100+ Quick and Easy Activities for Two-Year-Olds
Activities Throughout The Day
Morning-Time Activities
• Matching Sock Games
What you need:
Socks of different colours and patterns
How to play:
1. Place a pile of loose socks on the floor in front of your child.
2. Encourage your child to sort the socks by color or pattern.
• Wake Up Tickles
Note: Some children find tickling to be unpleasant.
How to play:
Slowly wake your child by gently tickling parts of his body. Start with extremities such as fingers and toes and for toward his belly.
• Tiptoe
Young children will enjoy the overexaggerated sense of suspense.
How to play:
1. Encourage your child to creep or tiptoe throughout the house as they get ready for the day.
2. You may wish to whisper and add to the excitement by pretending not to wake a sleeping giant or family member.
Bath-Time Activities
Bath time can be very soothing and calming.
• Fizzy Bath Balls
Liven up your child’s bath time with these homemade fizzy bath balls. Your toddler can also participate in making them!
What you need (Makes 4-6 balls):
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons coconut or almond oil
1 tablespoon water
How to make:
1. Combine dry ingredients.
2. Mix oil and water, and drizzle onto dry ingredients while stirring. Stir to combine thoroughly.
3. Roll into balls. Allow to dry for 24-48 hours.
4. Add a fizzy ball to the bath water. The ball will fizz for a few minutes.
• Soap Crayons
This activity combines an opportunity for creative expression with bathtub fun. Your child can use these crayons to draw on the tile or on herself.
What you need (Makes 12 crayons):
1 cup soap flakes or powder
3 tablespoons water
Washable tempera paint
Ice cube trays or small paper cups (for molds)
How to make:
1. Mix soap and water together to make a stiff dough that can hold its own shape. Add more soap powder or water as needed to reach the desired consistency.
2. Divide the mixture into 3 or 4 balls. Add a few drops of paint to each portion to create desired colours.
3. Press mixture into moulds and let set for a few days before using as crayons in the tub.
• Bathtub Finger Paints
What you need:
2 tablespoons liquid soap
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Food colouring
How to make:
1. Mix all ingredients together for each colour and store in covered container.
2. Let your child use the paints to paint on his body or on the tub tiles. When bath time is over, the paint will rinse away.
• Fishing in the Tub
What you need:
Toy plastic fish
1 small aquarium net
How to play:
Simply add the fish to the bath water for your toddler to catch with the net. If you don’t have toy fish, you could cut out some simple creatures from craft foam, or even a kitchen sponge!
Calming and Rest-Time Activities
• Back Blackboard
What you need:
Body lotion, if desired
How to use:
1. Ask your child to lie still on his stomach. Direct him to pay attention to what he feels.
2. Use your finger to draw on your child’s back. For younger children, make shapes and spirals. For the older child, you can draw specific shapes, letters, or numbers and ask him to guess what they are . Use lotion for a variation.
• Roll Up
What you need:
Extra blanket
How to play:
1. Spread the blanket out on top of your child’s made bed.
2. Have your child lie on top of the blanket on one side of the bed.
3. Tuck the near side of the blanket over him and gently roll him across the bed until he is wrapped up in the blanket roll. Unroll your child before you leave him to go to sleep.
• Monster Spray
What you need:
1 empty spray bottle
Materials for decorating (markers, stickers, etc)
How to make:
1. Have your child decorate the bottle.
2. Tell the child that this is now a bottle of monster repellent. Let him spray wherever he thinks there could a monster lurking!
Mealtime and Cooking Activities
• Personal Placemat
What you need:
12” x 14” sheets poster board
Crayons or markers
Clear contact paper
How to make:
Have your child decorate both sides of the poster board with crayons or markers.
2. Use clear contact paper to laminate her creation.
• Homemade Butter
What you need:
1 cup heavy cream
1 clear jar with lid
1 marble
How to make:
1. Put the heavy cream in the jar with a marble. Cover jar with lid.
2. Have your child shake the jar vigorously until butter forms. Enjoy some fresh butter on some hot rolls!
Transition Times
• This is the Way
Make up different verses to the tune of “Pop! Goes the Weasel.” Here’s an example:
This is the way we wash our face.
Wash our face, wash our face.
This is the way we wash our face.
So early in the morning.
Other potential verses might involve how to climb into bed, wait for the bus, and so on. You can change the time of day as appropriate—to “late in the evening,” for example.
Helping Around the House
• Washing Fun
1. The next time you are washing dishes or other items, set up a bin with some soapy water.
2. Give your toddler a sponge, and let her wash her toys. Alternatively, let your child join you in hosing off the patio or even washing the car!
• Side by Side
Buy your child a little whisk broom to help with sweeping. She may be able to help push the vacuum cleaner, but many toddlers are frightened by the sound. Additionally, you can give your child a damp rag and let her help you with the dusting.
Anytime Activities
• Fill and Dump
You will be surprised to see how much young children like to fill and dump containers. An added plus is that this activity helps them learn about cause and effect.
What you need:
Small continers, such as Tupperware or coffee cans
Small toys, such as blcoks, balls, or collectables toys. Be sure that the items do not pose a choking hazard.
How to play:
1. Seat your toddler on a blanket or rug.
2. Give him the containers and the little toys. Demonstrate the game by putting a few items into a container and dumping them out.
3. Give your toddler the containers and let him fill anddump them on his own.
• Where Is My Pair?
What you need:
Pairs of items, such as socks, mittens, or shoes
A box or laundry basket
How to play:
1. Divide all the pairs, pacing one matte in the box and one in plain views somewhere else in the room.
2. Remove an item from the box. Show it to your toddler and ask him to find its mate and make a pair.
• Water Paint
What you need:
Small container of water
Paintbrushes
How to play:
1. Take your child outside, or seat him in the bathtub.
2. Tell him that the water is imagination paint and he can paint whatever he wants.
3. As he paints, ask him to describe what colors and patterns he is making.
Zoo Lotto
What you need:
Ruler
Marker
8” x 8” section of poster board
Small magazine pictures of animals
White craft glue
Clear contact paper
Dry-erase marker
How to play:
1. Use the ruler and marker to outline six equal squares on the poster board.
2. Review the magazine pictures with your child. Let him select six pictures of animals that he thinks he will find at the zoo.
3. Help him glue one animal picture in each square.
4. Cover the board with clear contact paper.
5. Bring the board and dry-erase marker. Show your child how to mark off each animal the he sees.
6. Challenge him to complete the entire card.
Move Like Me, Sounds Like Me
What you need:
Pictures of animals
How to play:
As you view an animal, ask your child to mimic how the animal movies and/or sounds. Good animals to imitate are monkeys, kangaroos, elephants, and the big cats.
• Drumstick
How to play:
1. Give your child a drumstick to use as a tapper. You can make one by super-gluing a wooden bead onto a dowel rod. Or in a pinch, you can use a wooden spoon or even a popsicle stick.
2. Take your child outdoors and encourage him to tap on different things. Talk about what he hears.Possible items to tap include bricks, a tree trunk, and a rain gutter.
Learning About Family
By learning about her family specifically, your toddler will learn how people interact with, love, and support each other. She will also learn her role in your family.
• Big Feet, Little Feet
This activity will help your child learn about sizes and comparison.
What you need:
Construction paper
Markers
Scissors
Crayons
1. Have each family member place his or her feet on the construction paper. Help your child trace around the feet with a marker.
2. Cut the “feet” out and label them.
3. Show your child hw to compare the sizes of family feet. Can she guess which outline belongs to each member?
4. Let your child decorate the feet with the crayons.
• I Know Your Nose
Can your child identify other family members by just looking at a nose or other facial feature?
What you need:
Scissors
Close-up portraits of family members, including one of your toddler
White craft glue
Index cards
1. Cut out each family member’s facial features (eyes, nose, and mouth).
2. Glue all of the eye sets to one index card, all of the noses on another and the mouths on a third.
3. For each card, challenge your toddler to identify the owner of the facial features.
4. To extend this activity, omit the step of gluing the pictures onto the index cards; instead, tape them on temporarily. Let your child remove them and create a new person by jumbling the facial features into a new face
Learning-about-My-Body Activities
• Self-Portrait
What you need:
Light-coloured construction or bond paper
Crayons
White craft glue (optional)
Yarn and fabric scraps (optional)
1. Provide your child with paper and crayons to create a self-portrait
2. If desired, let her glue on yarn for hair and scraps of fabric for clothes.
• All-about-Me Book
What you need:
Markers
Light-coloured construction or bond paper
Magazines or downloaded photos
Scissors
White craft glue
1. Label each page of your child’s book with a title, such as “My Favourite Foods” or “Toys I Play With.”
2. Help your child find appropriate pictures in the magazines or scroll through online images to cut out and or print and paste onto the pages.
• I Go to Pieces
What you need:
White craft glue
Photograph of your child, enlarged to 8” x 10” or larger
Poster board cut to same size as photo
Clear contact paper
Scissors
1. Glue the photo of your child onto the poster board and cover with the clear contact paper.
2. Cut the photo into puzzle pieces. You can make the puzzle simple with fewer pieces or more complex with more pieces.
3. Give your child the new personalised puzzle to complete.
• I Am Smaller Than
What you need:
Yarn
Scissors
1. Have your toddler stand with his back to a wall. Run the yarn from his head to his toes, and cut it to the length of his body.
