I'm not the most terribly creative father when it comes to finding activities for my toddler. Most of it is due to the fact that my wife worked in a daycare for toddler-age children, and through that, automatically knows what to do with kids that age. Me being the proud man that I am, I never think to ask her for ideas, but I often find that I'm at a loss for what to do with my son when we're spending 'daddy time' together while mom is catching up on sleep or running errands that have been piling up for weeks.
I think most of my lack of creativity is because I don't really understand what level of development toddlers are at during any given age, so I tend to do whatever seems to keep my son interested (which is mostly TV). I think things will be easier once his vocabulary develops a little more and he can actually ask to do certain things, but until then, I'm going to be at somewhat of a loss. I have resolved to try and come up with better activities to do when I'm spending time with my son, and found a great site that lists some age-appropriate activities that are both fun and also help with a toddler's development. The list can be found here, and offers up some surprisingly easy to organize activities that should give lots of ideas to keep in your back pocket for those days when you can't find something to keep your toddlers engaged and busy.

I found a funny link while surfing for nerdy Star Wars sites: Wookiepedia.

For those of you who don't read wookie, check out the Star Wars Wiki.

A little more ambitious than I would try, but the videos are cool enough to watch, and just the type of thing to spark a young child's interest in chemistry. Check the videos out here.

Or Niagra Falls, Sydney and Yokohama? Check out some of these places in 360 degree panoramic pictures. Maybe not as cool as being there, but it sure beats a regular photo.

I ran into this link while reading GeekDad this morning. It reminds me of my childhood and how many toys I left in the toybox if I had a few boxes or unused couch cushions to make a house out of. Now I'm looking around at all the toys my son has and wonder if I should give them to needy families and get him some nice boxes to replace them. I know that sounds pretty weak and busted, but I'm not sure he'd really mind.


UPDATE:
Head on over to Mr. McGroovy's to check out their cardboard box kits and plans. Also check out their Photo Gallery with examples of some of the projects people have put together. Pretty neat stuff - my favorites are the Pirate Ship and Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo! I may have to work something like this up for my son's next birthday party.

Is it just me, or does anyone else who is a new dad occasionally feel like they are a kid again? I haven't looked at action figures or Legos or other toys and youthful activities like camping, rocketry, astronomy, etc. quite like I have in the past year.

Most of it is due to the excitement I'm feeling about introducing these things to my son when he's old enough to enjoy them. But another part of it is that these things are still pretty damn cool to look at and think about, even at my age. I hope that I'm not projecting my interests on my son, but since he's only one year old, I don't need to worry about being too overbearing about it just yet. And I think I will do fine respecting his feelings if he's not interested in some of the things that I was interested in as a child.

Knowing my luck, however, he'll only be interested in the one thing that I never got into - Sports. God help me if he gets into that, because I don't know much about them other than having watched a few Dallas Cowboy's games on TV. I suppose it would be fun to learn the finer points of sports together, though.

The new year has rolled around, and although it's gotten colder (but not really cold here, since I live in Central TX), I'm anxious to get outdoors enjoy being away from my computer, TV, etc. I'm a big fan of camping, and while my son is still too young to appreciate it, I'm looking forward to taking him in the next couple of years.

I ran across this site today while surfing, and it looks like a nice resource guide. Mind you, I probably don't need it, because I'm an Eagle Scout (Can you just hear me patting myself on the back? :), but for the uninitiated, there are some good tips to consider before embarking on a camping trip and great resources for finding places to go. OK, so I can definitely use the resources pages. As long as I've lived in Austin, I seem to go back to the same places to camp, but a new campsite would be a lot of fun to try out this year.

If you've never been camping, I highly recommend it, especially if you have children. Some of my fondest memories are of camping trips with my parents, uncles, cousins, etc. I'm also glad that I was involved in Boy Scouts, because that got me plenty of opportunities for doing outdoor activities. Mmm - I can almost taste the S'Mores now.....