activities for toddlers painting rocks

Activities for toddlers

Are you looking for some quick and easy activities for toddlers? If so, you have come to the right place! In this blog post, we will share some of our favorite quick and easy activities that are perfect for busy little ones, whether you’re stuck inside on a rainy day or are just looking for something to do without giving extra screen time.

Here are my 20 favorite quick and easy activities for toddlers

We all need those simple, fast activities that we can use whenever we need them on a busy afternoon or for those times when a brain break is needed. Toddlers also adore playing, which is one of the best things about them! These are some of the go-to toddler activities I keep in my back pocket.

1. Hide and seek

Hide and seek is one of the classic indoor activities. It’s a kind of enhanced peek-a-boo in which one player hides while the other searches for them. Toddlers adore this game because it helps them understand object permanence. They love engaging their senses, and they get really excited when they learn that something they can’t see still exists.

Two children in a carboard stand that says "fresh fruit." They are pretending to buy and sell fake fruit.

2. Dramatize things like going shopping or having a tea party

Pack a box with noodles, chocolate, milk, biscuits, peanut butter, bread, vegetables, fruits, and other items from your pantry (or use child’s play food, if they have it). Give your child a small basket asking them to add some food they like to the basket.

Pick a number under 10 and ask them to shop for that many items to prevent them from pulling too many things off of the shelves. And, sneak in some counting practice! This helps develop cognitive awareness and recognition of objects as well as their purposes.

Or, have a tea party! Make some simple snacks together and pack a picnic basket to head out and enjoy tea together.

3. Create wrapping paper

Do you have one of those large white or brown paper rolls (sometimes also called butcher paper)? Try rolling out a large piece and taping it to the floor, wall, or table and letting your little ones draw whatever they want to. This can be used as gift wrapping paper or framed once cut into smaller pieces.

For a more structured art activity, you could also ask them to do fingerprint art, like these cute wrapping paper ideas by Red Ted Art.

4. Make a water sensory bin

There are numerous enjoyable things to do with a bathtub or a plastic tub of water. You can add a few drops of food coloring, bubbles, and things to scoop and pour the water. Try also adding tubes that link together to encourage some STEAM building, too. Just make sure to have a mop nearby and encourage your little ones to wear an apron if you don’t want everything soaked.

If you do this outside, you could also add things to make bubbles with. This is a great sensory activity, and they will have so much fun splashing and playing with the water.

Sensory bin activities for toddlers. They are playing in a bin of rice with fake bugs and tweezers for fine motor development.

5. More ideas for a sensory bin

Create a themed sensory bin in a container that suits your toddler’s interests, like a construction, nature or alphabet theme by filling a plastic container with household items. Include scoops, tweezers, and things to pour with to encourage fine motor development, too.

You might consider using these bases for sensory development:

  • Dried beans
  • Rice (which you can color, too!)
  • Taste-safe sand
  • Flour
  • Cereal (great way to use up expired cereals!)
  • Dirt or snow
  • Craft materials, like pom poms
  • Shredded paper

Be sure to always provide adult supervision when playing in sensory bins! Young children naturally want to taste test things, especially in sensory bins (that’s why many of them are made from edible bases).

For some awesome messy play ideas, watch the video below by Hazie and Motherhood! They include everything from a color cloud with shaving cream to eggshell crushing and a filtering activity in their IKEA FLISAT sensory table (buy it online here).

6. Mixing colors

Get a tray, a brush, and some watercolors of primary colors (red, yellow, blue) ready. Ask the youngster to combine hues in the tray using the brush and mix them with water while painting on paper. This is a great way to introduce color theory and inspire a love of art. While it may be one of the messier activities for toddlers, at least it requires barely any prep!

7. Playdough monsters

Grab some googly eyes, playdough, and any other favorite attachments for this project. It’s a straightforward open-ended game! Popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners are also good alternatives to make available, too.

Other things I like to encourage them to make with play dough include animals, people, shapes, letters, or numbers. For the letters and numbers, I like to put out a template with a large bubble letter in a protective sheet. This way they can follow the template again and again!

A child' hand squishing a shape into a homemade playdough cutout of a heart.Other playdough and tools for manipulating it surround the child's hand.

8. Better yet – Make play dough together!

Growing up, making playdough was one of our favorite indoor activities on rainy days. All you need is flour, salt, and food coloring, and you can make your own. This is also a great idea for little ones that like to mix colors or leave their designs out to dry since it’s way cheaper than the storebought version.

Use this recipe from BBC Good Food.

9. Color matching with toys

This is a game that you may play with any toy or craft object in your home. You may choose to get them to pick things with only one color, but I usually let them sort in whichever way makes the most sense to them.

Then, provide baskets labeled with colors or color mats and have the children place the items with their matching color. When they’ve finished, ask them if there’s any other way they could sort what they found (ie. by size, weight, or use). This is great for introducing sorting, which is a mathematical concept they will explore in preschool and kindergarten.

Child's hand painting on a cookie with food coloring edible paint.
How fun are these edible cookies with food color “paint”?!

10. Finger painting (or any other type of painting)

Finger painting is a great way to create art while encouraging sensory development. If they’re not into using their fingers, you could also integrate alternatives to paint brushes like sponges, Q-tips, cotton balls, nature items (feathers, leaves, etc.), or recyclables like bottle caps.

You can also make edible finger paint by combining flour, water, and a few drops of food coloring. Just be sure to dispose of it, as bacteria and germs can grow in it when left out. I’d suggest making just enough for today’s activity rather than storing it for later.

11. Dancing, singing or creating music

Encourage a love of music young by enjoying different genres of music together. Have dance parties, sing simple nursery rhymes together, or let them explore and learn a new instrument!