2. Show your child that the yarn piece represents his height. Take the yarn and hold it up to yourself and other family members to compare. You may also wish to compare the yearn with household furniture and other things in his environment. Is he taller than the fence? Is he shorter than the refrigerator.
• As I Grow
What you need:
Photos of your child at different ages.
Assist your child in putting the photos in sequence from youngest to oldest. Point out to your child the physical differences that are observable in the photos.
Five-Senses Activities
• Smelly Tacky Paintings
What you need:
Spoon
Water
Light-coloured construction or bon paper
Different flavours of Jell-O (dark colors work best)
1. Help your child spoon a small amount of water onto the paper.
2. Let your child sprinkle the Jell-O powder on the wet patches.
3. Your child can then finger paint with these colors. She needs to be gentle so as not to rub through the paper. As she works, she will find the the consistency of the “paint” change from gritty to sticky to slimy.
• Fuzzy Hand
What you need:
1 large sheet poster board
Pencil
Scissors
White craft glue
Various fabric scraps with different textures (such as burlap, satin, cotton, or corduroy)
1. Place your child’s hands on the poster board. Trace around them and then cut out multiple paper hands.
2. Let your child glue the various materials onto the hands. Talk about how each hand feels.
Learning to Be Safe and Healthy
• Brush the Tooth
What you need:
Scissors
1 sheet yellow construction paper
An old toothbrush
White tempera paint
1. Cut a tooth shape from the construction paper.
2. Talk with your child about teeth and how when they are not brushed, they can develop decay and turn yellow.
3. Let him use the toothbrush to paint the tooth with pretend toothpaste (white paint)
Art Activities for Toddlers
• Sparkly Pictures
What you need:
Crayons
Dark-colored construction paper
Painbrush
Salt water
1. Have your toddler color any design or picture she wants on a dark-colored sheet of construction paper. Remind her to press hard for the colors to show well.
2. Next, let your child use the brush to paint over her picture with the salt water. (Be sure to stop her before the paper becomes too soggy.) The crayons will resist the water. When the paper dries, the picture will sparkle wherever the salt remains.
• Paper Bag Batik
What you need:
Scissors
1 brown paper bag
Water
Crayons
1. Cut the bag open so that it forms 1 piece of flat paper.
2. Help your toddler soak the bag in water and then squeeze the water out. Let the bagel get wrinkled.
3. The wet bag will tear easily, so open it carefully and lay it flat.
4. Once the bag is dry, your toddler can color a design on it.
• Black Magic
What you need:
White paper
Crayons
Black watercolor paint
Paintbrush
1. Let your child color on the paper with crayons. Avoid dark colors such as black, brown or grey. Show her how to press hard to make sure the crayon marks are heavy.
2. Once the picture is complete, your child will paint over the entire paper with the black watercolor paint. The original crayon drawing will resist the paint and show through.
3. For older toddlers, or with your assistance: Instead of using watercolor paint, help your child cover the picture with a thick layer of black crayon. (All crayon layers must be extra thick for this to work.) Scrape away patters or designs using the side of a coin to reveal the vibrant rainbow colors underneath.
• Rough Art
What you need:
Crayons or chalk
Different grades of sandpaper
Let your toddler explore coloring on the different textures of sandpaper.
• Cupcake Crayons
What you need:
Old crayons and crayon pieces
Muffin tin
Paper muffin or cupcake liners
1. Discard brown, black, and grey crayons.
2. Remove the paper from all crayons. Small fingers may need help with this.
3. Break remaining crayons into small pieces no more than 1/2” long. Supervise your children carefully to ensure they do not put any crayons in their mouths.
4. Distribute crayon pieces into muffin tins lined with liners.
5. Bake at 300 degrees F. until all the crayons are melted together.
6. When cool, remove the new cupcake crayons from the tins—they’ll be ready to use.
• Wet Chalk Pastels
What you need:
Sidewalk chalk in various colors
1 cup water
Dark-colored construction paper
1. Show your child how tip dip the chalk into the water and let it sit for 1 minute.
2. Once the chalk is wet show your child how to color on the paper—don’t press to hard, or the paper will tear. The wet chalk will look like pastel paints.
• Sticker Surprise
What you need:
A variety of adhesive stickers
White construction or bond paper
Tempera paint
1. Allow your toddler to choose the stickers he wishes to use. Stickers with distinctly shaped outlines work best.
2. Show him how to attach the stickers to the paper in any arrangement that he chooses.
3. Paint over the entire paper, covering the stickers.
4. Once the paint is dry, help your toddler removes the stickers to reveal the sticker shapes.
• Put Thos Paintbrushes Away
What you need:
Paper
Tempera paint
Paintbrush substitute(s), such as condiment squeeze bottles, eyedroppers, fly swatters, spray bottles, makeup applicators, cotton balls, cotton swabs, string, tree bark, feathers, straws, pipe cleaners, or toothbrushes
Let your child paint using any number of paintbrush substitute. He will find that each tool makes a different make on the paper.
• Reverse Finger Painting
What you need:
Finger paints
White construction paper
Cookie sheet (optional)
1. Have your child finger paint on a flat surface.
2. Press the white construction paper on top of the finger paint and rub—a mirror image of the design will transfer to the paper.
• Mirror-Image Painting
Supplies needed:
White or light-coloured bond paper
Tempera paints
1. Fold a sheet of paper in half and crease down the middle. Unfold paper.
2. Let your child paint a design on one has of the paper, using the crease as a guide.
3. Fold the paper in half and show your child how to gently rub over the painted design inside.
4. Let your child unfold the tape to reveal his new double design.
• Ball Painting
What you need:
Scissors
White or light-colored bond paper
Shoebox with a lid
Masking tape
Tempera paints
Shallow pie tins
Ping-pong or gold balls
1. Cut a piece of paper to fit the bottom of the box. Tape it securely in place.
2. Pour small amounts of paint into the pie tins. Show your toddler how to dip a ball into the paint.
3. Have him place the paint-covered balls into the shoebox. Cover the box with the lid.
4. Let your child gently roll and shake the box around.
5. Remove the ball. Repeat with as many other balls and colors as desired.
Sculpting
• Yarn Sculpture
What you need:
Yarn or cord in bright colors
White craft glue
Waxed paper
1. Have your child dip pieces of yarn in the glue to coat.
2. Let your child arrange the yarn pieces onto the waxed paper in any design she wants.
3. Allow the sculpture to dry for a few hours, and then remove it from the waxed paper You may chose to hang it as a mobile for display.
• Three-Dimensional Sculpture
What you need:
White craft glue
Masking tape
Popsicle sticks
Cardboard or poster board in various sizes and shapes
Decorative materials such as foil or ribbon
Allow your child to glue and tape the materials together to create her own 3D sculpture.
• Tissue Paper Sculpture
What you need:
Colored tissue paper
Small bowl
White craft glue
Water
Cardboard
1. Have your child tear the tissue paper into small pieces. They do not have to be uniform in size.
2. In a small bowl, mix the glue and water in equal parts.
3. Show your child how to crumple up the tissue paper into wads. Dip each wad in the glue mixture and stick onto the cardboard.
4. Your child can add tissue wads onto a growing sculpture mound in this fashion.
Making Collages
• Rice Collage
What you need:
Rubbing alcohol
Food colouring in various colors
Zip-top plastic sandwich bags (1 for each color used)
Uncooked rice or pasta
Waxed paper
White craft glue
Construction paper
1. For each color, mix 1/4 teaspoon rubbing alcohol and a few drops of food colouring in a zip-top bag. Add 1/4 cup of rice. Seal the bag and shake well.
2. Spread the rice on waxed paper and let dry.
3. Let your child use the glue to make designs on the construction paper. Sprinkle the rice over the wet glue to create a brightly coloured picture. Let dry.
• Natural Dye Collage
What you need:
Muslin fabric
Natural materials such as berries, flowers, and leaves
1. Spread he muslin on the ground. Measure to middle of the fabric swatch and mark The center line so that fabric is divided in half.
2. Working on one half of fabric, help your child pace his chosen materials into any pattern or design he wishes.
3. Fold the fabric in half with the items inside.
4. Let your toddler pound the items through the muslin with a small hammer or malt. Very young children can also stomp on the fabric to flatter the materials.
5. Open the fabric and brush away the remaining materials to reveal the collage design.
Other Art Media
• Bubble Prints
What you need:
Food colouring
Bubble solution
Pie tin
Plastic drinking straw
Paper
1. Mix a few drops of food colouring into the bubble solution. Pour solution into the pie tin.
2. Have your child use the plastic straw to blow bubbles into the solution. For young children, poke a few tiny holes near the top of the straw, to keep them from sucking up any of the bubble solution.
3. Spread a sheet of paper gently on top of the bubbles to make a print.
• Homemade Stickers
What you need:
1/2 cup vinegar
4 packets of unflavoured gelatine
1 tablespoon peppermint extract
Sticker materials, such as drawings, cartoons, or magazine pictures
Small brush
1. Boil vinegar in a small saucepan.
2. Add the gelatine, then reduce to low heat and stir until gelatine is completely dissolved. Add extract and mix well.
3. Let the mixture cool before painting on the back of chosen images. One dry you will have stamps or stickers the child can use by moistening with a dab of water.
