baby if I need to run and tend to him quickly
Also, I haven’t used this with my LO now but there is a program called Monkey See Monkey Do that is supposed to get kids up and active, following the kids on the program.