Seven Easy Toddler Activities you Need to Try Now

Have fun with your toddler – Try these seven super easy toddler activities now.

More than a year ago, I became a mother to a new walker!  Yes, a whole new dimension of motherhood began on that day.  It was altogether exciting and frightening.  Because it was late spring and summer was fast approaching, I had a plan to implement fun, adventurous toddler activities every day.  Each day would be different.  Monday- arts and crafts day, Tuesday- all about wilderness adventures, Wednesday- science and discovery, Thursday- water, water, and more water, and Friday- acts of kindness. Yeah…that didn’t happen.  In fact, it didn’t even really begin.  It’s a fabulous idea and any mother that can make it happen is a superhero in my opinion.

On the other hand, I’m sure we all have had those days when there are moments of downtime, (between school, groceries, appointments, play dates, and time-sensitive projects), and other than free play, which is wonderful and which I love, some toddler activities might brighten those moments up a bit.  Plus, mommy and toddler spending quality time together is golden, and is something that your toddler will cherish forever. In fact, to read more about spending quality time with your children, check out this blog about Heart & Soul Time.  So, I am sharing some of the favorites from the activities we have done over the last year and a half since that exciting day my little man began walking. If you love these activities, I have listed and linked all our personal favorite supplies with their corresponding activities below. Check it out!

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1. Seasonal Collage

1. Take your toddler for a walk around your neighborhood in search of unique and/or ordinary things that remind you and him of fall.  These can be pine cones, nut and seed shells, autumn leaves of many colors, fall flowers, dried and golden grass, etc.
2. Using the adhesive side of a sheet of contact paper, have your toddler arrange the collection to make a collage.  You may need to reinforce with hot glue later if it is something you want to keep.

2. Pumpkin Art

Pumpkin Art is one of the toddler activities that we look forward to year after year! And like the collage above, it can be adapted for older kids too.

 

1. Buy some mini, small, or medium-sized pumpkins, a painting medium with sponges, rollers, or brushes, and let your toddler go at it freely and primarily unassisted.

Notes:

**We have done this several times.  In the early days, I laid down a paint tarp to contain the mess.  Recently, my son is getting much better at keeping the paint and brushes on the table, so I just use a smock and paper plates.

**We have used acrylic paint, tempera paint, ink pads with stamps, finger paints, and tempera paint sticks.  We love all of these mediums.

**We have nylon and foam brushes, and foam rollers, and we love all of these tools.

**When I say “primarily unassisted”, I seriously mean to be as uninvolved as possible.  I am watching from a distance.  I understand the nervousness around that idea.  His pumpkins don’t look as pretty (to the neighbors), but I am certain that my son is not only having more fun in the process but is also learning a lot more through the process than he would if I was too much involved.

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Art Supplies! Check out these Favorites of Ours & Click to Shop

3. DIY Wooden Blocks

1. Go to your local Home Depot or Lowes and buy an inexpensive plank of wood (2×4, 4×4, 2×2 or whatever scraps they may have for sale).  Ask them to cut it for you into random-sized blocks.  When you get home, sand the edges to smooth them over. 
2. Give your toddler the blocks along with some paint and some tools and let your toddler do the rest.
3. The first time we did this, my son only painted on 1-2 sides per block, so I finished the job by painting the remaining sides a solid color. A year and a half later, we are still adding to his collection, and now he makes sure to cover every inch of the block with paint.

Notes:

**If you don’t have a sander or don’t have the time and energy to sand the block, you can buy blocks from any craft store.

4. Sensory Foam

This toddler activity is nothing you can save, a complete mess, but so worth the fun that your toddler will have.  You can even involve your littles in making the foam.

1. With just a tiny amount of water and a whole LOT of soap, blend (using your blender) until thick and foamy.  You can also add food coloring to make this more fun.
2. Transfer the foam to a large bowl, give your toddler some kitchen tools such as a whisk, a spatula, and some wooden spoons, and let the little one play. 

Notes:

**You may need to whip up more as he plays.

** I put out a tarp in one corner of our kitchen and asked my son to stay on the tarp during play.  He still had some memorable fun, and the cleanup for me wasn’t as bad.

5. Diffused Watercolor

Another of our favorite toddler activities, and a great way for an infant or toddler to experience watercolor for the first time, (or second, third, fourth…). It always turns out beautiful, to the extent that your friends who come over and see it would not be able to guess that it was done by a two or three-year-old.

1. Rather than using watercolor paper, buy color-diffusing paper.  You can even get different shapes and sizes, (autumn leaves, spring flowers, circles, and more). Lakeshore Learning sells color-diffusing paper year-round, and I am certain there are plenty of other stores that sell it too.
2. Set up your water, paints, and brushes/sponges just like you normally would do for watercolor. 
3. Let your toddler splash color onto the paper, paint it on with a brush like normal, smear it, or drop it, whatever his /her urge is at that moment.
4. Take a spray bottle filled with water and spray the painted paper one or two times. Watch as the paper absorbs the color and diffuses it throughout.
5. Set it out to dry.

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Watercolor! Check out these Favorites of Ours & Click to Shop

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6. Autumn Sensory Nature Box

A blend of textures smells, and sounds, this box is sure to keep your toddler busy as long as it takes. 

1. Find a sturdy, solid box to use for this activity.  You can also use a bucket or bin.
2. Fill the box with enough rice for your toddler to comfortably dig his hands into, (about 2-3 inches from the bottom). Your toddler can help with this too.
3. Go for a walk and gather some fresh pine cones from the great outdoors. 
4. A few other things to add: Nutshells and/or a few large nuts, some fresh cinnamon sticks, fresh orange peel.
5. Let your toddler play in the box, encouraging him/her to touch, smell, and listen to the sounds of dropping rice over the nutshells and pine cones, etc.

7. Salt Dough Fossils

Especially fun for dinosaur lovers on a cold day when you don’t mind using the oven, these dinosaur impressions are super fun and relatively easy to make.  Plus they make great toys for days and weeks after.

1. Gather all the supplies you will need for this, including: small plastic dinosaurs and/or small dinosaur skeletons, ½-1 ¼ cup warm water, 1 cup salt, 2 cups whole wheat flour.
2. With a wooden spoon or mixer, mix flour, salt, and water together.  I started with ½ cup, and added water in ¼ cup increments until I got the consistency needed to make a nice ball of dough.
3. Make small balls of dough.  Using your palm, press ball to about ½ – ¼ inch thickness.
4. Press the dinosaur toys or skeletons into the dough.  If the toys and skeletons are small enough, you can press the entire toy into the dough.  Or you can just press the feet, tail, face, spine, etc.
5. Place the fossils on a baking sheet (I also used parchment paper), and bake at 250 degrees for about 2 hours, keeping an eye on them after the first hour.  I checked mine every 30 minutes.  They are done when they are dry and hard.

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Dinosaurs! Check out these Favorites of Ours & Click to Shop

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You may also enjoy reading:

How to Provide Structure for Toddlers & Preschoolers at Home

Five Steps to Successful Toddler Quiet Times

Ice Egg Excavation

Best Homemade Play Dough Ever

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Seven Easy Toddler Activities you Need to Try Now