Even if you’re not doing “preschool at home,” these are great inside activities for winter days.

Here are a few ways I kept my 2- and 3-year-olds busy this week.

Bead scooping (toddlers) and sorting (preschoolers)

When we brought these B. Pop-Arty beads to Cape Cod last summer, all of the grown ups were so all over them them that I don’t think the kids even noticed them.

My sons aren’t making necklaces out of them yet (despite my prodding), but the gorgeous colors and shapes still make them fun to play with.

Judah had lots of fun scooping them from one bowl to another…

…while Isaiah broke in his new kid chopsticks and sorted them by color.

Ahh, order.

 

Tongs and Pom Poms

I recycled this activity later in the week with our new gigantic bag of pom poms.

Glue galaxies

Continuing our space theme from last week, we made giant glue galaxies with black construction paper and foam “planets.”

Judah, like most toddlers, got great satisfaction out of squeezing glue.

As part of my attempts to foster independence, I didn’t once say “not too much glue!” even though it seemed to be hard-wired for me to channel kindergarten teachers around the world. (How much does glue actually cost? And if he makes a mess, so what?)

It’s also a great exercise for his little hand muscles to squeeze away like there’s no tomorrow.

And who am I to limit the size of his galaxy?