STUCK INSIDE? CHECK OUT THESE ACTIVITIES FOR TODDLERS!

Stuck inside on a rainy day? Feeling tired and don't want to get up to go to the park with your kids? No worries!

Check out these cool indoor crafts and activities that can keep your baby or toddler busy! With a few simple materials, your little ones will be entertained for hours-and you can lounge out on the couch! :)

We found this article on www.parenting.com**

Stick 'em Up

What you'll need: Pad of sticky notes, crayons

Best for: 1 and up

• Stick a few rows of notes to a wall or the side of your desk and have your toddler take them off and put them back up again (and again!).
• Hand your older toddler a pad of notes and a few crayons and say, "Would you draw a picture on each, and then decorate this door?"
• Write a number from 1 to 20 or an individual letter -- from the alphabet, or just the ones in your child's name -- on each sticky note. Place the numbers or letters out of order on the wall and challenge your preschooler to put them in order.
• If your child counts but doesn't yet recognize numbers, put one star on one note, two stars on the next one, and so forth. Then he can also line up his notes by the number of stars.

Souped-up Stickers

What you'll need: Paper, two or three sheets of different stickers
Best for: 18 months and up

• Draw small shapes and letters on the piece of paper. Toddlers can simply cover each shape or letter with a sticker.
• Preschoolers can follow a key: Dog stickers go over the letter "D," for example, or stars on top of every "S.

Mythical Creatures

What you'll need: Kid-safe scissors, catalogs, glue stick, paper, crayons
Best for: 2 and up

• Have your child cut out pictures of people and animals. (You'll probably do the cutting for a toddler.) Cut heads off bodies.
• Your child can mix and match heads and bodies and glue them to the paper, or draw his own bodies after gluing the heads.

Little Weavers

What you'll need: Six rubber bands, sturdy cardboard or notebook, pencils, kid-safe scissors, paper
Best for: 2 and up

• Place the rubber bands around a piece of cardboard. Toddlers can "weave" pencils over and under the rubber bands.
• Preschoolers can cut strips of paper and weave these into the bands.

Polka-dot Masterpiece

What you'll need: Paper punch, paper, envelope, glue stick
Best for: 3 and up

• Punch out a few dozen holes and put them in an envelope for your preschooler. She can glue the circles onto another piece of paper.
• When she's done, tape the paper with the punched-out holes onto another piece of paper; let her use it as a stencil by coloring in all the holes.