Pipe Cleaners and Pom Poms

I've been looking for activities to do with Sam.  Things that will work with his lack of attention span (it's like a hummingbird, people), but still help him focus and learn little things.  One thing I have already learned about him is that he is a very tactile learner.  Even at a very young age I could hear or see something and commit it to memory.  My nephew and niece are also fairly visual and auditory.  Sam, on the other hand, needs to touch and feel and explore.  These activities worked perfectly for him, and he seemed to really enjoy them.

Pipe Cleaners & a Colander
Two packages of pipe cleaners in various colors and textures ($2) plus one plastic colander from Dollar Tree ($1) equals twenty minutes of one happy toddler.  We played with the pipe cleaners by bending them into shapes and then showed him how to poke them through the holes in the colander.  He would squeal with delight every time he got his little hands to finally push that pipe cleaner through a hole.  We did this right after he got up from a nap so please pardon the Crazy Hair.

 Pom Poms & a Muffin Tin
Another post-nap activity was pom poms and a muffin tin.  A gigantic bag of pom poms in tons of sizes and colors was $5.99.  We separated some of them by color (this used just a tiny bit of the pom poms in the bag), put them in a muffin tin, and turned him loose.  At first he seemed a little uncertain, but as you can see, he warmed up quickly and eventually made his own pom pom "ball pit".

Sidenote:  If you have a dog that also doubles as a trash compactor (ie. eats everything in sight) you'll want to keep them away from the pom poms or you'll end up with a very colorful "surprise" on your next outdoor adventure.

Not that I have any experience with this phenomenon.