It’s also one of my favorite activities for toddlers because chances are, there is some genre that they will want to move and groove to. There are also tons of great dance-along videos on YouTube if you want some guided movement and practice gross motor skills, too.

12. Stacking and building with objects (e.g. blocks or plastic cups)

This is another simple activity that encourages imagination and mathematical thinking. Let them act like engineers by designing a structure, building it, and testing if it works for its purpose! You can challenge them to build structures that are really tall, really wide, really strong, or that do a specific thing, like building a bridge for their toy cars, for example.

A picture of a forest in the fall with vibrant green and yellow leaves on the tree and covering the pathway.

13. Go for a nature walk and engage the 5 senses

I love going on nature walks, but toddlers may get bored or tired if you don’t have some simple activities planned. While eye-spy is great for practicing things like colors and shapes while engaging their sight, you can also develop their other senses too!

See if you can record 5 things you hear, smell, and can touch while on your next walk. If you’re confident you know what they’re trying, you may let them find things they can taste like wild berries, but only do so if you’re 100% sure!

Download my 5 senses nature walk worksheet here to record what you find!

14. Make a simple craft

Crafts are one of the best activities for toddlers because they have wildly creative imaginations. I find it best to give them a few options to choose from when asking what they want to make, otherwise it can be a bit overwhelming for them to decide. Pinterest is loaded with tons of fun crafts for toddlers if you need some inspiration.

Crafts are also great for developing fine motor skills. Tasks like cutting, tearing, and manipulating craft materials are awesome for fine motor practice.

15. Cook or bake simple recipes together

Cooking and baking are great ways to introduce essential life skills while also developing your toddler’s language and mathematical skills. Try creating simple and delicious recipes together, like these Mexican-inspired foods for kids, muffins, or no-bake recipes like ants on a log.

16. Read together

To extend this, they could create an illustration for a book page of their own or make a simple book (you can help write down their words). Or, they could act out things they saw in the book, bringing the characters they love to life.

A reindeer and sleigh made out of cardboard boxes.

17. Turn cardboard boxes into something special

Child play doesn’t require fancy toys or expensive activities. Often, a cardboard box can mean an entire afternoon of fun! Between teaching and nannying, I have seen kiddos being such great ideas to life with nothing more than a box and basic art materials. I’m talking a sleigh and reindeer, a delivery van for a pizza shop, a spaceship, a boat… The list goes on!

Not only is this great for a busy toddler, but it’s a fun way to get some fine motor skills in as they cut, glue, and stick things onto their creation. I like to offer other fun things like cardboard tubes from toilet paper or paper towels or paper plates to see what else they can create.

Make sure they have adult supervision, though, as you don’t want little ones cutting things on their own!

18. Do science experiments together

Toddlers love science just as much as older kids love it! Create simple science experiments for young learners with household ingredients like milk and skittles, baking soda and vinegar, or baby oil and alka-seltzer tablets. If you don’t have these things on hand, you can likely find them at the dollar store.

For 50 toddler-approved science activities, check out my post here: 50 Simple science experiments for kids.

19. Feed the monster game

There are two parts to this simple activity. First, create a monster out of a small box by decorating it with paper, paints, googly eyes, and whatever different objects they want. Make sure the mouth has a large opening. Then, imagine the thing that the monster likes to “eat.”

You could do this with whatever the learning focus is, like letters, different shapes, or even recycling to encourage sustainability! It could also be a fun way to clean up if a large amount of something has fallen on the ground.

A child running through an obstacle course made of chairs, a flat board, and a beach ball to throw in the pool at the end.

20. Create an obstacle course with household items

The best toddler activities are ones that soak up all of that busy toddler energy. Get them moving by creating a simple obstacle course that encourages them to run, jump, and balance. If doing this outside, use toys like chairs, pylons, or pool noodles to run around and low items to jump over. I also like to put a challenge at the end, like knocking down bowling pins or throwing a ball into a net.

If doing this inside, create a balance maze on the floor with painter’s tape and have other challenges like limbo under a string taped to the wall or crawling through a tunnel. This way, they will be having so much fun they won’t even realize they are getting gross motor development and exercise in.

Did you enjoy any of these fun toddler activities? Let us know what you did in the comments or by connecting on social media!

More amazing ideas for toddler activities

Is this list of 20 activities for toddlers not enough? While many of these can be enjoyed time and time again, I get it! Check out these other creative ideas to keep your toddler busy with fun activities.

Frequently asked questions about activities for toddlers

What activities are good for toddlers?

The best activities for toddlers are ones that get their bodies moving, keep their hands busy, and engage their creativity and personal interests. Simple activities for toddlers are great for motor development while also letting them practice self-expression and engage with subjects like art, math, and science.

Make sure the activities are age-appropriate, as things that are too tough will overwhelm them and things that are too easy may cause them to feel bored!

What activities should a 2-year-old be doing?

Exploring sensory activities and activities that develop the senses are great ideas for two-year-olds. They can also explore simple arts and crafts, design things with playdough and other building materials, and work to solve simple puzzles.

How do I entertain my toddler all day?

Here are 20 easy activities that you and your toddler can do:
1. Hide and seek
2. Dramatize things like going shopping or having a tea party
3. Create wrapping paper
4. Make a water sensory bin
5. More ideas for a sensory bin
6. Mixing colors
7. Playdough monsters
8. Better yet – Make play dough together!
9. Color matching with toys
10. Finger painting (or any other type of painting)
11. Dancing, singing or creating music
12. Stacking and building with objects (e.g. blocks or plastic cups)
13. Go for a nature walk and engage the 5 senses
14. Make a simple craft
15. Cook or bake simple recipes together
16. Read together
17. Turn cardboard boxes into something special
18. Do science experiments together
19. Feed the monster game
20. Create an obstacle course with household items

More activities for toddlers

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