Creative Ideas for Pre-schooler and Toddler

Pudding art
Rice/noodle art
Blocks
Coloring

I would recommend buying the book "The Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner. It is aimed toward 3-6 year olds, ut there are a load of great ideas in there that I do with my kids (3 & 18mos). It also will jog your memory on what you did to keep your own kids occupied! Have fun -- my parents just did the same thing for us, and it was invaluable!

First of all, God bless you for helping all the generations! My active 3 year old boy liked a pint size basketball hoop and ball. Also Nerf-type golf clubs and balls. 12 month old girl--puzzles, exersaucer, jumping seat that fits over the door trim.

This might sounds silly, but it works for us! My oldest daughter (who is now 8!) LOVED boxes when she was little. We would get big boxes and then cut doors and windows in them - she would pop in and out for hours. If you can only get little boxes you can cut little doors and windows and then let the kids put animals and little dolls (or cars!) in them. My girls are 8 and almost 6 and they still love doing this. In fact, just today we were at BJ's and they some really nice boxes - so we took a few! My girls like to decorate them with crayons, markers, stickers. Sometimes they want to put clear tape on both sides of the windows to create "glass." Usually takes up a whole afternoon, and it can be as creative as you want to make it! Have fun with your grandchildren.

The 3 yo could color, play with toys, puzzles, play dough, fingerpaint (outdoors or with lots of newspaper), play with string and bead toys, jump on a small trampoline or bed with supervision, play I spy and red light, green light, and might like going to a nearby park. The 1 yo could crawl or walk with you, play peek-a-boo, practice making talking sounds, go on walks in the stroller, listen to fun music, play with large or soft blocks, use a bouncer or swing, and get some massage. Both kids may like to get tickled, read to and hugged.

What fun ages! For your granddaughter, is she allowed to play with tupperware? My one year old loves to play with plastic containers, spoons, pots and pans! They always seem to like the boxes and simple toys best.
For your grandson, try an obstacle course indoors or out with whatever you have available; take a walk and a bag and collect "stuff", just putting a different spin on things is so fun - eat lunch as a picnic in the yard, have a pajama party, put on music and dance. He will probably keep you busy showing you what he loves to do.

At those ages, big boxes, shredded paper, make some playdough- flour, water, food coloring, and some seasoning to make it taste bad-I used Garlic, Hwite pepper and paprika. The shredded paper could be bought at a party store or dollar store, if you get different colors and some shiny ones, oit would make it interesting. Also, just take walks, or go to local parks, make a kite, check out a book from the library