Looking for Some Ideas

I used to go to the library and browse the children's section for craft and activity idea books. There were books for every age and attention span. The children's librarian had good suggestions, too.

I read this suggestion on Mamapedia:

Strip down baby and put him/her in an empty bathtub. Let your baby go to town with washable paints while sitting in the tub. Let them finger paint or use brushes. Cleanup is a cinch since baby is already naked and in the bath!

Free play, free exploration of his world is great, You dont want to raise a child who cant play without an adult directing him. he's so young for computer, I bought something that fit over the keyboard and kept him playing his games not messing up our keyboard. PM me if you want more info. Sing lots of songs with him for interaction and language development. If you don't know a lot of children's songs get dvds of children's songs and CDs. Teach him to jump, if you want to do numbers try for jump two time one two, jump one time etc. Walk up the steps saying up up up and then go down saying down.... Read board books, lift the flap books, books you can touch and manipulate, you can buy at garage sales if he is still too rough with library books. Baby babble DVD is good to encourage talking. Sing language is the best at this age for encouraging talking, get books and videos to learn together. sit with legs apart and roll a ball back and forth saying roll the red ball to Mommy. Dont forget clapping games like patty cake. Play hide the toy and look for it make it easy! What a super fun age! too many parents trying to ruin the exploration, discovery, problem solving, independence etc that should be occurring at that age by teaching letters and numbers

He would probably love playing in some water with your SUPERVISION pouring and splashing.

Read read read read out loud to him.

have him help you with your chores, he can play with the clean laundry while you fold it and hand you socks or what ever if he is up to that.

there is nothing wrong with having "free Play" you are lucky he doesn't demand more attention, but there is no reason you can't get down there with him for 3 minutes and point out the colors on the toy he is playing with. the more you model language for him the more he'll start to pick it up and talk back to you.

I used to play a game that was basically hide and seek, i would put a light small sized blanket over the baby and sing "who oh who is under the blanket?" then take the blanket off and say the child's name. Loved that one.

I would sit with my back to the wall and my legs out straight and put the baby on my lap facing me and hold their little hands and sing, "bumping up in down in a little red wagon, repeat 2 on my way to town, but OH no the wagon broke and little rachel fell out. and as i sang i would -gently_ move my legs in a bumping motion and then spread my legs out so the baby would ""fall"" down in between my legs so in stead of sitting on my lap they were sitting on the floor.

do the itsy bitsy spider when you do diaper changes, anything like that.

While you're stuck in the house, do whatever you can to keep him interested in books. Read together as much as you can both stand it. :) It really helps to get them talking!

Have you tried any "art projects" like crayons or fingerpaints or even the color wonder markers (since those don't make a mess)? Or playing together with play doh?

Also, when the weather gets nice, a really great thing to have outdoors is a water table. You can fill it with sand or water, or 1/2 and 1/2, depending on the table, and it can provide hours and hours of fun! It will come with a few toys and then you can add measuring cups for him to scoop the water/sand & pour and even little plastic animals to play with. It's one of the best things we bought for our own little one.

Hope you can stay sane until the weather turns nice! Enjoy your little guy! :)

Lots of good ideas here already. My only comment is that you are not 'stuck in the house.' If you dress for it, you can go outside for part of the day almost any day of the year, and your child will be the better for it. Here are just a few things you can do on a simple walk: "Count the trees in that yard"; "Listen to the birds singing. What do you think they are saying to each other?"; "See if you can find 5 stones"; when he's a little older, "You may walk to the 3rd tree and then wait for me" or "let's see if you can hop on one foot down to that green bush" ; when the leaves are falling, "How do the leaves feel? Listen to the sound when we rub them in our hands"; "What color is that house?" On a day like today, put on your boots and look for signs of new life in the soil or on plants. Splash in a puddle. Feel the rain on your nose. All these sensory and intellectual stimulants are good for your little boy and you, too.

J.

Play music, music, music - all kinds.
Set up an obstacle course with chairs, pillows for your baby to crawl through.

Since you don't have a car readily available, can you invite friends or moms over to your house to play. Even run errands together? Together means you can take turns watching each other's kids. Or joing a mom's club and ask for a ride?

Can you take you husband to work one day a week, so you can go to the library, or take a tot class at a local community center?

You have had some great responses already. I just wanted to add a computer element. If he is really interested in the computer (like my daughter is) you could try a program called babysmash. It is a free downloadable game that locks all functions so the baby can "smash" buttons on the keyboard and click and move the mouse without doing something damaging to your computer's contents. One of the great things is you have to push a combination of buttons at the same time to exit so it is rather difficult for little ones to accidentally exit out. It pops up images of the letters and numbers pushed, plus shapes for other buttons. My DD loves this game and asks for it frequently.

Classic games are always good – stacking sofa cushions for climbing and building forts, pillow fights, throwing a soft toy in a box or basket (throwing games are VERY good for a child's development on many levels). Pretend cooking with pots, pans, wooden spoon, dry noodles, maybe water if you're brave. Dancing. Short walks outside – natural daylight, air, and watching sky and nature changes are all emotionally enriching for a child.

Mt grandson adored buttons, too. He had his own (dead) cell phone, and practiced "conversation" at that age. I wouldn't focus on "reading" activities for a minute longer than he has patience for – he's probably far more physical than academic at his age.

If he free play by himself it does not allow for a lot of interaction. Not judging we do do the same here sometimes to keep the adults sane.

Things we do.
1. Reading. You can say things like "What do you think happens next?" Even if he still has a limited vocabulary.
2. Build forts with him
3. Do crafts.
-You can make noise makers from just about anything. Our last one was an empty coffee creamer container with rice in it as well as an almost empty oatmeal tin. You can then pretend to be in a band.
-Sculpt. Model Magic is awesome.
-Subscribe to Family Circle. They have tons of ideas.
4. If you want him to learn sight words, preschool prep has a pretty good DVD. They also have shapes and letters and numbers