• Floating Art
What you need:
Shallow baking pan
Water
Colored sidewalk chalk
Cupcake liners or other small containers
Construction paper
1. Fill the pan with water.
2. Help your child grate the chalk into powder. Place powder into the cupcake liners.
3. Help your child sprinkle the powder onto the water, letting her choose the colors, amounts, and patterns.
4. Have her spread a sheet of paper on top of the water to absorb the chalk design.
5. Hang the wet picture up to dr
• What Remains
What you need:
Table salt
Glitter
Sequins or small pieces of foil (optional)
White craft glue
Construction paper or poster board
1. Mix salt and glitter in equal proportions. Add sequins if desired.
2. Help your child squeeze designs with the glue onto the paper. Swirls and squiggles look better than large puddles.
3. Show your toddler how to sprinkle the glitter mixture all of the glue design.
4. Shake the paper to adhere all loose glitter mixture possible to the wet glue. Tilt paper o discard remaining glitter mixture.
Crafts
• Sun Catchers
What you need:
Hole punch
Clear plastic lid, as from a deli container from the grocery store
String
Colored tissue paper or cellophane
Scissors
White craft glue
1. Punch a hole in the lid and attach string for the hanger.
2. Your toddler can help tear tissue paper into scraps The cellophane will need to be cut.
3. Have your toddler glue the scraps onto one side of the lid.
4. When the lid is dry, hand in a sunny window.
• Shrinky Things
What you need:
Scissors
Thin sheets of Styrofoam (such as the butcher trays that come with hamburger or other meats washed well)
Hole punch
Markers
String
1. Cut the Styrofoam into desired shapes. Punch a hole at the top if you wish to hang the finished product.
2. Help your toddler decorate the shapes with the markers.
3. Microwave the creations for just a few seconds, and you will see them shrink!
4. Thread string through the hold if you wish to hang the finished project.
Away From Home Activities
Air Travel Activities
• Who Am I
How to play:
1. One player thinks of an animal. The rest of the group asks yes-or-no questions—Do you fly? Are you small? Do you eat bugs?—to figure out what the person is thinking.
2. The person who guesses correctly takes the next turn at being an animal.
• Touch Blue
How to play:
1. Call out a different color for your child to touch.
2. Your child finds and touches something nearby that is of that color.
Car-Travel Activities
• On the Road
Here is a fun way to prevent loose parts from flying all over your car. When your child tires of roadway play, he can also use the tray with magnetised letters and toys.
What you need:
Adhesive magnetic discs
Toy cars
Cookie sheet (or other metal tray that magnets will stick to)
Masking tape (optional)
How to play:
1. Attach the magnet to the bottom of the toy cars.
2. Let your child drive the magnetized cars all around the tray.
3. If desired, help your child use masking tape to outline roadways on the tray.
• Animal Sounds
How to play:
1. Players look out for animals along the road.
2. Who someone spots an animal she identifies it by the sounds it makes. For example, “I see a moo!”
Activities to Do While Waiting
• Handy Dandy
What you need:
1 small object you can hide in your hands, such as a coin.
How to play:
1. Show your child both of your hands. Place a small object such as a coin or a piece of candy in one of your hands. Remember, don’t let your child have the object if she is still putting things in her mouth.
2. Put your hands behind your back. And tell your child that you are moving the object from hand to hand.
3. Close your hands into fists and bring them back to the front of your body. Hold one hand higher than the other.
4. Recite the following poem and ask your child to guess which hand is holding the object.
"Handy dandy Riddledy Ro"
"Which do you pick, the high or the low?"
5. When your child picks the correct hand, you can either give her the object to keep or let her take a turn at hiding it.
On the Spot—When Child Gets Fussy
• Real Finger Puppets
What you need:
Washable, nontoxic markers
How to play:
1. Simply draw a face on each finger that you wish to use as a character. You may also wish to involve your child and use their fingers as well.
2. Create a simple play or act out a rhyme like “Little Miss Muffet.
Backyard and Nature Activities for Toddlers
• Changing Colors
What you need:
1 clear cup of water
Food colouring
Scissors
1 stalk of celery or 1 head Queen Anne’s lace
1. Fill a clear glass with water. Add enough food colouring to distinctly color the water.
2. Cut the celery stalk and place it in the glass. See how long it takes for the celery to take on the color of the water.
• Pressed Flowers
What you need:
Your choice of flowers
Waxed paper or newspaper
Wooden blocks or a large hardcover book
Arrange the blossoms between layers of newspaper or waxed paper. Press them under the wooden bocks or between the pages of the large book.
• Sprout in a Bag
What you need:
Zip-top plastic bag
Paper towels
Bean seeds
Moisten the paper towel with very clean Hans and slide it into a zip-top bag. Add seeds and seal. Keep towel damp and place bag in a sunny spot.
Bugs!
• Catching Butterflies
What you need:
Scissors
Construction paper in various colors
Large kitchen strainer or aquarium net
1. Cut the construction paper into butterfly shapes. Be sure they are small enough to fit into your child’s net.
2. Wait for a windy day. Go outside with your child. Toss one or more butterflies in the air and let your child try to catch them with the net.
• Butterfly Feet
What you need:
Shallow pie tin
Tempera pint
White poster board or construction paper
Markers or crayons
1. Fill the pie tin with the paint. Help your child remove his shoes and socks, and then help him step into the paint.
2. Have him step directly out of the paint and onto the paper. Help him arrange his feet so he puts them down with heels together and toes pointed outward. (Ou can spread newspaper to catch any drops) Have your chid step directly off the paper again.
3. Once the picture is dry, your child can decorate the butterfly by drawing in a body and antennas.
• Worm Tracks
What you need:
Brown tempera paint
Shallow pie tin
Yarn in different lengths and widths
White construction or bond paper
1. Pour the paint into the pie tin.
2. Have your child dip and coat the yarn pieces in the brown paint.
3. Show him how to drag the yarn across the paper to create worm tracks.
• Fingerprint Bugs
What you need:
Tempera paint
Pie tin
White construction or bond paper
Crayons
1. Pour the paint into the pie tin.
2. Have your child dip his thumb into the paint.
3. Help him press his thumb onto the paper to create a thumbprint. He can use crayons to add the head, legs, and antenna.
• Coffee-Filter Butterflies
What you need:
Disposable coffee filters
Food colouring
Wooden clothespins
White craft glue
Pipe cleaner, cut into 2” segments
Markers
1. Open a coffee filter, and have your toddler squeeze different coloured drops of food colouring onto it. The colors will blend together in a beautiful design.
2. Fold the coloured filter into a fan shape and help your child insert it into the clothespin. Leave an equal amount of the filter on each side fo the pin. Fluff out the coffee filters so that it looks like wings.
3. Let your child glue on the pipe cleaners to make antennae and use markers to make eyes on the head of the clothespin.
Weather Activities
• Rain Painting
What you need:
Food colouring
Paper plate
1. Let your child create a colorful design b putting drops of food colouring onto a paper plate.
2. Have your child take her creation out in the rain to observe how the colors run when the rain falls on them. Be sure to stop before all the color is washed away o the plate becomes too soggy.
3. Return indoors, and let the altered picture dry.
• Cloud Pictures
What you need:
Non-menthol shaving cream
White craft glue
Thick paintbrushes
1. Mix the shaving cream and glue in equal portions.
2. Have your child use this mixture as a paint to create cloud forms. The fluffy mixture will dry and become stiff.
• Blown Pictures
What you need:
Tempera paint
Plastic spoons
Right-colored construction or bond paper
Plastic straws
1. Thin the tempera paint with water to consistency of watercolor paint. Spoon small amounts of paint onto the paper.
2. Show your child how to use the straw to blow the paint around on the paper. You may need to poke a few small holes in the straw to prevent her from sucking instead of blowing the paint.
Outdoor Activities
• Leaf Maze
Before you rake up all of the fallen leaves in the autumn, clear thin paths through the leaves using a rake or a shovel You can create a maze or a simple path to follow. If you are energetic, you can also do this with sno
• Fun with the Hose
1. Take and keep control of the hose. Be sure not to spray any child who does not want to get wet, and try to avoid squirting anyone above the shoulders. Never allow anyone to squirt any child in the face or on the head, regardless of the child’s age.
2. Try a game of water limbo. Hold the hose so that the water sprays straight across, and challenge the children to duck under the spray without getting wet. Lower the water stream after everyone has had a turn.
3. Hold the hose so water sprays in a long stream across the ground, and encourage players to jump over. To increase the challenge, wiggle the hose.
Nature Crafts
• Pinecone Bird Feeder
What you need:
12” length of yarn or twine
1 large pinecone
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 cup birdseed
Shallow bowl or pie tin
1. Attach the yarn to the pinecone. Make a loop at the loose end for hanging the bird feeder.
2. Help your toddler spread the peanut butter on the pinecone.
3. Pour the birdseed into the bowl. Show your child how to roll the coated pinecone in the seeds to coat it
4. Take your bird feeder outside, and hang it where your child will be able to watch the visiting birds.
• Nature Collection
What you need:
Assortment of items that your toddler has found outside
1 sheet construction paper or poster board
Clear contact paper
1. Help your child find and collect safe outdoor treasures. Good items include leaves, bark, twigs, and flowers. Watch out for small items that may pose a choking hazard if your toddler still puts things in her mouth.
