52 Things to Do With Toddlers at Home

Alexandra F. said:  Go beyond Candyland and explore any of these other fun board games for toddlers. Or, consider tweaking other games you love for your littlest player. Our 2-year-old loves playing a simplified version of Headbanz with the rest of the family, and his favorite game of all is Double Shutter, which has been perfect for helping to promote his number recognition and counting skills.

Alexandra F. said:  This simple toddler activity is seriously the best - super easy to do and it keeps kids busy for a good while! Take a pad of Post Its and write the alphabet (or the numbers 1-9), one letter (or number) per note. Then, hide all of the notes around the room, and send your toddler on a mission to find them. My 3 year old LOVES this game, and I love how easy it is to prepare, and that it helps reinforce letter and number recognition to boot - win win win!

Alexandra F. said:  Toy instruments are great for this age group, but you don't really need them for your toddler to make his own music. Some pots, pans, and wooden spoons will do just as well, and there are plenty of easy tutorials for homemade instruments that are perfect for this age group.

Alexandra F. said:  My 2 and 4 year olds love this simple yard game, and it's easy to play for as long or little as we want. One person is the traffic light, and stands on one end of the yard/sidewalk/hallway while everyone else lines up across from them. When the traffic light yells out "green light", everyone runs as fast as they can to get to them. When they say "red light," everyone has to stop. Whoever gets to the traffic light first, wins!

Alexandra F. said:  My kids love to hide stuff and have me find it, telling me I am "warm" or "hot" as I get closer to the hidden item and "cold" or "freezing" the further away I get.

Alexandra F. said:  Hide your toddler’s toys around the house for her to find. We also love hiding toys in our pile of kinetic sand and using our mini trucks to find and dig them out. A fun twist on this game is to hide pieces from the same puzzle, then put the puzzle together when all the pieces have been found.

Alexandra F. said:  Toddlers love to splash, pour and play with water. A water table is great when the weather is warm and the kids can splash outside, but if you are ok with a little mess some bowls and plastic cups inside will do just as well. Lay a big towel or two out on your kitchen floor to try and contain the mess, but a change of clothes will probably be inevitable! Or, explore other creative ideas for playing with your water table, indoors and out!

Kelly R. said:  Give your toddler an old house painting brush you're ready to retire and set them up in the driveway with a container of water. They can dip the brush and "paint" designs all over the driveway, the sidewalk, or the outside of the house.

Kelly R. said:  Spray some shaving cream on a covered tabletop (or on a window!) and let your toddler draw in it with their fingers.

Kelly R. said:  Easter Egg Hunts are easy toddler activities all year round...it definitely doesn't have to be Easter! Hide them inside or outside, and let your toddler take a turn hiding them for you to find, too.

Kelly R. said:  Break out the Play Doh, kinetic sand, aqua beads, or your family's favorite sensory toys and start squishing.

Alexandra F. said:  The awesome thing about toddlers is that they can find fun in almost anything - even cleaning up! Especially if you throw a silly song into the mix ("clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere, clean up, clean up, everybody do your share") putting toys aways and tidying up can be one of the most helpful things to do with toddlers.

Alexandra F. said:  This is a great game to help toddlers practice following directions, as well as their listening skills. It's also a great game to play over video chat with Grandma or Grandpa!

Alexandra F. said:  Collecting sticks is one of my toddler’s very favorite things to do outside, and I appreciate that it saves me the trouble of all that bending over to pick them up myself!

Alexandra F. said:  Find a piece of string or yarn, tie it around any of your toddler’s toys and have them “walk” the toy around the house.