“It’s just easier if I do it myself.” When my twins were toddlers I thought that every day. It seemed that everything we did together took twice as long and was easily three times as messy than if I had just done it myself.

And yet, I kept at it because I knew a major parenting secret.

One of the first chores that my toddlers took over was loading the dishwasher. This is the perfect example of something that is way easier if I do it myself and a ton less messy and yet I encouraged them to do it. They would toddle between the table and the dishwasher with plates at odd angles and cups upside down leaving a little trail of milk and peas in their wake. Obviously once they were done helping, I then had to have them help me wipe up all the milk and pick up all the little peas.

Sounds fun, right? So why didn’t I just give up and do it myself?

One of the major parenting secrets is that it is easier to start young. In essence you are developing habits.

My kids don’t think twice about busing their dishes now because from the age of 15 months on they just did it. Helping around the house is a part of their daily and weekly routine. This is not to say that are always thrilled to put away their laundry or carry in groceries, but they do it because it is what they have always done.

Furthermore, that hard work when they are tiny pays off in the long run. If you start developing routines and skills at a young age, they become ingrained more than if you start later.

So what can toddlers do?

I remember some parents being shocked by what we asked toddlers to do and what they were able to do when I was a toddler teacher. Toddlers truly are remarkably capable little beings and what’s more, they love to exercise those skills. They might spill peas all over the floor but they are immensely proud of all of their accomplishments and if you think towards the end goal – self sufficient, happy, helpful people – then you will embrace that trail of peas too.

7 Chores Your Toddler Can Start Learning Today

1. Getting Dressed

This is an easy one and probably obvious, but toddlers can start to dress themselves. Here are some simple tips to get you started:

*Provide clothes that are easy to put on and take off. Avoid anything with zippers, buttons, or snaps until their fine motor skills have mastered these skills.

*Make your child’s clothes accessible so they can make choices OR pick out two outfits and then let them decide which to wear.

*While they are learning, stay nearby for support. Let them try and wait for them to get frustrated before you step in.

*When they start to get frustrated, say “I’m right here. If you need help just say ‘Help.'” and wait for them to sign or say help. Remember that a little frustration is okay in the learning process. They will indicate when they want you to step in.

*When you do help, do the minimum that is needed to help them and then let them take back over the process. This is called scaffolding in the teacher world and is huge in building autonomy in any skill.

*Plan extra time (and patience) for this process because it will be a lot slower at first. Eventually however, they will do this all on their own while you do other things!

2. Put Away Laundry

If their clothes are already accessible then this one should be no problem. Laundry is actually an excellent time to practice sorting, matching, and other skills in a natural way.

Toddlers can;

*Fold wash cloths and hand towels

*Match Socks

*Sort laundry into piles for each person or into types of clothing (like shirts here, socks there)

*Carry small piles of laundry

*Fold shorts in half

*Put things in their correct spot

All of this requires instruction and patience at first. Start with one or two tasks and work up from there. Toddlers are naturally eager to help so you are utilizing plenty of energy to learn and natural motivation to help.

3. Dishwasher

Loading and unloading a dishwasher is a job that toddlers can help with and it gives them an opportunity to practice match and sort. For example, all of the bowls go with this bowl. All of the cups go somewhere else.

Before you start remove anything you are concerned about breaking or anything sharp, like a sharp knife, from the dishwasher.

Unloading a dishwasher is essentially just putting things away and toddlers are great at that with instruction. Maybe start small with the silverware being their job. They can sort the knives, forks, and spoons into their correct spots. Gradually increase their tasks as they master one part and improve their speed.

To help load the dishwasher, toddlers need to learn the coordination to transport things from the table.

They will need some help learning to hold things with two hands and not carry too much at once. When they successfully arrive at the dishwasher they will need to learn where things go. We started with cups and silverware to learn the general process. Then we started working on carrying plates, jumping the scraps in the garbage and then putting plates in the dishwasher.

I truly understand how time consuming and messy this may be at first, but I promise you it won’t take long for them to catch on and then you will be saved decades of clearing the table by yourself.

4. Wipe Spills

With bussing dishes, and most things toddler, comes spills. As unfortunate as the timing or results may be, spills are an excellent opportunity to learn a life skill. When you make a mess, you clean it up.

From learning to pour milk, eating and drinking at the table, and bussing dishes I learned to keep a stash of wash cloths on hand at all times. Wash cloths are a handy way to soak up spills without going through a roll of paper towels at every meal.

