2 upcycled jug activities

Nothing could be more satisfying than dropping a cylinder-shaped block into a milk jug or pushing a cotton ball through the neck of a glass bottle, right?  What - no? You can think of lots of things you'd rather do?!  Well, you're obviously not a one-year-old then!  Elise LOVES these kinds of activities right now.  How can I tell?  She repeats them again and again, with concentration so strong, she barely makes a sound - just the occasional little happy noise.  :)

Activities like these are great for strengthening fine motor control and building spacial awareness.  Plus, they're a snap to put together - just look in your recycling bin!

pushing cotton balls into a glass bottle

materials needed:

• glass bottle with a short neck
• cotton balls in a dish

Elise eventually filled the whole bottle with cotton balls.  Afterwards, I pulled them all out with tweezers while she napped - it didn't take as long as you would think!

dropping cylinder-shaped blocks into a milk jug

materials needed:

• milk jug with a hole cut in the side
• cylinder-shaped blocks (Ours are part of a set given to us by a neighbor - I think they're Melissa & Doug.  If you don't have blocks like these, shape sorters usually have a cylinder-shaped block.)

When you're cutting the hole in the side of the milk jug, make sure you leave an inch or two of plastic at the bottom.  The first time I did this, I cut too close to the bottom and the blocks bounced out of the jug.  BTW, the purpose of cutting a hole in the side of the jug is so that your child can reach in, grab the block and repeat the activity.  Then, you won't have to spend those precious moments of nap time trying to get the blocks out of the jug.  You can just sit back and sip a mocha, or fold laundry, or whatever!