2. Have your toddler arrange her treasures on the construction paper.
3. Cover the paper with clear contact paper. You will not have to glue anything and it will last a long time. (Alternatively, you can use a large sheet of the contact paper. Have your child arrange her treasures on one half, and then for the contact paper over and seal.)
• Magic Sun Prints
What you need:
A variety of objects with different shapes
Dark-coloured construction paper
1. Ask your child to help you find objects to use to make silhouettes. Flat objects work best. Some good examples include keys, erasers, forks, and shoelaces.
2. Go outside on a sunny day. Have your toddler arrange the chosen objects on the dark construction paper.
3. Leave the paper out in full sunlight for a few hours. The sun will tae the exposed paper to a lighter shade than the paper protectedly the deleted objects.
4. Remove the objects to reveal the silhouette designs.
• Flower Crown
What you need:
Paper plate
Scissors
Various flowers, seeds, grasses, nd other natural materials
White craft glue
1. Fold the paper plate in half. Cut out a semicircle, leaving a 3” border. Cut spikes and square shapes to a depth of 1”.
2. Open the plate. The spikes and squares become the spires of the crown.
3. Give your child a variety of natural materials to glue on the crown for decoration.
4. Let the glue dry before helping your child don the crown.
Astronomy and Nighttime Activity
• Binoculars
What you need:
4 large rubber bands
2 squares clear plastic wrap or tinted cellophane
2 toil paper tubes
Crayons
Star-shaped sticks (optional)
1. Use a rubber band to secure a square of plastic wrap or cellophane over 1 end of each toilet paper tube.
2. Attach the 2 rolls together side by side with the remaining rubber bands.
3. Give your child crayons and stickers to decorate the binoculars.
4. Go outside on a clean night, and use the binoculars to look at the moon and the stars. If you have real binoculars or a telescope, be sure to bring the along, to
Dance and Movement Toddler Activities
• Dancing Statues
Play music and encourage your child to dance. Randomly stop the music and ask your child to freeze a pose. As your child improves, you can ask her to hold the pose for longer periods of time.
• Dance with Me
What you need:
Music
Large doll
Play music for your child to dance to. Provide her with a large doll to serve as her dancing paper. Judt about any doll will do, but a large rag doll works best.
• Sock Hop
What you need:
Oldies music from the 1950s and 1960s
Poodle skirts and leather jackets and other timely apparel (optional)
Kick off your shoes and play some oldies to dance to. You can even show your children how to do some of the classic dances, like the twist or the swim.
Action Activities
• Rescue
What you need:
Assorted rags and stuffed animals
1. Place a bunch of rags in a small bag or basket.
2. Have your child scatter these around the floor.
3. Choose an object/prop to be rescued. This can be another rag, a stuffed animal, or something else . Toss this object into the center of the others.
4. Challenge your child to walk in and retrieve (rescue) this object without stepping on the others. You might tell him that the dragons are sleeping and that he needs to tiptoe in carefully.
• Jack and the Beanstalk
While reciting parts of the story, have your child imitate different parts of the action. Stomp around like the giant and tiptoe quietly like Jack.
• Once I Saw a Bird
Teach your child the following rhyme and corresponding movements:
Once I saw a little bird come hop, hop, hop. (hop aroun)
So I said, "Little bird will you stop, stop stop?" (hold hand in front of body)
I was goint to the window to say, "How do you do?" (wave)
When he shook his little tail and away he flew. (wiggle rear end, then flap arms)
Exercise Activities
• Fun Walk
What you need:
Clear contact paper
Bubble wrap
1. Tape a strip of clear contact paper onto the floor, sticky side up.
2. Stick a path of bubble-wrap packing material onto the contact paper.
3. Have your child remove his shoes and socks before stepping on the bubble-wrap path. You may need to hold his hand to help him with balance.
• Buzzing Bee
You are the flower so you sit or stand in one place.
Your child is the bee who can buzz all around you and return for pollen!
• Flying
Chant the following rhyme, and teach your toddler the movements to go along with the words:
The airline has great big wings (arm outstretched)
Its propeller spins around and sings (spin arms)
The airline goes up (arms up)
The airplane goes down (arms down)
The airline goes through clouds all over town (“fly” around
Using Props
• Go Team
What you need:
2 sections of the daily newspaper
Masking tape
Scissors
1. First, create the pompoms. Roll a section of newspaper into a tube shape. Tape the bottom securely and then cut the top half into strips.
2. You may wish to teach your child a simple cheer, such as “Go, team!” or “Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate?” Or you can jut play marching music and let her swish and swirl the pompoms.
• Hula Hoop
What you need:
Hula hoop
1. Lay the hula hoop on the ground, show your child how to walk around the circle with on foot in and one foot out of the hoop.
2. Hold the hoop vertically and help your child crawl through it back and forth.
3. Join your child, or get a group of children in a bunch inside of a hula hoop. Work together to walk and change directions.
Exploring Concepts
Shapes
• Shape Characters
What you need:
Construction paper
Scissors
Crayons
1. From the construction paper, cut out a circle, a square, and a triangle.
2. Let your child cholor in facial features for each shape.
3. Teach your child the following rhymes for each shape:
I am Suzy Circle, watch me bend.
Round and round fro end to end.
Tommy Triangle is the name for me.
Count my sides, one, two, three
Sammy Square is my name.
My four sides are all the same.
• Shape Hunt
What you need:
Construction paper
Scissors
1. From the construction paper, cut out a circle, a square, and a triangle.
2. Work with one shape at a time. Show you child the shape, and tell him that this is going on a shape hunt. Help him find other items that are that shape. For example, show him the circle and then go around the room looking for circles. Help him find circles in things like a doorknob, a plate, or a clock.
• Circle Prints
What you need:
Tempera paint
Pie tin
Circular objects
Construction paper
1. Pour some paint into the pie tin.
2. Have your child help you find circular items to use. Some suggested items include jar lids or the rim of a paper cup.
3. Show your child how to dip items in the paint and then press onto the paper to create circle prints
Colors
• Rainbow Discs
What you need:
6 paper plates
Scissors
Red, yellow, and blue cellophane
White craft glue
1. Put two paper plates together and cut a hold in The Center about the size of a plum.
2. Cut a piece of coloured cellophane slightly larger than the hole.
3. Glue the cellophane to the top of one plate to cover the hole.
4. Set the second plate on top of the first and help your child glue them together. Now you have a rainbow dis for your child to look through.
5. Repeat these steps to make two more discs in the remaining colors. Show your child how to overlap the discs to create new colors.
• Squish and Mix
What you need:
Tempera paint
Zip-top bags
1. Add a small amount of the blue and red paints in a zip-top bag and seal. Place the bag inside a second bag and seal.
2. Le t your child squish and knead the bag to mix the paints and create the color purple.
3. Repeat with other colour combinations (such as blue and yellow to make green, white and red to make pink, etc.).
Exploring Themes
Animal Activities
• Animal Safari
What you need:
Assorted stuffed animals
1. When your child is out of the room, hide a variety of stuffed animals.
2. Have your child return and search for the “wild” animals. Encourage her to name the animals that she finds.
• Stuffed Snake
What you need:
1 knee-high nylon stocking
Cotton fibre fill or wadded-up newspaper
Scissors
Felt piece
White craft glue
1. Help your child stuff the stocking with the cotton or newspaper. Leave a few inches empty at the end, and tie a secure knot for the tail.
2. Cut out eyes and a mouth from the felt pieces. Let your child attach the features with glue. If your child is still putting things in her mouth, consider using a permeant marker to draw on facial features instead.
• Monkey See, Monkey D
The lead monkey performs different silly movements and dances that the other players must imitate. Take turns so everyone has a chance to be the lead monkey.
• Dog Biscuits
What you need:
1/2 cup cornmeal
6 tablespoons oil
2/3 cup water or meat broth
2 cups whole wheat flour
Cookie cutters
1. Stir all ingredients together If dough seems a bit dry, add a few drops of water. If dough seems to wet, add more flour a little at a time.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Show your child how to knead the dough.
3. Help her roll the dough out to 1/4” thick. Let her cut out the biscuits with cookie cutters—a bone shape would be best.
4. Place biscuits on a cookie sheet and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until biscuits are light brown.
• Handprint Sheep
What you need:
Construction paper
Pencil
White craft glue
Cotton balls
Crayons
1. Have your child put her hand palm down onto a piece of construction paper. Have her spread her fingers.
2. Use the pencil to trace around her hand. Turn the shape upside down; the four fingers become legs and the thumb is the head.
3. Show your child how to glue the cotton balls to create a fleecy effect.
4. Let her color in the feet and the face with crayons.
Community Helpers
• Firefighters
What you need:
Red, orange, and yellow sidewalk chalk
Garden hose
Small buckets (optional)
1. Enlist your child’s help ands the chalk to draw a fire with lots of flames on the pavement.
2. Now the young firefighter needs to put out the fire. Help your child squirt the hose onto the drawing. As the chalk washes away, tell him he is dousing the flames.