Our twins are in the habit now of bringing a wash cloth to the table when they set out their plate and cup. The wash cloths are getting used less and less frequently, but when a spill does occur or body parts get covered in peanut butter, the wash cloth is ready to go. When we need more, there is a basket of wash cloths in the floor next to the sink in the bathroom.

5. Set the Table

When toddlers are grabbing you and pleading for a meal to start, give them a job to do. They will feel useful and you can finish the meal.

Just as toddlers can bus dishes to the kitchen, they can also set the table. It might not look like a 4 star restaurant, but all of the parts will make it and they will be pleased to have contributed to the process.

6. Water Plants

Whether it is plants you have planted together or ones you already have around the house, watering plants is a great way to involve your children in chores and help them understand the life of plants. A few days a week, we have chore time built into our morning schedule. Our toddlers help with a variety of chores, one of which is watering plants.

Our Process

*I pull down the plants that are in higher windows

*They collect their spray bottles from the kitchen.

*Let them spray their plants to water.

*Have a towel handy to wipe up any spills or excess water.

The first time we watered the plants, I demonstrated how to use the spray bottles.

*I showed them how to twist the end to let the water out. We talked about how we want the water to be more of a mist to be gentle on our flowers.

*We practiced directing their spray towards their target.

*Ground rules were laid out for what bottles should be used (in our case they are for plants, windows, and mirrors).

Now they work for a while on watering the plants, while I work on other chores in the morning a couple times of days.

7. Clean up their toys

One of the keys to maintaining some amount of organization in your home is getting others to help clean up. Just as our toddlers were expected to help wipe up spills and put away the dishes they use, they were also expected to help clean up their toys.

When they were younger toddlers they were simply expected to help. This usually meant they would put away one basket of toys or take care of places all the books back on a shelf while I would scurry around doing the rest.

Eventually however they took over this task entirely. There are dozens of clean up songs that you can sing or play to signal clean up time or motivate your little helpers. Our favorite was simply:

Do you know what time it is?
Do you know what time it is?
Do you know what time it is?
It’s time to clean up so we can ______ (go have lunch, read a book, go to the park, etc)

Fast forward three years to today.

My kids are 5 now and as long as the days seem sometimes those years have flown past.

When they got up this morning they got dressed by themselves from their closet of clothes they put away on Friday, went to the kitchen and unloaded the dishwasher, set the table, got everything they needed for breakfast with some small assists, ate breakfast, bused their dishes to the dishwasher, brushed their teeth and put on their shoes. On their own.

Now they are 5, not 20, and they aren’t perfect so I did have to remind one of them refocus during breakfast and a spoon got left on the table and someone put their shoes on the wrong feet – but these are small things in the broad scheme of a morning. We have come a long way from that trail of milk and peas and you will too!

Birthdays were always a big deal in my house so I think I tend to go a little over board when it comes to celebrating my kiddos. I think because they are twins and therefore share a birthday, but are incredibly different people, I also spread out their birthday fun so both kids feel loved and special. My twins turned 12 this year which I can’t even believe. They asked to go on a birthday trip this year (you can read about our New Mexico road trip here) which is my favorite way to spend a birthday. When they were younger though it was all about the parties and today I thought I’d share one of our favorite parties in celebration of my two favorite kiddos today.

When our kids turned 3 we had a Pancakes and Pajama Birthday party. Since they are twins and had all of the same friends, we celebrate their birthday with a joint party. The challenge, especially some years, has been coming up with a theme that works for both of my two wildly different kids. Pancakes and pajamas are two things that they both agreed on and it was a fun basis for a party.

We sent out invitations telling their guests to wear pajamas and come hungry for pancakes.

affiliate links are included below.

Pancake Order Form

If you are going to have a pancakes and pajama birthday then you have to serve some pancakes. Fortunately my awesome hubby can make some dazzling shaped pancakes. This is no doubt one of the reasons our kids love them so much. When our guests arrived at the party we had them fill out an order form. On it they wrote their name, chose a color for their pancake (we had a chose of no coloring, pink or blue), and then they were to write or draw a picture of their desired pancake shape. They turned these into the chef.

Cereal Stringing

This activity was set up while we were waiting for guest to arrive. They could work on stringing cereal onto pipe cleaners to make bracelets. Simple, fun, and filled that waiting time.

Bedroom Door Signs

The other activity we had out while everyone was waiting were simple bedroom door sign shapes printed onto thick tag board. They were on a table with markers that everyone could color while we waited for everyone to arrive.

