What Cecilia Does...

...while I work with Caroline on school stuff.

*First, what you will not see in this list: have a screaming tantrum. That happens, too. These photos don't mean that every instant I'm working with Caroline, Cecilia is happily occupied with purposeful activity. And I'd love if others would share ideas in the comments about what has been helpful with your toddlers while you work with the older ones! These are just some ideas of things that have occupied Cecilia over the past several weeks:

cutting (and tearing) paper

watercolor paints (while Caroline does another painting or messy project)

playing imaginative games - Calico Critters here (and dressing up in random clothes she dug out of a basket somewhere!)

playdough with small toy dinosaurs and animals

playdough tools as well

more cutting, with gluing the scraps on another paper this time

coloring... she is really into coloring things all black, very dark, and also coloring people's faces with pencil while the rest of the picture is done with colors... weird.

puzzles and pegboards

reading... very cute to hear her making up the words!

dressing like Rambo

Oh, and drawing on a white board. After drawing this she said, "Look, it's Big Me!" I guess she's been listening to the Foo Fighters when I wasn't paying attention (will anyone even get that?)...

creating modern art displays

playing in a tray of cornmeal... dry rice is good, too, but only on the kitchen floor!

dumping out toys... and then playing with them for a bit, hopefully

And, my personal favorite: stuffing every Calico Critters outfit into an empty bottle so tightly that the only way to get them out is by using tweezers!