3. If you have a group of children, you can use the buckets to set up a bucketloads brigade.
• Special Delivery
You child will enjoying a variety of stickers and seals in the project. You may wish to let your child play with junk mail that you receive. Additionally, you may wish to let your child help you write and send a postcard to a family member or friend.
What you need:
Used stamps, postage seals, and address labels
Large envelopes
Transportation
• Rolling
What you need:
Small toy cars and trucks
Dark-coloured tempera paint
Shallow pie tin
Light-coloured construction paper
1. Show your child how to gently dip the wheels of the vehicles into the paint, after you’ve poured it into the tin.
2. Let her create interesting patterns and designs by rolling the vehicles back and forth across the paper.
3. Be sure to wash the toys off when you are done.
• My Car
What you need:
Scissors
Large box (an appliance box works well)
Markers or tempera paint
Staple gun (optional)
Pie tins (optional)
1. Let your child decide where she would like you to cut windows or doors in the box.
2. Let your child decorate her vehicle however she wishes.
3. If you with, you can staple on the pie tins for wheels.
• Toy Airplane
What you need:
Scissors
Paper towel tube
Poster board
Paper cup
Tissue paper scraps
1. Cut a 1” slit through both sides of the paper towel roll.
2. From the poster board, cut two wings. Make each the size and shape of an adult’s index finger. Make sure that the wings will fit into the slots.
3. Cut tiny slits up from the rim of the paper cup. This is to slightly widen the top of the cup, which will become the cockpit.
4. Help your child slide the wings in the slits and place the cup over one opening of the tube. You may need to secure the cup with some glue.
5. Provide your child with tissue paper craps to glue on for decoration.
• The Wheels on the Bus
Sing or chant the following with your child. Encourage her to use appropriate motions.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
Round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
All through the town.
(roll hands)
Other verses:
The wipes on the bus go swish, swish, swish.
The door on the bus goes open and shut.
The seats on the bus go bump, bump, bump.
Dinosaurs
• Digging for Bones
What you need:
Smooth chicken bones
Sandbox
1. Start with smooth chicken bones. Be sure there are no sharp or splinter pieces.
2. Boil and thoroughly clean the bones. You may wish to add a drop of bleach to the boiling water to make them look older.
3. Bury the bones in the sandbox for your child to find.
The Ocean
• Butter Tub Jellyfish
What you need:
White craft glue
Tissue paper
Butter tub
Lengths of crepe paper; ribbon, or yarn
2 felt circles
1. Have your child glue tissue paper onto the tub.
2. Once the body is dry, you child can glue on the crepe-paper tentacles and the felt eyes.
• Deep-Sea Dive
What you need:
Blanket
Deep sea items, such as sea sponges, shells, starfish, toy sea animals, and pieces of coral
1. Drape a sheet or blanket over a table. Blue is best, but any color is okay.
2. Place a variety of deep sea items under the table. Suggested items include sea sponges, shells, starfish, toy sea animals, and pieces of coral.
3. Have your child “dive” under the sheet (sea) and bring back a treasure. Ask her to identify what she found.
• Paper Bag Whale
What you need:
Brown paper bag
Newspaper
String
Gray and black paint
1. Have your child stuff he bag with crumbled up newspapers. Be sure that she leaves a little room near the open.
2. Draw the bag closed and tie. Leave a little paper pat the know to serve as the tail.
3. Let your child paint her whale any way she wants.
Birds
•Bird’s Nest
What you need:
Heavy duty poster board
Mud
Leaves and grass
Sticks, twigs, and pine needles
1. Withe the poster board as a base, let your child make a mixture of the mud and the leaves and grass.
2. Help him for the mixture into a nest shape.
3. Let him add the sticks, twigs, and pine needles for interest
• Way Up in the Sky
Teach your child the following rhyme and the corresponding movements.
Way up in the sky
(raise arms in the air)
The little birds fly
(flap arms)
When down in the nest
The little birds rest
(curl up arms like holding a baby)
With a wing on the left
(extend left arm)
And a wing on the right
(extend right arm)
Those sweet little birdies sleep all through the night
(press hands together on cheek)
Shhh
(put finger to lips)
They're sleeping
The bright sun comes up
(raise arms in the air)
The dew drops awake
(apt in a downward motion)
Good morning, good morning
(wave and flap)
The little birds say!
Pond Life
• Lily-Pond Hop
What you need:
Carpet squares or mats
1. Set up carpet squares or mats in a pattern around the room. Be sure that they are placed close enough together for your child to jump from one to another.
`2. Talk about how frogs live in ponds and jump from lily pad to lily pad. Show your child how to jump like a frog.
• I Have a Little Turtle
Teach your child the following rhyme and the corresponding motions.
I have a little turtle
(make a fist)
He lives in a box
(make a box with both hands)
He swims in a pond
(make swimming motions with arms)
He climbs on rocks
(climbing motion with arms)
He snapped at a mosquito
(clap hands)
He snapped at a flea
(clap hands)
He snapped at a minnow
(clap hands)
He snapped at me
(clap hands)
He caught the mosquito
(grab with your hand)
He caught the flea
(grab with your hand)
He caught the minnow
(grab with your hand)
But he didn't catch me
(shake finger)
• Frog’s Dinner
What you need:
White craft glue
Velcro discs
Small plastic flies and insects
Paper party blowers
1. Glue Velcro to each insect.
2. Attach Velcro to the end of the party blowers.
3. Show our child how to blow the paper party favour so that it unrolls. 4. Show her how to use this as a frog’s tongue to catch the bugs.
Fairy Tales
• Sail Away
What you need:
Towel or blanket
1. Have your child sit or lay in The Center of an old towel or blanket. If possible, do this on a hardwood or linoleum floor.
2. Slowly drag your child around and point of interest. Example: While passing the couch you can say, “Oh look, there goes the king’s castle!”
• Which Is the Best?
What you need:
3 bowls of oatmeal with spoons (one very warm, one cold, and one just the way child likes it)
3 chairs or pillows (one with a board under it to make it stiff, one very soft, and one just the way the child likes it)
3 sweaters (one too small, one too big, and one just child’s size)
1. Tell your child that not everyone is suited for the same things.
2. Present the oatmeal and call it porridge and ask your child to pick the one he would want.
3. Repeat with the cushions and the shirts. This time, let your child try them out if he wants.
• Cinderella Shoe
What you need:
1 fancy shoe or slipper
1. Read the story of Cinderella to your child.
2. Hide the chosen shoe and ask the child to find it.
3. You may choose to hide the shoe in a room or simply within a pile of shoes.
Games for Toddlers
• The Clown Says
What you need:
Scissors
Paper plate
Poster board
Brad (metal paper fastener, available at office supply stores)
Markers
1. Make a small hold in the center of the paper plate.
2. Cut a small arrow out of the poster board, and make a small hod in The Center. Use the brad to fasten the arrow to the plate. Leave it loose enough to spin freely.
3. Use the markers to draw a clown onto the plate; incorporate the spinner as one of the arms. (If your artistic skins are lacking you can just call the gam Stick Man Says.)
4. Divide the plate like a pie into 4 or 6 sections. In each section, either draw or glue on a picture that depicts a movement. For example, a picture of 2 hands could mean clapping.
5. Have your child spin the spinner, then act out the movement that the clown is pointing to. You may need to assist the younger child.
6. Consider taking a few turns yourself. Perhaps let your child spin the wheel for you.
Create Your Own Game
There is no end to the games that you can create! The easiest place to start is to adapt some of the basic sports. A tennis ball or broom can be used for a golf game. Use a beach bag for a gentle for a gentle variation of soccer. Here are some other ideas to get you started.
• Bowling
What you need:
6 clean 2-liter soda bottles
1 ball
1. Arrange the soda bottles like bowling pins. If you are playing outside, put some sand in the bottles to keep that from blowing over.
2. Show your child how to roll a ball to knock down the pins.
Fast and Simple Games
• Count Them Up
1. One person is the leader. She announces a common item such as trucks or stop signs to be counted by the group.
2. Everyone works together to spot and count the objects.
3. Once the group counts to ten, a new leader chooses a new item.
• Fill and Dump
What you need:
2 or 3 containers
Small household objects
1. Give the child the containers filled with the objects. If you container has a lid, show the child how to shake the container to make noise.
2. Encourage your toddler to dump and fill the container.
• Wizard of Oz
This easy game is a variation of Peek-a-Boo.
What you need:
A stable curtain or drape
1. Show your child how to hide behind the drape or curtain. You can even have her go behind a shower curtain.
2. Either you or your child may push the curtain aside for the big reveal. The turns hiding and revealing.
3. When you reveal, you may wish to make a funny face or posture to surprise your child.
Literacy Activities for Toddlers
• Who Said That?
What you need:
White craft glue
Photos or magazine pictures of animals, index cards
Recording of animal sounds that match the pictures
1. Glue the pictures to the index cards.
2. Play the recording of animal sounds. As your child which picture shows the animal that makes that sound.
• Using Books
Creative Reenactment
1. Review a well-known and beloved picture book or story with your child.
2. As you slowly read or recite the tale, have your child act out the drama.
Storytelling
• Fill-in Story
What you need:
White craft glue
Magazine pictures of animals and objects
Index cards
1. Glue the pictures to the index cards, and place them in a hat.
2. Recite a well-known nursery rhyme or fairy tale. Stop at points in the story where a substitution can be made. Ask your child to pull a card from a hat.