Pancake Relay

Once everyone arrived we gathered in the backyard for a pancake relay. We divided everyone into teams. Each team got a spatula and a pancake. (Wide spatulas work the best, especially for younger kids). When it was your turn you carried the pancake on the spatula as quickly as you could to a cone and then back to the next person in line. This was a ton of fun and got everyone excited and moving around.

Flour Sensory Bin

Along with the two activities from the beginning of the party, this was available for play after the relay races. It is a huge bin (any sensory table or large container would work) that I filled with several bags of flour, plastic bowls, measuring scoops, wooden spoons and sprinkles. This was a huge hit. The kids loved pretending to cook.

The guests played in the different areas, ate their pancakes, signed a guest book, played in our backyard, and eventually had cake. We lucked out with beautiful weather. Then we sent everyone home with a mini-cooking set and some simple breakfast themed snacks.

We have had some fun birthday parties over the years, but this one was my favorite to date.

Click Here for more Play Based Fun for Preschoolers

Happy Purple Day!

If you have been following along with our Week of Preschool Color you know that today is all about the color Purple. Below are some fun ideas for playtime, snack, and more.

affiliate links are included below.

Books About the Color Purple

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Order Online

If you haven’t yet read this delightful classic, Harold and the Purple Crayon is the story of a little boy who uses his imagination and a purple crayon to tell a creative story. 2+

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Order Online

Lilly loves school. Lilly loves her teacher. And now Lilly has a new purple plastic purse that she also loves. When she brings her new purse to school and it gets confiscated she learns an important lesson about making amends. Wonderful, award winning story but one of our favorite authors. 3+

Purple Themed Activities

Wear Purple

Part of the fun of a color week is finding an item of clothing or two to wear for the day. We decked out in Purple and then snapped some selfies before we headed out for the morning. (Cognitive + Self Help)

Eat a Purple Snack

At the beginning of the week our twins went to the grocery store and picked a fruit or vegetable for each of the colors of the rainbow. For Purple, they picked plums. They were so proud to pull out the snack they had picked each day and help prepare it. (Self Help)

Purple Art Invitation

Create a basket of Purple art materials. My basket included; purple markers, purple colored pencils, purple crayons, purple stampers, purple gummed art tape. Place this on your art table with some blank paper as an invitation to create. (Fine Motor + Creativity)

Harold and the Purple Crayon Big Art

Cover one of your walls in paper that is at least as tall as your child. Place a basket on the floor with purple crayons or markers as an invitation to create after reading Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Rainbow Color Contact Paper Collage

It is up to you if you want to use all of the rainbow colors or just shades of purple, but make a collage today. Grab a piece of contact paper and cut it to whatever size you prefer. We usually cover a large portion of the table or window and work on our collages together. Tape the contact paper sticky side UP to your surface. Then gather different materials: tissue paper squares, construction paper pieces, confetti, pom pom balls, whatever you have. Lay these in a basket or other container next to the contact paper for your preschooler to find.

Color Week Projects

Rainbow Journal : Purple Page

Continue the Rainbow journal today that you are using for the entire Preschool Color Week. You can find directions for starting one on our Red Day page. For purple day, turn to the next blank page and have your preschooler copy the word PURPLE. Then have them use the basic of purple art materials to draw whatever they want on the facing page. (Literacy)

Collaborative Rainbow

This is the other project that will last you the entire Preschool Color Week. Today add to the Rainbow in the purple space. Gummed Art Tape is hugely popular in our house right now so we added some purple today. (Creativity + Social Skills)

Looking for a unique field trip in the Twin Cities area? The Mill City Museum is a fascinating way to explore history, water, baking and more.

It is a museum erected in footprint of an old flourmill in Minneapolis.  Admission to the museum gets you into the gallery, exhibit labs (baking lab and water lab), and a couple different multimedia shows.

Kids 4 and under are free!

(Guest Post by Rebecca Nutter)

Mill City Museum with a Preschooler

Rebecca Nutter of the Minneapolis Toy Library is here today to share more about visiting the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis with preschoolers. Here are her favorite things to do here with little kids.

Ride the Flower Tower Elevator

We took the “Flour Tower” tour while we were there.  This is a guided elevator ride (giant freight elevator with seating.

I think they ask that you don’t bring strollers on, but since we had a small group they let me bring my umbrella stroller in) that travels through 8 levels and shows you different scenes of what the old mill looked like, while you listen to worker’s accounts of their job at the mill.

It concludes at the 9^th floor where you can get out, learn a little bit more about the mill from a tour guide and get an amazing view of Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls.

