40 Games & Activities to Play with Your Toddler at Home
Looking for fun activities and games to play with toddlers at home? We've got you covered! Find some of the easy-to-play, fun, and exciting toddler activities that you can play with your kid at home below. These games and activities will not only keep your little one busy and happy but also help in her development and growth.
Read on to know what these 40 fun games for toddlers are!
Physical Activities for Toddlers
Who said kids need to play outdoors to stay fit? You can get your child to do some physical activities at home in the form of plays and games. Here are some fun games for toddlers to play indoor:
1. Dancing:
The best way to get your child moving and help her develop a sense of rhythm is through dancing together. Make some space in your living room, turn on your baby's favourite music, and let your toddler groove to the tunes. Avoid using props like scarves or long string-like objects, as they can be choking hazards. You can mix up actions like jumping, stamping, marching, or tiptoeing for effects.
2. Fort at Home:
Create a fort or a fun land using pillows, small chairs or stools, cardboard box or storage containers. But make sure these objects don't have any sharp corners. Use obstacles for your child to climb, bounce, sit, stand and jump safely. This will give her many opportunities to crawl, stretch, climb, and bounce.
3. Household Chores:
Getting your child involved in easy household chores helps teach them responsibility. It is not about getting things done but about instilling the habit. You can start by teaching your child simple jobs like picking up toys, carrying spoons to the table, folding clothes, etc.
4. Sorting Box:
Use cardboard boxes and glue them together side-by-side. Give your toddler a bowl of plastic balls of two different colours. Teach her to sort the balls according to the colour and drop them in specific containers.
5. Excavation Site:
Take a large tub and fill it with sand. Add some small animal toys and other little treasures that are your child's favourite. Mix them in the sand and let your kid dig around to excavate all the hidden treasures.
6. Bubble Jar:
Add some liquid soap and a few drops of food colouring in a jar and fill it with water. Close the lid and hand it to your child. Let him shake the jar and watch the colourful bubbles that form inside.
7. Hide and Seek:
You know the rules! As your child grows up, she will be up for a search-party challenge. So, find a place behind the sofa, curtain or door and let the fun begin.
8. Stomping on Bubble Wraps:
Put those spare bubble wraps to use. Place it on the floor and enjoy watching your toddler jump on it trying to swat the bubbles in excitement.
9. Make a Dough:
While making dough for chapattis at home, keep a small portion of it aside for your child. Let her pat the dough down, scrunch it up, poke it, pull it apart or squeeze it.
10. Cook Together:
It's always fun to try baking with your child. If your kid is old enough, let her mix the ingredients, pour the batter and frost the cupcakes. However, make sure everything around the kitchen is safe and keep her away from the stove or oven. Read more about cooking with kids.
Educational Toddler Activities
Your toddler can learn a lot while playing. So, a game or activity can also be educational. Here are some educational games for toddlers at home:
1. Magnetism Magic:
If your toddler is old enough and doesn't put anything she comes across in her mouth, this activity is for her. However, you'll still need to closely supervise her when doing the activity. Place a mix of household objects that are metallic and attracted by magnets and some that aren't in one box. Avoid adding any small objects that can be a choking hazard. Ask your little one to sort through the materials using a magnet.
2. Bean Bank:
You need some mix dried beans and a few empty bottles or containers with a small opening. These empty containers will serve as banks. Ask your toddler to sort these beans according to their colours, where each colour has a value (e.g. – black beans have more value than brown ones). Let her deposit these sorted beans in different banks. It is one of the best ways to teach your tiny tot numbers.
3. Sink or Swim:
Add some blue food colouring in a large water-filled tub. Gather some objects from your household that won't be ruined after getting wet. Make sure you pick these objects in such a way that there's some balance between objects having some weight (toy cars, spoons, etc.) and lighter objects (foam balls, plastic cups, etc). As you add each object into the tub, ask your child whether it'll sink or swim. This can help her learn as well as have some fun.
4. Shape Matching:
Use different cookie cutters to trace out different shapes on felt or foam sheet. Cut them and then again cut them in half. Paste each half of these shapes on a cardboard and let your kid match the remaining halves.
5. Building Blocks:
Building blocks help in your child's body and brain growth. Building structures using blocks teaches your child about balancing and stacking while also develops hand-eye coordination and fine-motor skills like grasping. If the blocks have colours, numbers or alphabets, then you can easily teach her alphabets, counting and different colours. Watching the build tower come crashing down will also help her understand cause and effect.
6. Reading Books:
Be it during bedtime or in the middle of the day, reading books to your toddler will help build her vocabulary, improve her communication skills, and stimulate her imagination. Through reading you can introduce your child to stories, numbers, alphabets, colours, shapes, giving her information about the world around them. This will also help build her memory. Make sure you choose books that have lots of colourful pictures.
7. Solve Puzzles:
Through puzzles, you can help your little one learn colours, shapes, numbers, animals, plants, fruits, vegetables, etc. Choose puzzles that have clear and colourful pictures so that it's easier for her to start with. Let her complete the same puzzle over and over again. Read more about toddler puzzle games.
8. Impersonating Animals:
Try impersonating your toddler's favourite animals – for example, impersonate how a dog barks. This way, you can teach her about different animals and their sounds. You can also teach her the young ones of these animals.
9. Writing Letters:
If your kid is old enough and knows a majority of the spellings and how to form sentences, you can ask her to write a letter to her best friend or favourite grandparent. You can also do it together by writing the letter for her while she tells you what to write. Don't forget to encourage her to scribble her name at the end of the letter. You can also encourage your toddler to make greeting cards.