3. Substitute the new word into the story for a silly result. For example, “Little Red Riding Hood was taking a basket to her grandmother. Her mom reminded her to take flowers with her also” might become, “Little Red Riding Hood was taking a rake to her grandmother. Her mom reminded her to take kittens with her also.”
Verbal Games
• Echo Echo
1. Ask your child to repeat what you say to him.
2. Start very slowly and simply and gradually add complexity. You can add complexity by using nonsense words, words that sound alike, or by simply extending the length of your message.
• Play Phone
What you need:
Toy phone (or real one)
Encourage your child to pretend to call a friend or loved one. Your child will probably not need much encouragement. Don’t be surprised if he carries on full conversations, imagining the other person’s part.
Flannel-Board Activities
Making Books
• Texture Book
What you need:
Hole punch
Sheets of thin craft foam
Notebook ring
A variety of fabrics with different textures
White craft glue
1. Punch a hole in the top left corner of each foam sheet.
2. Attach the sheets with the notebook ring.
3. Have your child choose fabric scraps to use in the book Suggested materials include corduroy, denim, burlap, silk, wool, and nylon.
4. Help your child glue a fabric swatch to each bag of the book.
5. “Read” the book with your child by encouraging her to touch the materials. Guide her, using words to describer what she feels.
Pretend Play Activities for Toddlers
Pretend Themes
• Camping Theme
What you need:
Small pup tent or large sheet
10-12 small sticks
Scissors
Orange construction paper
Sleeping bags (optional)
Flashlights (optional)
1. Set up the tent. If you don’t have one, drape a large sheet over a table.
2. Create a fake campfire. Arrange the sticks in a teepee shape. Cut out 2 flame shapes from the construction paper and prop them up among the stick structure.
3. Arrange sleeping bags under the tent or around the campfire.
4. Sit around the campfire and sing songs and tell stories. If your child will not be frightened, turn off the lights and use flashlights.
• Medical Theme
What you need:
Old adult-sized, short sleeved white shirt
Fabric marker
Dolls or action figures (to act as patients)
Band-Aids
Gauze or ace bandages
Rubber gloves
Plastic syringe
1. Fit the hat onto your child. Make a lab coat by drawing a pocket and adding a name to the shirt.
2. Let your child put Band-Aids on her dolls and pretend to give them shots to make them feel better.
Props for Pretend Play
• Shopping Bag/Purse
What you need:
Scissors
Old pillowcase
Fabric paint
12” length of ribbon
1. Cut the pillowcase in half crosswise to create a shorter case.
2. Let your child decorate the pillow case with fabric paint.
3. When the paint is dry, gather a small amount of fabric from each end of the opening. Tie the ribbon to the fabric to make the handle.
• Paper Bag Vest
Your child can decorate this vest to suit her imagination. It can be a police uniform, a cowboy vest, or n astronaut suit.
What you need:
1 large brown paper bag
Scissors
Crayons, markers, or paint
1. Cut a straight line up the middle of the front of the bag.
2. On what was the bottom of the bag, cut a hole large enough for your child’s head.
3. Cut armholes on each side, positioned 2”-3” belle the fold.
4. Provide different materials for your child to use to decorate the vest.
• Silly Glasses
What you need:
Paper cup
Poster board
Pencil
Scissors
Colored cellophane
White craft glue
Hole punch
2 pipe cleaners or chenille stems
Crayons
1. Use the paper cup to trace two circles on the poster board. Leave about 1” between them for the bridge.
2. Cut the glasses frame out in one piece.
3. Cut out an inner circle in each eye, living a 1” rim.
4. Cut out cellphone pieces slightly larger than the eye holes. Help your child glue them in place to create lenses.
5. Punch a hole in the far end of each frame.
6. Loop and attach a pipe cleaner into each hole, then bend back the other end for the ear pieces. Be sure no wires are exposed on the pipe cleaners.
7. Let your child decorate the glasses with crayons.
Dolls
• My Statue Doll
What you need:
Camera
White craft glue
Poster board
Clear contact paper
Scissors
Air-hardening clay
1. Have your child stand facing forward in a simple pose. Compose the picture so that his head and feet are close to the edge but still in the frame.
2. Let your child glue the photo onto the poster board.
3. Help your child cover the photo with the clear contact paper. The contact paper should overlap the photo by 1/2” on each side. Cut out the photo.
4. Have your child roll out a piece of clay into a disc. The size of a half dollar. The will form the statue’s base.
5. Show your call how to stand the photo doll upon the clay base. After several hours, when the clay is dry, your child can then play with the statue doll.
Block Building
• Block City
What you need:
Plastic tarp or old plastic tablecloth
Ruler
Permanent markers
Scissors
Photos or magazine pictures of different buildings
Tape or white craft glue
1. Lay out the tarp to define the city limits. Help your child use the ruler and markers to draw streets parks and other desired features.
2. Trim magazine pictures of buildings to tape/glue onto the face of your child’s building blocks. A fun alternative is to help your child take photos of buildings in your neighbourhood Capture easy-to-recognize buildings such as city hall, the library, or the firehouse. Only a few block have to be decorated with pictures.
3. Let your child enjoy building a cityscape with the blocks.
• Stuffed Blocks
What you need:
Newspaper
Empty food boxes, such as those from cereal, rice, or macaroni and cheese
Masking tape
Decorative contact paper (optional)
1. Show your child how to crumple the newspaper into tight wads.
2. Have your child stuff the newspaper wads into the boxes. Be sure to stuff each box to the top.
3. Securely seal each box with tape.
4. If you wish, you can help your child decorate the blocks with contact paper.
• Paper Logs
What you need:
Newspaper
Scotch tape
1. Spread three sheets of newspaper on the table.
2. Show your child how to roll the paper into tight tubes.
3. Securely seal each tube with tape.
4. Let your child make a lot of these to use for building pretend campfires, and more.
Pretend Play Games
• Act It Out
What you need:
White craft glue
Magazine pictures of characters and animals that are easy to mime
Index cards
A hat or other container
Kitchen timer
1. Before the game, glue the magazine pictures onto the index cards.
2. Place the cards into a hat or other container.
3. Each person gets a turn to “cut it out.” Th player removes a picture from the hat and gets 10 seconds on the timer to imitate/mime the character on the card. When the time is up, other players guess the picture.
4. You can choose to let the person who guesses correctly have the next turn or the turns can be predetermined.
• Character in a Bag
What you need:
3 paper grocery bags
Markers
A variety of clothing, shoes, and accessories (vintage or costume items add to the fun)
1. Label the bags with markers. You can number them or use shapes or colors to make it easier.
2. Sort the clothing, shoes, and accessories. Place the clothing in the first bag, the shoes in the second bag and the accessories such as hats and handbags in the third bag.
3. Each person gets to turn to be a character. The player randomly pulls on items from each bag to put on. Once dressed, the person describes who he is and what he does.
Puppets
• Big Head Puppets
What you need:
Scissors
Styrofoam craft balls
Markers
White craft glue
Yarn pieces
Thin fabric remnants, 4”-5” square
1. Using the scissors to gouge a hole in the bottom of the styrofoam ball. The hole should be wide enough to fit your child’s finger and deep enough for her finger to fit in the ball to the first knuckle.
2. Let your child use the markers to decorate a face and other features.
3. Help her glue on the yarn piece for hair.
4. When your child is ready to operate the puppet, have her drape the fabric over her index finger before attaching the head. The fabric becomes the puppet’s body, and the middle finger and thumb become its arms.
• Bag Puppets
What you need:
Small paper lunch bag
Crayons or markers
1. Show your child how to insert her hand into the bag. Her thumb goes below the fold and her fingers go above it.
2. Encourage her to open and close her hand to make the puppet talk.
3. Let her decorate the puppet with crayons.
Rainy Day Activities
Shake Out Your Sillies
• Beanbag Toss
What you need:
Several beanbags
An empty receptacle, such as a box or basket
How to play:
1. Give your child 3 or 4 beanbags and show her how to gently toss them.
2. Be creative in choosing a receptacle. Empty boxes or laundry baskets work well.
3. Let your child toss the beanbags into the receptacles.
• Shadow Dancing
What you need:
A bright lamp
A light-coloured wall
Favorite music recording
1. Position the lamp in the middle of the room, leaving plenty of space between the lamp and the wall.
2. Turn out the bright lamp and darken the rest of the room. Aim the lamp directly at the wall. Stand your toddler in front of the lamp so that her shadow is cast clearly on the wall.
3. Put on the music and encourage your child to dance so that her shadow dances, too. For a cool-down activity, show your child how to use her hand to create simple shadow puppets.
When Bad Weather Threatens
• Storm Sounds
If your child doesn’t like loud noises, he may not like this activity. However, some children who are frightened of thunder may feel a greater sense of control when they can safely duplicate the noise.