The Water Lab

In this area there are 4 different interactive pieces where children are able to manipulate the flow of water, build bridges, and learn about water power.

We had this space to ourselves, although they do have school groups in here sometimes.  It was a little tough for a 3.5 year old (who is actually quite tall for her age) to reach the middle of some of these tables, but she was able to do most of it herself.

The Baking Lab

Here they host cooking classes and offer demos of various types of recipes.  Usually flour is involved. We went in and were able to taste some bread that they made.  They also gave us the recipe!

Helpful Things to Know:

• The museum is very stroller accessible.  They have elevators to access everything.  The doors have handicap buttons, which was great.  The exhibits are very spacious.
• There was a café with a small lunch selection.  We did have lunch and it was delicious!
• The bathrooms are on the main floor, right next to the coat racks.
• They don’t allow food or drinks in the gallery.  I told them I had a water bottle in my backpack and they said to just keep it tucked away.

I learned a lot about the mill industry that dominated the Minneapolis landscape in the late 19^th century.  I also think the information on the elevator ride and the interactive labs made the learning clear for my preschooler.  I was pleased with the water lab exhibit too.  It was spacious and had enough to keep my preschooler happy for 20 minutes.

Extensions for Home:

• Build with blocks (or other materials) and make the building blow up by pushing the structure over.
• Do some baking!  Make muffins, bread, or pancakes.  Have your child help measure out the flour.
• Flour is an ingredient for many different sensory materials.  Play dough, “cloud dough,” or just plain ol’ water and flour.

More Ideas: 15+ Best Things to do in the Twin Cities with Kids

As adults we like to rush through our days as quickly as possible checking things off our to-do list, but sometimes children can teach us why we need to slow down. I learned a little about this a couple weeks ago. 

We were at German Fest. It was filled with sausages and beer and loud polka music. This all would have been great except for the fact that Mississippi has yet to get the memo about Fall weather and it was hot. Really, really hot. 

Our twins were red faced and getting crabby. My husband and I were starting to look at each other with that ‘We’re not going to last much longer” look. And then my son said he wanted to go see the firetruck.

For reasons I don’t entirely understand, there was a firetruck celebrating German Fest. They were letting kids hop in the front and offering them coloring books. Sure, we said. We stomped across the grass and assumed they would pop in the truck, jump out, grab their coloring books and we could head for the AC. 

Our son climbed in the front and then out the other side. Our daughter started in the back and then hopped out. They both started wandering around the truck. I suggested we get coloring books to speed along this process. 

Then my son asked me, “What is this for?” He was pointing to one of the many switches on the side. I had no clue and I could see that he was curious, so I told him to ask a firefighter. He was a little unsure about this, but his sister bravely walked up to one of these large men and said “What does that do?” 

The firefighter bent down and answered her question. This led to another question and another. Soon they were following the firefighter around the truck as he demonstrated everything to them. Where the hoses were and how they got hooked up. What was inside the different compartments and what they used each item for. Their questions were endless and his patience, seemingly, was as well. 

They were utterly fascinated and this kind man took the time to share his expertise with these two young children. 

We forgot about the heat. We forgot about needing water and wanting AC. 

We learned a lot about firetrucks and then when they were done, they grabbed those coloring books and headed for the car full of ideas.

GO: Field Trip Ideas

Visit a Fire Station
from Bambini Travel

Fire Station Open Day
from Play Learn Everyday

Fire Hydrant Walk
from Bambini Travel

READ + SING: 

10 Books about Firetrucks
from My Storytime Corner

Books about Fire Trucks
from Growing Book by Book

Books about Fire Fighters
from Gift of Curiosity

STOP, DROP AND ROLL (Song)
From Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes

Five Little Firefighters (Craft + Song)
from JDaniel4’s Mom

ENVIRONMENT:

Melissa and Doug Firefighter Costumes
find it here

Play Firetrucks
find it here

Fire Station Duplo Set
find it here

Firetruck Party Activities and Decorations
from Mamas Happy Hive

CREATE: 

Cereal Box Fire Truck
from Play Create Learn

Firetruck Building Invitation
from Bambini Travel

Counting at the Fire Station (free printable)
from Growing Book by Book

Easy Shapes Fire Truck Craft
from Sugar Aunts

Firefighter Thank You Cards
from Fun Handprint Art

Homemade Cards for Firefighters
from B-Inspired Mama

Fire Truck Flame Painting
from JDaniel4’s Mom

PLAY:

