It’s not easy staying home all day, and it’s a whole lot harder with a toddler running around.
Their minds are developing at a rapid pace during this phase, so it’s important to keep them entertained with activities designed to encourage growth and development.
A little stimulation can also operate as a great defense against tantrums and other undesirable behavior. Of course, not everyone has a laundry list of activities for toddlers stored away, which can make performing them pretty difficult to do.
That’s why we’re bringing you our original guide of the best things to do with toddlers at home. Check out the list below to learn more about our favorite at home toddler activities!
10 Fun Toddler Activities
1. Make a Cardboard Animal
- Source: Supermakeit
If you don’t have an animal at home to entertain the family, why not make your own? You can create some super-cute animal friends by using materials easily found around the house. Any extra cardboard or even egg cartons will do!
Help the kids cut out the animal of their choice. You can do this as a 2D exercise or use these templates to create a standing animal creation!
2. Do Some Kids Yoga
Yoga may seem like an adult thing, but it can also be a great activity to do with kids!
Check out this guide to introduce your toddler to some simple and easy-to-perform moves. It never hurts to incorporate a little exercise into your day!
3. Make Play Dough
- Source: I heart naptime
Kids love getting their hands dirty, so why not let them indulge under your supervision? You can follow this simple recipe for making play dough at home. You should be able to find most (if not all) ingredients already stored away in the pantry.
Once it’s all mixed together, there are a number of fun things you can do. Have your toddler flatten it with a rolling pin, create a ball using their two hands, spell out their ABCs or decorate it with other arts and crafts materials.
According to this occupational therapist, this kind of activity can actually help strengthen fine motor skills in young children.
4. Create Your Own Sticky Spider Web
- Source: hands on as we grow
Still stuck on activities for toddlers at home? Think about creating your own spider web and watch what gets caught up in its threads.
For this one, you just need to get a thick tape (painters tape is recommended but duct tape will also work). Tape a few pieces across a doorway.
Keep going in different directions until your design starts resembling a web. Once your finish, grab a few pieces of newspaper.
Crinkle them up into little balls, ask your toddler to start throwing them into the web, and see how many they get to stick!
5. Make Spaghetti Shapes
- Source: teaching mama
This activity for toddlers is perfect for helping introduce them to some basic shapes! Cook up a pack of spaghetti noodles.
Divide the goods up into a few different bowls. Squirt different types of food coloring into each. Assign specific shapes to certain colors (blue to triangle, green to circle, red to square, and so on).
Then, ask your toddler to create each shape on the list using the pasta! You can always print out some shape cards to help guide them in case they get confused. It’s a great cognitive learning activity!
6. Set-up an Indoor Bowling Alley
- Source: dharma jane
Tired of taking out the recycling? Put some of those items to good use with this DIY bowling activity! You’ll want to set things up in a hallway or narrow passage.
You can use empty pop bottles, empty paper towel rolls or cardboard cutouts for the pins. Use a small ball or make your own out of rolled up newspaper. Take turns until someone bowls a strike!
7. Make a Fort
Who doesn’t love a good ol’ fashion fort? Introduce your toddler to their very own hideaway from inside the house! Of course, there are a few different ways to go about that task.
Check out our post on how to make a teepee for your kids for more ideas on how to create a cozy fort at home.
8. Engage in Shaving Cream Sensory Play
- Source: fantastic fun and learning
This one may be simple but it sure is fun! Squirt some shaving cream onto a baking sheet. Put a few drops of food coloring in and let the ones dive in hands first!
This kind of tactile play is a great way to help strengthen gross motor skills. It will also give you an opportunity to teach your toddler about following instructions and avoiding messes!
9. Create a Pillow Path
- Source: hands on as we grow
Looking for more things to do with a toddler? Get moving! Grab a bunch of pillows and create a path in your living room. You can double up on some and mix up the amount of space you place between pillows.
Have fun with your toddler as the two of you jump from one platform to the next! This exercise is a great way to encourage balance, strengthen foot grip, and introduce a new textural sensory experience!
10. Make a Painted Rock Collection
This is one of our favorite activities for toddlers. It’s also incredibly easy to put into action — all you need is a rock and some paint!
Sit the little ones down with their newly collected canvases and let their imagination guide the design. If you want to make it more of a tactile experience, you can always put the brush down and turn to finger paint instead!
Be sure to check out this post for more fun rock activities for kids.
11. Create a Toy Car Wash
- Source: what do we do all day
It’s never too early to introduce the importance of cleanliness! Fill up the sink and the bathtub with soap and water and make your own miniature car wash! Create a step-by-step approach to introduce to your toddler.
Watch as they absorb the information, follow directions and start on tasks all by themselves! You can always expand this activity to include other toys!
12. Make a Button Snake
- Source: blogspot
Next up on our list of activities with toddlers is the make-a-snake game! For this one you’ll need a ribbon, two buttons, a few squares of felt and a needle & thread.
Start by sewing the buttons to either end of the ribbon. Then cut a slit into the middle of each square of felt.
Hand the materials over to your toddler and ask them to poke the button through the holes in the felt. It’s a great way for them to practice their fine motor skills!
13. Counting Cotton Balls
- Source: busy toddler
Help your toddler practice their counting skills with this next activity! All you need are some cotton balls (or colored pom poms) and an oatmeal container.
Cut a hole into the top of the container. Set your little one up with a stack of cotton balls and ask them to count how many they place in the container. It may sound simple but they’ll have a blast!
14. Make an Air Balloon
- Source: little bins for little hands
No not that kind of air balloon! All this activity requires are some blown up balloons and an air swatter. Encourage your toddler to keep the balloons up in the air as long as possible with the fly swatter.
Introduce some competition to make things a bit more challenging! Set a goal and ask them to keep score or see if they can keep two balloons up in the air at once!
15. Do a Bucket Toss
- Source: moms collab
Looking for more activities for toddlers? Why not make your very own bucket toss. All you need is a bucket or large mixing bowl and some pipe cleaners.
Twist the pipe cleaners together to make rings, stack them up next to your toddler and see how well they can aim them into the bucket!
You can always shake things up by introducing a second bucket. See how well they do with alternating targets!
16. Count Cheerios
- Source: hands on as we grow
Grab a handful of play dough and flatten it out some. Take a few sticks of uncooked spaghetti and place them in the dough.
Bust out the Cheerios and ask your toddler to thread them onto the spaghetti. It’s a great counting exercise!
It’s also a fun way to help your kids strengthen their pincer grasp — the coordination between their index finger and thumb.
We hoped you enjoyed our list of things to do with toddlers at home! Remember, there are plenty of things you can do to keep the kids entertained at home.
You can use basic materials found around the house to help introduce your little ones to new concepts, strengthen their fine motor function and develop cognitive skills.
Be sure to check out our blog for more fun activities you can do with the kids.
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