What you need:
Audio recording of thunder
Metal cookie sheets
How to play:
1. Play the recording for your child. Discuss what he hears and try to figure out what is scary about the noise.
2. Show your child how to band and rattle the metal cookie sheets to simulate the sounds of thunder. Ask your chid to come up with other ways to make thunder sounds., which may include banging on pots and pans or a toy drum.
• Rain Sticks
What you need:
Crayons
1 cardboard paper towel tube
2 squares of tinfoil, large enough to cover the ends of the tube
Masking tape
1 long pipe cleaner twisted into a loose coil
1/4 cup dry rice
How to play:
1. Let your child color the tube for decoration
2. Fasten 1 tinfoil square on the end of the tube with masking tape. Leave the other end open until the tube is filled.
3. Help your child fit the pipe cleaner into the tube. Assist her in pouring in the rice.
4. Close the other end of the tube with the second square of tinfoil. Show your child how to tilt the stick back and forth to create the rain noise.
• Let’s Go Out
Runny Pictures
What you need:
Watercolor paint
Paint brushes
How to play:
1. Go outside before the rain comes or while it is just drizzling.
2. Let your child paint on the sidewalk or cement area to create any picture he wishes.
3. Observe how the water makes the colors run.
• Mini Streams
What you need:
Sticks
A patch of dirt or sand outside
How to play:
1. Show your child how to use a stick or his finger to create a small trench in a path of dirt where the rainwater can flow.
2. Encourage him to clear leaves to craft mini rivulets.
3. Show your child how to lead the paths so that the water flows downhill.
• Storm Shelter
What you need:
Rain poncho or tarp
Clothespins
or duct tape
How to play:1. Help your child spread a poncho or tarp to create a tent or learn-to. You may drape the cloth over a piece of patio furniture, a large branch, or fence.
2. Use clothespins or duct tape to fasten as needed.
• Collect Rain
What you need:
Various sized containers
How to play:
1. Involve your child in selecting different containers. Point out why some will work better: Wide necks, no holes, etc.
2. Have your child experiment by placing the containers in different locations. Can she collect more rain if the container is under a drain spout or under a tree or out in the open?
A Day at the Beach—Indoors!
• Indoor Beach
What you need:
Beach towels
Large umbrella
Scissors
Brown construction paper
Green crepe paper or ribbon
Wall adhesive (such as Sticky Tac)
Recording of beach-type music
Beach-themed posters (optional)
How to play:
1. Set up the beach towels and the umbrella as you would if you were at the beach.
2. Cut out a palm tree trunk from the construction paper, and cut sections of crepe paper for the fronds. Crease each frond into a wide “V” before attaching them to the trunk. Post the completed palm tree on the wall using the wall adhesive.
3. Hang any other themed posters or props, and play your favourite tropical music.
• Beachcomber
What you need:
Seashells (large enough so that they don’t pose a choking hazard)
Small plastic pails, one for each child
How to play:
1. Hide a number of seashells in a room. Make some easy to find, and choose more challenging hiding places for others.
2. Give each child a pail, and encourage all of them to find as many shells as they can.
• Beach Fantasy
How to play:
Ask your child to pantomime various actions that take place at a beach. Possibilities include swimming, jumping over the waves, walking on hot sand, or surfing.
Fun with a Box
• Box Train
What you need:
Three shoeboxes (or other small boxes open on top)
Scissors
Lightweight rope, cut into three 1’ sections
Tempera paint or markers
Teddy bears, dolls, or action figures (to act as passengers
How to make:
1. Arrange boxes to form cars of the train. The front car is the engine—the open side of the box should be down, as the engine doesn’t carry passengers. The other boxes are open side up.
2. Cut a small hole on the front and back side of each box so that holes in all boxes line up.
3. Connect the boxes with the sections of rope, Knot the rope ends on the inside of each box to secure them. A rope in the front can be used to pull the train.
4. Let your child decorate the train with paint or markers. The train is then ready carry the passengers.
Backward Upside-Down Day
The next time bad weather forces you to stay indoors with your child, why not make it into a special day? Try following the backward, upside-down theme throughout the day. Start the day by greeting your child with a “Good night!” Consider letting her wear some of her clothing backward. Maybe you can have breakfast as the last meal of the day. Here are some other ideas to get you started.
• Backward Meal
How to play:
1. If your family has assigned seats at the table, consider shift. Let your toddler sit at the head of the table for this meal.
2. Of course, a backward meal must start with dessert. You can go the extra step by serving the pie á la mode upside down.
3. For the main dish, how about a backward sandwich or tortilla wrap? Put the meat and cheese on the outside with the bread and dressing in between.
4. Let your child suggest other silly ideas. She might decide wear her napkin on her head instead of in her lap or to use a fork for her pudding—why not?
Last-Minute Activities
• Makeshift Shelters
What you need:
“Building” materials, such as couch cushions, blankets, cardboard boxes, etc.
How to play:
Help your child use the building materials to set up a fantasy environment where he can engage in pretend play for many hours. The shelter may become a tent, a fort, a cabin, a boat, a lighthouse, or a farm—the possibilities are endless.
• Indoor Snow Fun
What you need:
White sheets
Cotton balls
White socks
Instant potato flakes
How to make:
1. Drape the white sheets over furniture and on the floor to create a wintry look to the room.
2. With your child’s help, toss around the cotton balls and pretend that they are giant snowflakes.
3. Wrap pairs of white socks into balls and use them for a pretend snowball fight.
4. Put the potato flakes in a pan for sensory pretend play. If real snow is available bring some in and let your child play with it in a contained area.
Seasonal Activities for Toddlers
Harvest-Time Fun
• Apple Prints
What you need:
Knife
1 apple
Paper towel
Tempera paint
Shallow pie tin
Light-colored construction paper
1. Cut the apple in half crosswise. Dry off the inside with a paper towel.
2. Pour a small amount of paint into the pie tin.
3. Show your toddler how to grasp the apple to dip it into the paint. Have her press the painted apple on the paper to create a print.
• Corn Rolling
What you need:
1 dried ear of corn
Tempera paint
Shallow pie tin
Light-colored construction paper
1. Have your child roll the corncob in the paint in the tin the say way that you would a paint roller.
2. Your child can then roll out different patterns and designs on the paper.
• Leaves Are Changing
Leaf Crown
What you need:
Measuring tape
Scissors
2 sheets construction paper
Stapler
White craft glue
A variety of autumn leaves
1. Measure the circumference of your child’s head. Cut 2”-wide strips from the construction paper and staple them together to make a band that will fit your child’s head.
2. Help your child glue the leaves on his crown.
Leaf Glitter
What you need:
Colorful autumn leaves, slightly dry
White craft glue
Construction paper
1. Help the child crumble up the leaves into fine pieces.
2. Let your child sprinkle leaf “glitter” to his glue design on the paper. He may also choose to add the leaf glitter to other pictures he has made.
Not-So-Scary Halloween
• Masks
What you need:
Scissors
Paper plate
Crayons and markers
White craft glue
Craft stick
Mirror
1. Cut wide holes in the paper plate to make eyes and a mouth.
2. Have your child decorate the back of the plate to create a face.
3. Glue the craft stick onto the bottom serve as a handle. Your child can then hold up the mask to her face. Let her see herself in a mirror.
• Spider Webs
What you need:
White craft glue
Shallow bowl
1 cup cooked spaghetti, cooled
Waxed paper
1. Pour some glue int the shallow bowl.
2. Show your child ow to dip each noodle individually into the glue. Have her hold the noodle over the bowl to let any excess glue drip off.
3. Let her arrange the noodles onto the waxed paper in her version of a cobweb design.
4. When the design is dry, you can lift off the paper and hang it from the ceiling.
Winter--Let It Snow!
• Jack Frost
What you need:
5 tablespoons Epsom salts
1 cup beer
Sponge
Facial tissue or paper towels
1. Dissolve the Epsom salts in the beer. It should foam. Let this sit for 1/2 hour before using.
2. While you are waiting, clean off a window that your toddler can easily reach.
3. Your child can dip the sponge into the mixture and swirl it onto the window.
4. Pat the designs gently with wet tissues or paper towels.
5. When the painting dries, the salt crystals will sparkle, giving the window a frosted appearance.
• Ice Cube Painting
What you need:
Ice cube tray
Craft sticks or small tongue depressors
Powdered tempera paint
Construction paper or poster board
1. Make a tray of ice cubes. Freeze each cube with a craft stick sticking in so that you have a square popsicle.
2. Let your child sprinkle the powdered paint on the paper.
3. Show your child how to use the ice cube on a stick as a paintbrush. The colors will swirl as the ice melts.
• Snow Castle
What you need:
Sand pails
Small shovels and spoons
A snowy day
Show your child how to fill the bucket with snow. Have him dump and mold a case from snow.
Arctic Animals and Hibernation
• Find Me in the Snow
What you need:
Scissors
White bond paper
White craft glue
1 sheet white poster board
1. Cut the shapes of a number of white animals (polar bear, lemming, snow hare) from the paper and glue it to the poster board.
2. Challenge your child to find the animals hiding in the snow.
Springtime
• Rainbow Melt
What you need:
Salt
Food colouring in various colors
Paper cups
Ice (cubes or large block)
Shallow pie tin
1. Mix 1 tablespoon of salt with a few drops of food colouring and put into a paper cup. Repeat process for different colors.
