Indoor activities to do with a young toddler - Part 2

There's a third part still to come on this post.  These suggestions are the ones for cosy afternoons when you need a breather and can just sit down and enjoy being with your toddler.

• Looking at books – We go to the library every couple of weeks and also have our own collection of books.  We have a couple of books in most rooms in the house and the rest are in Little C’s bedroom.  He'll wander through there, pull all the books off the shelf to find the one he wants, then sit down in a big pile of books and peruse to his heart's content.  Occasionally he'll want to read a book with us, or he'll show us what he's looking at.
• Playing with toys – We don't have that many compared to other young families we know, but considerably more than we need!  We have a few out in the sitting room, and the rest in boxes or baskets in Little C's bedroom and we rotate them around to maintain interest.  I'll occasionally get something out and set it out in an interesting way so that when he gets up from his nap he gets a surprise and is inspired to play.
• Drawing – We have wax crayons and a drawing book.  He is beginning to figure out how to make marks with the crayons but still prefers to eat them or throw them on the floor.  Still, it's nice to get them out for half an hour every day or two.

• Watching TV – Here in the UK we are lucky to have CBeebies, a BBC channel specially designed for pre-schoolers and with no commercials!  We actually don't watch much TV in the day, we are too busy.  Little C does have a favourite DVD which we watch for 10 minutes a couple of times a week.