Activities for 1 and 2.5 year old

[Anonymous]

Hello,

My first ever AP is arriving in a couple of weeks and I'm trying to think of activities that she could do with my daughters who are 1 year old and 2.5 years old. I never had to worry about this since they've been in daycare up until now. I want to make sure they continue to learn and hit milestones. I do want her to take them out at least once a day for social interaction, e.g play date, library, park, community center, etc. But what about the rest of the day?

Any suggestions or AP experiences to share? Resources? I'm also new to the Rockville/Gaithersburg area so I don't have a good handle on resources for kids.

Many thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

I have a 2.5 year old also. Check out the libraries-- in addition to the scheduled storytimes that they list on the website, there are other organized activities at the libraries that your AP will learn about if she goes regularly. At the Gaithersburg library, there is a discovery room that can be reserved. APs reserve it and invite APs that have host kids of similar ages. What agency are you with?

[Anonymous]

My kids are older, but the same spread They've never been in daycare and have gone out every single day. They have hit every playground in the city, and every story time in the city. Every museum and aquarium and zoo. They've been to every tourist-y thing in the city.

[Anonymous]

When my kids were that age, I had a master weekly calendar of what happened where each day, as well as a list of free indoor play spaces and all the parks and walks they could go on.
Then a daily "routine" that included morning and afternoon time plus a social/interactive outing around the requisite meals and naps.
Let the AP know she has tomfollowmthe routine but can fill the slots with things from the master calendar. For the first few weeks, ask her in advance what her plans are

[Anonymous]

Rockville rec centers have toddler times in the gym once a week 10-12. Libraries have preschool story times. Croyden Creek nature center has a nice play room for little ones and is free. Bounce U has a toddler time as well, though it is canceled for the next few weeks while the room is under construction. Lakeforest Mall has an indoor play area.

As far as the AP, make sure she has strong driving skills. Our AP wasn't comfortable driving in this area for the first couple of months, so we stuck with places within walking distance early on.

[Anonymous]

Check multiple libraries - we're in Virginia but there are three libraries within a 10-15 minute drive, all with story times on different days! When my girls were that age they went out every day and library story hour was heavy in the rotation. Our library also had Babygarten classes - you had to register for the classes in advance but they were free (registration was to control the number of kids there so it matched the number of musical instruments they played - and it's geared for kids that age). There was also a preschool music class at the library but the timing never worked right for that one.

Check to see if your county Community Center has a Tot Drop In - ours had one 2-3 days a week, only during the school year, that would put mats on the floor and tricycles/bikes/slides/whatever they could find in the gym and let kids run around for an hour or so. It was $2.50 per adult, kids were free. We got our au pair a 10 visit pass every few months.

We encouraged our au pairs to go to McDonalds and Chick Fil A play places - I know not everyone likes them. If some near you are appropriate for your kids' ages, empower your au pair to take them! We also visit mall play places.

Check out if MyGym or Little Gym (or whatever is near you) has drop in times, or even if there's a class your au pair can take both kids to.

We put our kids in a church preschool (2x a week at 2, 3x a week at 3, three hours a day) when they were two - maybe something else to look into.

Finally, consider whether there is a cost associated with any of the activities and make sure you reimburse your au pair for any money she is out of pocket (which includes buying her coffee at McDonalds as "admission" to the play place). Happy au pair = happy kids = happy mom.