Searching for activities to do with your toddler can be downright overwhelming. There’s indoor activities, outdoor activities, activities for gross motor development, STEM and literacy activities…
With the thousands of kids activities and crafts out there, how can anyone narrow it down to just one?
And how can you tell if these activities are ones your toddler would actually do?
This was something I struggled with when I had a new toddler. I wanted to start doing fun things with her and not constantly buy new toys or turn to YouTube for entertainment.
But there were just soooo many options when it came to toddler activities. Some were super complicated, so I could eliminate those quick. And then I just wasn’t sure if my 18-month-old would even want to try the activity I picked, so… I ended up just not doing anything.
I don’t want this to happen to you! If you are like I was, and haven’t gotten started or keep waiting for that perfect activity, then this guide is for you.
My hope is that this guide will give you the confidence and encouragement you need to start playing and doing activities with your kids.
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!
5 Things to consider When Choosing Activities for Your Toddler
Here are five things to think about as you figure out which activity is right for your toddler.
1. Age/Development
The official dictionary definition of toddler is a child who is just beginning to walk. Unofficially, most people (and Wikipedia, so you know this is correct) consider a toddler to be 12-36 months old.
That’s a huge range in terms of development.
A 12-month-old is not going to be able to do the same things as a 36-month-old, nor will she be able to understand directions the same way as a 36-month-old.
So when we talk about “toddler activities” in general, you’ll have to consider where your child is in terms of age and development.
Can he play with small objects, or manipulatives, without putting them in his mouth?
Is she able to hold a paintbrush steadily enough to paint?
2. Interests
When my oldest was two, she loved Doc McStuffins. So naturally, I geared activities to cater towards Doc.
This may seem obvious, but choose activities with themes that your kid is interested in.
And if you want to dig a little deeper, then see if you notice your child repeating certain behaviors in play. He may be exploring a play schema.
Play Schema
Play schemas are behaviors that toddlers engage in over and over again as they play. Have you ever noticed your toddler piling up blankets and pillows under the table, or maybe she very methodically lines up her toys or books in her room every day in some sort of special pattern?
Your toddler is exploring a play schema. The good news is that once you identify your child’s interest in a certain play schema you can be confident that he will want to do that schema over and over again.
Here’s a quick list of play schemas and how they manifest:
- Enclosing: hiding themselves away; putting objects in treasure boxes
- Enveloping: wrapping things up
- Connecting: joining or binding things together
- Orientation: seeing things from different angles
- Positioning: aligning themselves or objects in lines or patterns
- Trajectory: exploring how things move
- Transporting: taking things from one place to another
- Rotation: spinning or watching thing spin; fascination with circles
3. Skills: What Do They Need to Work On?
We’ve tried to organize our activities with these activity categories:
- Gross Motor Skills
- Fine Motor Skills
- Sensory Play
- Literacy
- STEM
- Dramatic Play
- Arts and Crafts
Each of these categories targets a skill to help toddlers become well-rounded developmentally.
Each of these types of activities work together. Gross motor muscles are essential for kids to be able hold themselves up in a chair and work on fine motor skills.
Sensory play and dramatic play both help language development.
STEM and literacy can be woven into any of the other categories and help our kids learn more effectively through play.
My daughter definitely prefers sensory play and fine motor work over gross motor. I have to be intentional about challenging her to use and strengthen her gross motor muscles.
It’s all about balance.
This is why we organized the activities in our Activity Playbook to rotate between the seven activity categories listed above each week. Every week includes at least one gross motor activity, one fine motor activity, and three from the other categories.
4. Supervision Requirement
Do I have time to sit beside them or do I need to just keep them busy while I work on something else across the room?
Younger toddlers like my 14-month-old need a grown-up to be right next to them as they do most activities.
As they get older, they’ll be able to do more activities independently. For instance, I’m comfortable leaving my three-year-old to play with a tray of ice as I wash dishes across the room.
However, I would still make sure to be in the same room (or within earshot) just in case anything were to happen.
Brand-new activities or introducing new skills will require closer supervision and sometimes modeling. When we first started doing new types of activities, like STEM activities, Elena, my three-year-old preferred to watch me do it the first time before she attempted it.
The good news is, as you start doing more and more different types of activities, your kid will get the hang of things. You’ll be able to trust them more and more as they gain confidence in their abilities and start to level up in development.
Who knows? You might even get enough time to sit down and relax for more than five minutes.
5. Your Child’s Energy Level
Have you ever had a well-meaning family member chase and tickle your toddler, getting them all ramped up…. riiiight before bedtime? And how long did it take to quiet down your child and get them to bed?
Your child’s energy level plays a huge role in choosing the perfect activity for just the right time.
With that in mind, save high-energy activities for times when kids’ energy levels are at their best and they have plenty of time to wind down before naps or bedtime.
Another time to skip gross motor activities is if your child is sick.
I don’t want you thinking gross motor or high-energy activities shouldn’t be done. You KNOW your kids need to be active and burn off energy throughout the day. In fact, over the past year or so that I’ve been doing play activities with my daughter, I’ve noticed that she will actually sit still and focus better if I’ve given her ample time to burn off some energy.
That’s right. If your toddler is a bit squirrelly while you’re trying to do a fine motor activity or a learning activity, it helps to switch gears and do a gross motor activity instead. Then go back to the lower-energy activity once your toddler is somewhat “worn out.”
Conversely, a calming sensory activity might be perfect for that last hour before bedtime.
Your Turn To Start Doing Activities WIth Your Kids
So the five things to consider when picking out activities for your kids are:
- age,
- interests,
- skills,
- supervision requirement, and
- your child’s energy level
In the end though, there is no single perfect activity for your child. Let me say that again in case you were distracted: there is no single perfect activity for your child.
What we’re aiming for when we encourage you to do activities with your kids is to connect with them, love on them, and make memories with them.
Sure, sometimes you get hours of play from a single activity and sometimes kids will even entertain themselves independently. That’s awesome!
But whether the activity lasts hours or just fifteen minutes, I hope you make memories and form bonds that last your whole life.
Any activity that helps you do this is the perfect activity.
Looking for a little guidance? Check out our Entertain Your Toddler Playbook. We’ll tell you exactly what activities to do and provide you with a supply checklist for the entire 3 months so that you can be ready to dive in on Day One.
You’ll have no excuse to not entertain your toddler.
If you’re ready to spend more time doing things with your kids instead of finding things to do, then you’re ready to take on this challenge! Tap the link to see the playbook below.
Entertain Your Toddler Playbook
Keep toddlers (ages 1-3) busy and happy with three months of easy set-up, planned activities using simple supplies. This download includes weekly activity planners and “activity recipes” to show you exactly what to do with your kids each day.