10. Nursery Rhymes:
Recite poems and nursery rhymes and ask your toddler to repeat or sing along with you. You can also do simple hand movements as you sing and watch your baby have fun. This will help your toddler to learn words and repeat the actions.
Arts and Crafts Activities
Bring out the little artist in your toddler by letting her explore her creative side with the following arts and crafts toddler games at home:
1. Drawing and Colouring:
You can help her draw shapes and teach her to colour within the inner outline. For starters, you can use a blackboard for getting her acquainted with drawing. You can then switch to a drawing book or a colouring book. This will also help her learn different shapes and colours.
2. Dip and Paint:
Cut vegetables like lady finger and potatoes into halves and dip them in paint and stamp them on paper. You can help your toddler create different shapes and scenery using this method. You can also teach her hand and finger painting.
3. Unleash the Picasso:
Once your toddler understands shapes and colours and is able to colour within the lines, you can let her use paints. Hand her a piece of white paper sheet and ask her to paint whatever strikes her mind at the moment. Once your child completes the painting, watch her face light up as she looks at her first artwork.
4. Puppet Show:
Make puppets out of felt, scrap fabric, or papers. While you do so, involve your kid in this process and teach him the use of scissors and glue. Once your puppets are ready, you can draw or paint a background on cardboard and help your kid present a puppet show to the family or older siblings.
5. Jewellery making:
Give your kid a mix of pasta shells, cut-out straws, beads, and paper cut-outs along with strings of thread and some glue. Let her tap into her creative side to make necklaces out of them. This will also improve her concentration and creativity.
6. Playing Music:
Get your toddler a toy piano, guitar, or a drum set. Let your little rock star create music and have fun.
7. Play dress-up:
You can organise an imaginary tea party and dress up with your kid. Set up a small table with her toy tea set and soft toys and dolls. Through this, you can teach your child good manners. Pretend play will enhance your child's imagination, creative thinking, and impulse control.
8. Button Art:
Hand a paper, glue, and a box of buttons to your kid and let her create a unique button artwork. Make sure you supervise your kid while she's working on the artwork, as small buttons can be a choking hazard.
9. DIY Projects:
Clean an empty jar and remove the labels. Ask your kid to choose a small plastic figure from her toys and glue it to the inside of the lid. Add glitter to the jar and fill it with some oil or glycerine. Stick the lid to the jar and your DIY snow globe is ready. You can also make wind chimes, photo frames, and wall hangings using scrap plastic bottles and candy sticks. Make sure to involve your kid and guide her throughout the project.
10. Clay Art:
Get your toddler some kid-safe, non-toxic, air-dry clay. Teach your kid how to use it and make shapes and objects out of it like animals, fruits, etc. Ask your child to follow the process and let her try it out on her own.
Interactive Indoor Activities & Games for Toddlers
Although most of the toddler activities require your supervision, here are some interactive games to play with toddlers that might require your extra support:
1. Paper Tube Chute:
Let your kid build a long spiralling tube by slipping empty paper towel rolls into each other. Once done, your little one can paint over the tube and then hold it over a bucket or bowl to pass marbles across the tube into the bucket.
2. Water Xylophone:
Take some sturdy glass jars or glasses and fill them with water in such a way that each container has different levels of water. Line them up and ask your child to lightly tap on them using spoons to create a tune.
3. Ball and Cup:
Please three plastic cups upside-down with one small plastic ball hidden under the cup. Show your kid which cup has the ball hidden and then shuffle the cups, asking her to guess which cup has the ball.
4. Sunday-Monday:
This is a simple game that will help teach your kid about the days of the week. Sit across the place where your child is sitting and keep her right palm on your right palm and place your left palm on her left palm. Tap your left palm on her right palm and say "Sunday". Ask her to tap her right palm on your left palm and say "Monday". Continue the game until you reach Saturday. But the catch here is that the one receiving the tap for Saturday has to take away the hand before getting tapped.
5. Months on Knuckles:
This is yet another fun way to teach your kid months and help her remember them in order. Turn your fists with the knuckles facing upwards. Start naming the months from January by touching the first knuckle and continuing with the rest of the months such that one month falls on the knuckle while the next one falls between two knuckles.
6. Share Family Tales:
Take out an old photo album and show your toddler photos of you and the family. Point out to each family member while stating the relation and ask your child to repeat after you. You can also say something like, "Who is this? This is Grandma!"
7. Board Games:
Get easy, kid-friendly board games and teach your kid how to play. You can get something like Scrabble. While you form words, repeat them along with your child to improve her vocabulary and get her acquainted with words.
8. Food Art:
Chop some fruits or salad vegetables and ask your child to arrange it in an artistic way on the plate. You both can create sceneries, animals, flowers, etc. And once done, you both can eat them while you teach her the names of the fruits or vegetables that you're eating and why should you eat them.
9. Enjoy the Nature:
Stand in your balcony or near the window with your child and watch the sky, the trees and the road. You can talk about the clouds floating by, the colour of the trees, the chirping of the bird, the cars and people passing by, etc. with your child.
10. Indoor Gardening:
If you have any plants at home, involve your child in the plant care. Teach her how to water plants, how much water should you give them, why are plants important, and so on. Let her water some of the plants too. Read more about gardening with toddlers
Takeaway
Keeping an active toddler busy can be challenging. However, you can get your child involved in indoor physical activities, arts and crafts project, interactive games, and other educational activities to keep her busy for a short time. Remember, even the simplest idea can be a magical experience for your tiny tot. Watch your toddler’s imagination run wild while you do tons of things together. Enjoy!