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These activities are designed to get your child moving and will teach him to use his different senses.
Activities
Basket-BallBasket-Ball
Overview
Your toddler throws something into a container.
Materials
- Something to throw: small plastic wiffle ball, golf ball, crumpled paper ball, or bean bag
- Something to throw into: a laundry basket or a cardboard box
Setup
Put the container in the middle of the floor and give your child the ball to throw. You may need to show him how to do it first.
How to Play
Encourage the child to throw the ball into the basket. When he gets it in, be sure to cheer for him!
Variations
- Give the child several sheets of colored paper, and let him create his own paper balls to throw. He will enjoy dumping them out of the basket as much as throwing them into it.
- Try having the child throw from different areas of the room.
Cutting Paper
Overview
Your toddler increases her dexterity by cutting paper and optionally gluing the pieces onto other sheets of paper.
Materials
- Construction paper and/or old magazines
- Child-safe Scissors
- Glue or double-sided tape (optional)
Setup
Put the paper on a table
How to Play
- Show your toddler how to use the scissors to cut the paper, then let her try it on her own. The simple act of cutting paper will keep most kids busy for awhile.
- If you don't mind a little mess, give your toddler some non-toxic school glue and have her glue her cut-up pieces of paper onto other pieces.
- If you don't want a mess and have double-sided tape, that's a great alternative to the glue.
Mailbox
Overview
Your toddler puts "mail" into a box with a mail-sized hole in it. It teaches her coordination and lets her practice the use of her hands and fingers.
Materials
- Shoe box with a lid
- Scissors (or a knife) -- for the adult, not the toddler!
- Junk mail, index cards, playing cards, and anything else that might fit into the slit in the box
Setup
Cut a slit in the shoebox that's big enough for your child to put the "mail" into.
How to Play
- Explain to your toddler that the shoebox is a mailbox, and show her how to put the items into the slit in the box.
- Ask her to put the mail into the mailbox.
- When she gets all the mail into the box, open it, dump it all out, and start over.
Variations
- If you have some spare photos of your family (mother, father, brothers, sisters) lying around (or some photos you could print out), give your toddler the pictures and ask her to put them into the mailbox. Then when you open it, you could have her deliver the photos to the people in them.
- If your toddler can read, you could simply write the names of family members on index cards (or real envelopes) and have your child deliver those.
- Older children can get in on the fun by writing letters to family members and having the younger children deliver them.
Mystery Bag
Overview
Toddlers love surprises and discovering new things. In this activity we give them a bag full of surprises.
Materials
- Pillowcase
- Various toddler safe items, such as spoons, balls, fruit, plastic measuring cups, toddler toys, wooden blocks, etc.
Setup
Put the various items into the pillowcase.
How to Play
For very young children, just let them look through the pillowcase to see what they can find.
Variations
- Ask the child to find a particular item.
- Ask the child to find a particular item by feel only (without looking).
- Use a smaller "mystery bag" like an adult-sized sock.
Race to the Color
Overview
You challenge your toddler to get to a piece of colored construction paper before you do. It teaches them to recognize colors.
Materials
- Several pieces of different colored construction paper
Setup
Spread the construction paper out on the floor, so that you can easily see all of them.
How to Play
- You might point to a red piece of paper, and ask your toddler, "Do you see that red piece of paper?"
- When he nods or says he does, you should say, "When I say, 'RED!' I want you to try to get it before I do."
- Then, of course, say "RED!" and run to the paper just a little slower than your child.
- Go back to the starting position and repeat for the other colors.
More sensory development activities for toddlers coming soon!
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