20 activities to do with your toddler is a list of fun, sensory, free educational activities you can do at home and indoors.
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Toddler Activities
Getting bored at home with your toddler? Are the days dragging? Are you feeling like your child is bored at home? You’re not alone! Try one of these toddler activities once a day or even once a week. Make sure you participate in the toddler activities, so you can get some nice quality time in. Plus, your toddler looks up to you and wants to play with you!
DRESS-UP
Let your child try on some of your clothes! Bring out the old dresses, fancy shoes, and chunky jewelry. Don’t forget to try on some crazy outfits yourself!
MARSHMALLOW PLAY DOUGH
Make this fun recipe and then play with it like you would store bought play dough. Click here for full program info.
NOODLE NECKLACES
It’s so easy to let your child string some dry pasta noodles onto yarn for a neck lace he/she will love to wear! You can make one too!
SHAVING CREAM TOWERS
Sometimes kids get bored with their toys. So, change them up! Add shaving cream to a bin of blocks and your child’s attention will be renewed! Teach him/her how to use the shaving cream like mortar between the bricks, and you’ll build (and knock down) the coolest towers together!
FUN FORTS
Build a fort together using cushions, pillows, blankets, and couches. Take a snack and some books inside to share!
PASTA PILES
Cook a bunch of pastas and put it all in a bin for your child to play with. You can even color the pasta with food coloring for extra fun. And, it’s okay if he/she eats it! Add cooking utensils (colander, spoons, etc.) too!
MORE MEMORY!
You know the game with the cards that you lay out and have to find the matches? Yes, your two year old can play! It’s okay if you don’t finish the game every time, but it’s a great way to improve your child’s skill and keep you sharp as well.
SILLY PAINTING
Give your child silly objects to use as paintbrushes. The idea for this project came from Babble Dabble Do! Paint with toothbrushes, cotton balls, yarn, spray bottles, feathers, plastic animals, blocks, etc. Anything you can find will work! Don’t forget to paint your own work of art! Find full instructions and more examples here!
COOKIE BAKING
Make a yummy treat together! Let your child help you pour ingredients into the bowl, mix the dough, and put the cookies on the pan. It’s okay if it gets a little messy or the cookies look a little funny. Explain to your child how the ingredients will mix together to make something new—a science concept! And for a math introduction, show your child the numbers on the measuring cups! Also, if your child wants to play with the baking supplies (bowl, spoon, whisk, measuring cups) on his/her own later, that’s great way to extend the activity. *Be careful by the oven!
CARDBOARD BOXES
Who knew cardboard boxes could be so fun!? Help your child make the boxes into spaceships, forts, castles, houses, restaurants—whatever they want! Use markers, paints, and stickers to decorate the boxes, and you can use a scissors to add doors and windows.
SILLY PAINTING PART 2
Thanks to Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails for this idea. Finger painting is fun, but finger painting on tinfoil is even more fun! Enhance sensory exploration by providing your child with different materials to finger paint on—tinfoil, wax paper, cardboard, plastic wrap, newspaper, mirrors, sandpaper, Styrofoam, etc.
GIANT STICKER COLLAGE
Use poster board, butcher paper, bulletin board paper, etc. so your child can create a giant sticker collage. Lay the paper on the floor and have your child put stickers all over the paper. They’ll stick garage sale stickers, address labels, princess stickers, truck stickers, etc.—anything you can find, they’ll use it!
GIANT ART COLLAGE
Poster board, butcher paper, bulletin board paper, etc. are great to make any art project exciting again! Use pencils, pens, markers, crayons, colored pencils, paints, etc. to decorate the large pieces of paper and explore art on a larger scale.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Pinterest is full of instructions for making musical instruments from items at home! Ever seen the maracas made out of plastic spoons or the rubber band guitar? So many good ideas!
RICE BIN
Fill a bin (the long, under-the-bed kind is great, but any bin will do) with uncooked rice and add kitchen utensils, such as cups, measuring cups, spoons, bowls, etc. Make sure the bin is big enough for you to join in on the play as well!
MAGAZINE ART
Cut out pictures from magazines with your child. Help him/her use a glue stick or glue bottle to stick the faces, animals, cars, clothes, etc. onto paper. You can also cut out facial features (eyes, ears, mouths, noses, hair, etc.) and have your child create faces. Help your child decide who he/she’d like to give his/her art to as a gift!
CLOUD DOUGH
It’s so fun to make, and kids will love how soft it is! Mix 8 cups of flour with 1 cup of baby oil—your child can help you mix it together—in a big bin. Add sand toys, toy cars, or plastic animals.
CUTTING COLLAGE
Mentor Public Library did this craft with older kids. Thanks for sharing the great idea! Yes, toddlers can learn to cut! Start by cutting craft dough with a craft dough scissors and then move up to using a child-friendly pair of scissors to cut craft dough before moving on to paper. Let your child cut whatever shapes he/she wants out of paper and help him/her glue the shapes down for a beautiful collage! You can also modify this project into an art lesson about Henry Matisse! *Be sure to supervise children with scissors.
SLIME TIME
Let your child help you mix 1 part school glue, 1 part liquid starch, and food coloring together to make slime! Your child will love squishing the slime. When they get bored, introducing cutting the slime, folding it, and making new slime in different colors! *This is not edible, so be careful your child doesn’t put it in his/her mouth.
OBSTACLE COURSE
Build an obstacle course for you and your child to complete. Put out stuffed animals to run around, play houses or tunnels to crawl through, mini trampolines to jump on, blocks to jump over, etc. Anything you have, you can use! Then, show your toddler how the obstacle course works. (Run around the stuffed horse, jump on the trampoline 3 times, hop over the block, crawl across the couch, and run to the finish line!) Do it together a few times like “Follow the Leader,” then let him/her try it alone. Make-up new routines too!
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These toddler activities will enhance your child’s sensory skills, as well as their fine motor skills and gross motor skills. Do crafts, recipes, gym activities, and more!
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