2. Place the ice in the pie tin.
3. Let your child sprinkle the coloured salt liquid over the ice. Discuss what happens. Encourage him to observe how the colors run when he ice melts.
• Wind Sock
What you need:
Crayons or markers
1 large sheet poster board
Masking tape
Hold punch
Yarn or twine
Crepe or tissue paper
1. Have your child use crayons or markers to decorate both sides of the poster board.
2. Roll the board into a cycling and tape a securely on the edges.
3. Punch a hold at one end and attach a yarn loop for having.
4. Let your toddler tape strips the crepe or tissue paper to the other end.
• Blossom Trees
What you need:
Brown crayon
Light-colored construction paper
White craft glue
1 cup popped popcorn or small pieces of scrunched up tissue paper
1. Have your child use the crayon to draw a tree trunk and branches on the paper.
2. Show your child how to glue the popcorn on the branches to make the blossoms. It works best if he puts a dab of glue on the paper rancher than on the popcorn kernel or tissue paper.
Summer Activities
• Sunflowers
What you need:
Marker
Brown, yellow, and green construction paper
Scissors
White craft glue
Sunflower seeds
1. Draw a circle on the brown paper and the outline of eight yellow triangles on the yellow paper. Make the circle as big or small as you want the sunflower to be. Size the triangles so that side by side, they will go all the way around the circle. Cut a stem from the green paper.
2. Either cut the shapes out yourself, or assist your child in doing so.
3. Show your child how to glue the pieces together to create a flower. When the flower is dry, she can glue on the sunflower seeds in the middle.
• Sun on a Stick
What you need:
Scissors
2 paper plates
Yellow and orange tempera paint or crayons
White craft glue
Craft stick
1. Cut a big circle form The Center of one paper plate.
2. Have your child paint or colro the circle orange. Have her paint or color the intact plate yellow.
3. Help your child glue the orange circle onto the yellow plate.
4. Glue the craft stick onto the bottom to serve as a handle.
• Everlasting Sand Castle
What you need:
4 cups sand
2 cups cornstarch
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 cups hot water
1. Mix all ingredients together and let cool.
2. Your child can use the mixture to build a castle by hand, or she can use shallow plastic containers for moulds. Coat the containers with Vaseline before using.
3. Give the castle three days to dry.
• Flowery Window Clings
What you need:
Scissors
Clear contact paper
Flower blossoms and leaves
1. Cut 4” squares of clear contact paper.
2. Help your child place flower blossoms and leaves of the sticky side of the paper. Leave enough of the contact paper uncovered that it will stick to the window.
3. Carefully pick up the squares and press on the window.
4. When you choose to take the flowers off the window, you can remove the excess adhesive with nail polish remover.
Sensory Activities for Toddlers
Sand Activities
• Pirate’s Treasure
What you need:
Gold spray paint
Small rocks (large enough not to pose a choking hazard)
Sand box with sand
1. Paint the rocks and let them dry.
2. Hide the rocks in the sandbox and let your child dig for treasure!
• Roadway
What you need:
Flat spatula
Sand box with sand
Small toy cars and trucks
Smal blocks (optional)
Toy or handmade mini road signs (optional)
1. Show your child how to us the spatula to draw roads and passageways in the sand.
2. Let him create the roadways and then drive the vehicles around.
• Sand Squiggles
What you need:
White craft glue
Construction paper
1 small spoon
1/2 cup of sand
Glitter (optional)
1. Show your child how to squeeze the glue bottle to drive a design onto the paper. You may need to put your hand over his to guide him. Fine squiggly lines work better than big blobs.
2. Have your child use the spoon to sprinkle sand all over the picture.
3. Help your child tilt the paper over a garbage receptacle so that the excess sand falls off. Let the picture dry.
Water Activities
• Ships Ahoy
What you need:
Waterproof markers
Thin sheets of Styrofoam (such as butcher trays that come with meat in the grocery store, washed well)
Scissors
1 sheet white construction paper
1 small drinking straw
Small blob of Playdough
1. Let your child use the markers to color and decorate the Styrofoam.
2. Cut a small paper triangle with 2 horizontal slits.
3. Thread the paper triangle onto the straw to make a flag.
4. Place the blob of Playdough in the bottom of the tray to hold the flag.
• Water-Play Accessories
What you need:
Sand/water table or a large shallow dish/tray
Assorted toys
The next time your child is playing with water, try adding some of these toys and props:
• Plastic metal tubes or pipes
• Straws
• Squeeze bottles
• Corks
• Strainers or sieves
• Funnels
• Basters
• Floating toys
Natural Materials
• Etch a Sketch
What you need:
Salt or cornmeal
A flat try with edges, such as a cookie sheet or shoebox lid.
1. Put some salt or cornmeal on the tray to a depth of 1/4”
2. Show your child how to use his finger to create designs. You may wish to guide your child in practicing shapes and letters, too.
3. To clear the picture, your child can either gently shake the tray or just smooth over the design with his hand.
• Mud Paint
What you need:
1 cup of water, or more as needed
Dirt
Old spoon
1 sheet poster board
1. Either find some mud for your child to use, or help him make some mud by adding water to dirt. Use a spoon to whip the mud up to a creamy consistency. Add more water if needed.
2. With the spoon, place a blob of mud on the poster board for your child to finger paint with.
• Rock Painting
What you need:
Rocks
Poster or tempera paint
1. Take your child outside and help him find rocks for painting. Large smooth stones for best
2. Let him paint his rocks with poster or tempera paint.
Playdough and Clay
• Pretend Food
What you need:
Playdough or craft clay
Kitchen utensils
Provide your child with various tools and utensils for cooking up a pretend Playdough meal. Try these tools: garlic press for making pasta, cookie cutters rolling pins, and measuring cups.
• Playdough Textures
What you need:
Various tools and materials to add textures to the clay
Playdough or craft clay
Provide your child with various tools and utensils for adding interesting patterns and textures to the Playdough, such as a meat mallet, potato masher, corrugated cardboard, or screen or netting.
• Blowing Bubbles
Here are just a few ideas for making new bubble wands and tools.
- Twist together two pipe cleaners, then form them into a loop. Dip the loop into the bubble solution.
- Show your child how to hold a plastic berry basket and dip it into the solution and wave his arm around to make lots and lots of bubbles all at once.
- Tie a string to one loop of an unbroken six-pack holder and dip the whole thing into the bubble solution. Wave it around like a kite to get many, many gigantic bubbles.
Miscellaneous Materials
• Shaving Cream Finger Painting
What you need:
Non-toxic shaving cream (a non-menthol variety)
Large baking pan or cookie sheet
1. Squirt a blob of shaving cream on the baking pan in front of the child.
2. Encourage your child to smear and squish th shaving cream around, as he would with finger paint. Some children will dive right in while others may be very reluctant to do this.
3. When your child is finished, simply wash the pan with hot, soapy water to remove the sticky shaving cream.
• Scent Discovery
Lead your child around the house and find interesting things to smell. Some suggestions include onions, lotion, cedar chips, shampoo, and spices.
• Bubble Wrap Fun
What you need:
Bubble wrap
Scissors
Tempera paint
1. Let your child enjoy popping the bubble. Show him how to roll the wrap up to pop more than one at a time.
2. Spread the bubble wrap on the ground, and let your child walk and stomp on it.
3. Cut out small squares of bubble wrap. Show your child how to bunch it up and dip it in the paint. Let him push the painted bubbles on the paper for an interesting effect.
• Squishy Bags
What you need:
2 ziplock freezer bags
Sensory materials, such as mud, pudding, or hair gel
Super-strength glue
1. Fill a freezer bag approximately halfway with your chosen sensory material.
2. Glue the bag closed. Put that bag into the second bag and glue that one securely also. Your child can now squeeze roll his sensory bag without fear of a mess.
• Sensory Bottles
What you need:
1 or more (20 ounce) soda bottle(s)
Water
Liquid dish detergent, or
Cooking oil and food colouring, or
Light corn syrup or clear shampoo or hair gel
Small decorative items such as sequins, buttons, or foil shapes
1. Choose whether you would like to make a bubble bottle, wave bottle or slow-motion bottle.
2. For a bubble bottle, fill the bottle 3/4 of the way with water. Add 2 tablespoons dish soap.
3. For a wave bottle, fill the bottle 3/4 of the way with water. Add 2 tablespoons cooking oil and a few drops of food coloring.
4. For a slow-motion bottle, fill the bottle with corn syrup, shampoo, or hair gel. Add any of the small decorative items.
5. Be sure to seal the bottles so they do not leak and your child does not have access to small parts that he can choke on.
Music Activities
• Kazoo
What you needed:
Pencil
Toilet paper tube
Markers
3” x 5” piece of waxed paper
Masking tape
1. Use the pencil top to poke a hoe into one wall of the tube, approximately 1” from the end.
2. Let your child decorate the tube with markers.
3. Secure the waxed paper over the end nearest the hole you created. Wrap tape around th lip to keep the waxed paper taut.
4. Show your child how to play the kazoo by pressing the little hole and humming in the open end of the tube.
• Shine a Flashlight
What you need:
Flashlight
Shine a flashlight on your child’s body parts or on objects in the room and ask your child to name them.