Firefighters Dramatic Play
from Play Create Learn

Fun Ways for Kids to Learn about Fire Safety
from Edventures with Kids

Fast and Easy Fire Truck Play
from Kitchen Floor Crafts

Emergency Vehicles Unit
from Every Star is Different

F is for Firetruck
from Theres Just One Mommy

Firefighter Brain Break Movement Ideas
from Pink Oatmeal

 Fireman Birthday Party with Great Play Ideas
from The Jenny Evolution

Click for More
Interest Led Unit Ideas

I’m excited to have Rebecca Nutter guest posting today to share a STEM related field trip in the Twin Cities area. If your child is curious about electricity or magnetism, this is an awesome place to explore.

(Guest post from Rebecca Nutter)

Ever since we moved to Minneapolis, I have been curious about The Bakken Museum.

The museum explores electricity and magnetism.  It showcases the history of electricity and tries to excite young children to explore this world of science.

There is admission for the museum, but children under 4 are free.

The exhibits are broken up into different rooms and over all it’s a small museum.  We spent about 45 minutes there.

I was pleased to see some hands on activities that were geared toward the younger crowd (toddler/preschool age).

My daughter used a small crane to lift metal cars, turned a crank to make a spark, listened to different animals heartbeats, and put a magnet up to a TV to see the magnetic field in color.

There were many other hands on activities for older elementary school kids though.

Upstairs they laid out a collection of “electrical found items” as I would call them and invited families to create something. There were telephone cords, circuit boards and other gadgety things to use.

Although it wasn’t really that interesting to our 3 year old, I like that we have a resource if this interest comes up later in her life.  Looking online I noticed they have an inventors club, a LEGO robotics class and even a workshop that (for a fee) families are able to come use all the museums tools to just build and create!  How cool is that?

More Ideas: 15+ Best Things to do in the Twin Cities with Kids

Toddlers and Preschoolers learn about the world through their senses. This easy adventure is a fun way to practice your child’s sense of listening. Let’s go for a listening walk!

affiliate links are included below.

Beforehand:

Read a book such as LISTEN by Gabi Snyder. I often find books are a great way to gather your kids in, engage them, and then get them excited for what comes next.

After you read together, talk about what sounds you might hear on your walk. There are no wrong answers. Depending on your child’s age they might really get this and get excited about making a list or they might not quite understand what you are asking and stare blankly. Anything between these two extremes is fine.

On Your Walk:
Walk along as usual, but stop frequently and encourage your toddler to cover their eyes.

It helps if you can predict things that you might hear.

Is there a train nearby?
Cars driving past?
Birds tweating?

Read Also: How to Use Emergent Curriculum with Toddlers

Older children might be able to just close their eyes, but at least for our toddlers, actually covering their eyes helped them to focus on listening.

Ask questions such as; “what can you hear?” and “does it sound loud or quiet?”.

Pay attention to and (if your memory is like mine) write down their words.

Read Also: 12 Children’s Book Inspired Walk Ideas

Afterwards:
Engage in a dialogue about the walk. What they saw and specifically what they heard. Again, depending on their age, what they remember may vary. Remembering or being able to read back to them some of the things they mentioned can support this conversation. Follow up with more activities about sound.

For more walk ideas and other adventures for toddlers, check out my book Little Walks Big Adventures!

When our twins reached the age of constantly counting (often incorrectly) everything around them and we had read every counting book we owned a million times (I wish I were exaggerating), I knew I had to find more ways for them to practice.

We love going for walks so I decided to try a counting walk.

read also: 12 walk ideas for toddlers

Before the Walk

Write a list of what you think you will find outside. You can see our example below (no laughing at my drawing skills!)

I guided them a little, but for the most part they chose the things for me to write/draw on the page.

Read Also: How to Use Emergent Curriculum with Toddlers

Also gather:

• Camera
• Notebooks or Clipboards
• Markers.

During the Walk

When we got outside we checked the list and headed off in search of the first thing; trees.

We counted all the trees we could see and then I wrote it on our chart and encouraged them to write about it in their journals. Once they were satisfied, we moved on to the next thing.

Note: If you are doing this with older kids, make a copy of your chart for each kid so they can work individually.

At times one of them was more interested than the other and I followed their lead.

Do not feel forced to finish your list or only count things on the list. Use it as a starting point and follow your child’s lead. The point is to count and keep math feeling fun.

read also: 5 Zero prep number activities for preschool

Get More Ideas for Adventures with Toddlers HERE