Toddler Activities

Educational fun for your Toddler

I love the toddler phase. They are full of wonder and energy and absorb so much from the world around them. It makes you pay attention to your surroundings and can change how you interact with the world. As parents, it is our job to facilitate our toddlers’ wonder. Helping them to develop and grow. Offering toddler activities can be a fun part of this phase. There are so many educational toys out there, that knowing which one to pick can be daunting. The thing is, you don’t need all these expensive toys to facilitate your child’s development.

In this blog post, I will show you how to engage your toddler and fulfil their thirst for exploration. This doesn’t have to be anything overly energy-consuming or overpriced for you the parents. Below is a small collection of exciting activities to captivate your toddler’s imagination while helping with their development of essential skills. Remember the most important thing is to have fun. There is no right or wrong way for your toddler to play as long as they are safe.

Toddler Activities

Sensory Play

This can be anything from filling a bowl with water and letting your child go at it, to allowing them to play in the mud. Bury toys in the dirt for your child to find and explore. Allowing your toddler to explore different textures, colours, and shapes with their hands is great for development. If you want to, you can create sensory bins, with sand or rice. You can place toys inside for your child to engage with. Scoops and jugs are great for your toddler to practice pouring. Sensory play enhances fine motor skills, encourages creativity, and stimulates the senses.

Materials: It’s important to ensure that you use non-toxic materials when creating sensory experiences for your child. Maybe try to be environmentally friendly with your choices. Ensure that any materials used are not a choking hazard for your toddler.

Storytime Adventures

Reading helps improve language skills and communication and boosts their imagination. Take your toddler on an adventure while helping with their development. Immerse your toddler in the magical world of books with interactive storytime. Do you have “Old McDonald” and some farm animals? Get your child involved in the storytelling.

Storytelling With Props: Using props when reading can really draw your toddler into the story. This hands-on approach makes any story come alive. Check your local library to see if you can borrow a ready-made storytelling set. These usually come with little characters from the book.

Character Voices: Giving the characters in a book unique voices can add another enjoyable dimension to the story. Let your toddler join in by providing voices for some of the characters.

Picture Walks: Before reading a new book, take a “picture walk” through its pages. Ask your toddler to predict what the story might be about based on the illustrations.

DIY Art Masterpieces

Art is one of the great toddler activities to help your child’s development. It allows them to make choices, show emotional expression and help with fine motor skills.

Getting messy with art activities isn’t for everyone. The thought of paint splodging on your carpet and finding glitter weeks later is not appealing. However, finger painting, sponge stamping, and crayon scribbling are excellent ways to unleash your toddler’s creativity and fine motor skills. If you are close by it doesn’t have to be messy.

Art-friendly space: Cover surfaces with old sheets or plastic sheets. Try to use non-toxic washable materials for paint. Use aprons or old shirts to protect your toddler.

Ideas: When you’re out on your walks collect sticks, leaves and flowers. Bring them home to create textured nature art. Collect old newspapers or magazines and allow your toddler to cut bits out and stick them to a bit of paper, for a fun collage-making activity.

Display their masterpieces proudly around the house for extra encouragement.

Colour Sorting Games

Colour sorting games are an excellent way for your child to learn their colours. Gather an array of colourful objects and ask your toddler to sort them by colour. You can use toys, building blocks, or even fruits and vegetables. They might even eat some along the way. Win-win. This activity enhances colour recognition and cognitive skills.

Outdoor Nature Walks

Getting outdoors is so important. Even if you just take a stroll around the neighbourhood. Nature walks provide an opportunity to learn about the environment, develop vocabulary, and foster a love for nature. Let your child take the lead, and engage with them in what they find. You will be surprised by what you notice when you slow to their speed and investigate everything.

Allow them to climb safely, pick up leaves and dig in the mud. Your toddler can always be washed. Let them explore the hedgerows, trees, long grass, and flowers. Immerse yourself in nature.

Being in nature isn’t just good for your toddler, but it is also good for you. It is important to have that connection to nature. It can help reduce stress and have a calming effect; even if you are chasing a toddler. Introducing your child to nature early can ensure a deep appreciation for it, ensuring that as your child grows they will look after it.

Toddlers in the kitchen

Invite your toddler to help you in the kitchen. Simple tasks like stirring, pouring, and scooping are not only enjoyable but also build their fine motor skills and teach them about measurements and ingredients. You will also find that your toddler loves the sink. Encourage this by allowing them to wash up some age-appropriate kitchen wear.

When you feel the time is right introduce a toddler-safe knife to allow for some greater responsibility.

Music and Movement

This is one of those great toddler activities that the whole family can get in on. Create a mini dance party or sing-along session with your toddler. Music and movement activities promote physical development, rhythm, and language skills. Music and movement can also help you to relax and loosen up.

Conclusion

Remember your toddler is like a sponge, absorbing knowledge and experiences at an astonishing rate. By incorporating some of these activities into your week, you can help with your toddler’s development. However, don’t stress that you are not doing enough. Just going for a walk incorporates a lot of things your toddler needs to develop, so it can be that easy if you don’t feel like tidying up after a creative toddler.