This morning my mother-in-law started back up a ladies’ Bible class that had taken a break for summer. It was across town with no babysitting, but there was a virtual option I could use. It was scheduled during my baby’s nap, but I still had the problem of keeping my toddler daughter entertained. I could roll the dice and hope that she would play with her toys quietly. I decided to weigh the fates in my favor and make her something that would hopefully inspire a long bout of independent play. She is a big time imitator and I knew that I was going to be taking notes. I decided to try to make an entertaining toddler notebook in hopes it would buy me some time.
My daughter is almost 2 ½ and while she is great at independent play, she is only great at independent play when she wants to be. Sometimes she will give her elephant lovey imaginary naps, baths, and diaper changes for a good hour. Other times she will decide that she needs 100% of my attention at that very moment and no later. It starts with begging, escalates to pulling on clothes, and then can blow up into full on misbehavior. This is what I desperately wanted to avoid.
How to Make a Notebook for a Toddler
Supplies:
- 1 piece of colored cardstock
- 3-4 pieces of printer paper
- Stapler
- Stickers
- Sticky index tabs
- Pens and highlighters
Creating:
To make the toddler notebook, I took a few sheets of printer paper and one piece of colored cardstock. I let my daughter pick the color to inspire more ownership. I folded all the papers in half and stapled them down the middle. My stapler didn’t reach to the middle so I had to bend over half of it to reach the stapler around. This did cause a slight crease in the cardstock. I was about to hand it to a toddler of mass destruction so I figured that was the least of that books worries.
I then looted my office supplies and found some page tab markers. They were on the cheaper side and didn’t stick super well so I glued the bottom one on the inside cover. I also found a sheet of stickers I had lying around and glued it down on the inside cover as well.
I then found some pens and highlighters that I knew my daughter would like. She is normally limited to crayons so pens are the best things ever.
Did it Work?:
While she watched me make her toddler notebook, my daughter got really excited. I gave it to her as soon as the class started and she dived right in coloring with the pens and highlighters. About 20 minutes in I turned to her and reminded her about the sticky index tabs and stickers. I then got about another 10 minutes of her placing the sticky index tabs all over the first page. She then got bored and wanted to sit in my lap and color on my notes instead. After the class ended she proudly showed her grandma her notebook. She played with it for a few more minutes before I stored it away for next week.
Update: She ended up asking for it multiple times during the following week and used it for even longer during the next ladies’ Bible class.
You can obviously just go to the store and buy your toddler a little notebook. I do think my daughter enjoyed this more knowing that I made it just for her. Whatever you choose, I wish you the best in keeping your toddler entertained.
