I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how we are spending our days and how we keep Knox entertained. Let me first say that we live in California where the weather permits us to be outdoors daily. Even on rainy days we can still get outside. So we are very fortunate to have that be a part of our daily activities. But beyond playing outside, we have lots of indoor toys and activities that have been keeping us busy!

Toys/Interactive Toys:

Sticker Books: Knox is obsessed with trucks and construction sites so we have lots of Usborne sticker books! We have purchased a few on Amazon, but the best ones can be found on the Usborne website. These are also a great activity for travel, airplanes, and car rides.

Fishing Poles: I have an Amazon credit card and get 5% back on all Amazon purchases so when I get my rewards (Amazon gift card), I often use them to purchase gifts for Knox or things that he needs. After the quarantine began, I decided to buy him a few new toys to introduce over time to him to have fun things during this crazy time. The first new toy we gave him was this fishing pole set. It’s definitely one of his favorite toys right now and loves to play with his fishies. It’s a great activity for rainy days!

Scootering: we bought Knox a scooter for Christmas and recently he has come to love it. We take him scootering every day to make sure he gets plenty of exercise. This is the scooter we got and we can’t say enough good things about it. This would obviously be a more pricey quarantine gift, but maybe your little is going to have a birthday soon and this could be a great gift idea!

Magnatiles: this is by far one of the greatest toys ever! I think it’s just as fun for adults as it is for littles. Knox loves to build towers with these and then crush them down. We are in need of getting the expansion pack so we can build bigger towers, but the regular pack works great for us! Truly can’t recommend this enough! These are also a more pricey toy, but 100% worth it! This would be a great “wishlist” item for grandparents if a birthday is coming up! There’s some knockoff brands that you can also pick from if you want!

Battat Toys: these toys are so fun and super affordable! They are a great pick for a little who likes to take things apart or build things. Depending on age, your little might need some assistance so it’s a great toy to use for playing together! We have this one and this one.

Melissa and Doug Painting Books: these painting books are a super easy and somewhat mess from craft activity! Each page has its own little paint palette at the top of the page and it’s pretty great. Just snag these books (there’s lots more to choose from!) and some paint brushes and you’re good to go!

Favorite Books: we try to have reading time frequently and here’s some of our current favorites:

Activities/Things to do:

Taking an adventure: once or twice a week we break routine and take a drive somewhere or do something we wouldn’t normally do. This breaks up the week for me and also helps us kill time before nap time without being stuck at home!

Drive Bys: when we are really desperate or feeling down, we take a drive around town to say hi to our friends or family from a distance! This helps the morale for all of us.

Having “Special Treats”: with so much time at home and just with mom and dad, we try to give Knox some special treats or fun activities that make life a bit more exciting for him. This could be homemade lemonade in the afternoon, TV during dinner, staying up later than normal, or sweet snacks after nap like his favorite fruit snacks. We are just trying to get creative to make life a little more fun and exciting for him--and us!

Limited Screen time: we do allow TV for Knox, but we try to keep it very limited. It’s not a part of the regular routine and even Knox calls it a “special treat.” We honestly don’t have a wide variety of shows for him, he only watches Stinky and Dirty & Leo the Truck on Amazon Prime. Leo the Truck is an odd show, but he loves it! The episodes are about 5 minutes long, so it makes it really easy to only have the TV on for a little bit.

Baking Cookies (or other treats): Knox LOVES to be in the kitchen and help me with cooking or baking. So, I’ve been picking recipes to cook with him. So far, he’s helped me make delicious chocolate cookies and soft baked pretzels. I’m looking up other recipes all the time so we can cook together. He takes so much pride in doing it with me and seeing the finished product!

I hope this list gives you some new ideas for your littles during this crazy time. I hope you find peace in knowing that be present with your kids and just being there for them is the best thing we can do right now! Sending lots of love to you and I’m here for you through it all.