The Most Fun Things to do with Toddlers before they’re Big Kids!
(Well, OK- plenty of these are fun for big kids too, but you can start playing today…)
Sign up for the Creative With Kids Newsletter to receive weekly simple ideas like this that will help you enjoy parenting.
My youngest child turned two this week! In celebration of her birthday, and because I really want to make the best of this time…
I present the Toddler Years Must Do List!
Having a toddler around is SO busy; I don’t want to spend the toddler years in a blur and miss the best parts of this cute and funny stage – I need this list!
Many of these ideas come from when I asked about your favorite toddler activities on facebook this summer.
I had no idea how HAPPY reading the responses would make me!
The Toddler Year Must Do List
Caveat!! Don’t let this list overwhelm you! Just use it to get get re-inspired when you’re feeling exhausted by things like potty training, constant mess and night wakings. The ideas on the list are the some of the most fun things about toddlerhood. You don’t have to do them all, but I think you’ll treasure any of these activities that you do.
Play Together:
My daughter particularly likes it went I pretend her nose makes different noises like beeping etc. Its so bonding and so fun” ~Mel
- “I spy” in the car or at the park
- Building towers and knocking them down
- Rolling along toy cars
- Puppets
- Dress up
- Peek-a-boo, patty cake, hide and seek!
Hide & seek in the house (which is really silly because it’s just basic hiding beside the bed post or behind the couch). ~Katherine
- Pretend to be tigers and chase each other
- Pretend you can’t find their hands when you’re helping them get dressed
Exploring Nature:
Stomping in muddy puddles; making the most of the weather whatever it is! ~ Lucy
- Feeding the ducks, or chasing them…
- Feed a baby goat
- Fly a kite
- Walking in the rain…
- Puddle splashing!
- Play outside in fresh snow.
The look on my little one’s face every time he was in a toboggan was priceless! ~Rhonda
- Hop over waves at the beach.
- Look for crabs in the rocks, starfish in the rock pools.
- Plant a spring flower to watch it grow.
- Pick fruit off of trees
- Watch a caterpillar become a butterfly
- Explore the forest, touching everything.
- Play ‘ look high/look low’ and see what types of creatures or plants they see.
- Run in the fields.
- Toss leaves
- Collect rocks.
A daily afternoon pram walk, so we can talk about the gardens we see, trees, the clouds, we count the buses. We just connect, get some fresh air and if I’m lucky they have a nap
~Caroline
Go Visit:
- Petting zoos
- A botanical garden
- An open gym day where your child can free play in the foam pit, the trampolines and the mats.
- A Children’s Museum
- Public library toddler reading time
- Cousins, Grandparents, and Friends!
Sensory Play
- Playdoh
- Waterbeads
- Sand castles
- Playing with rice, beans or cornmeal
- Playing with those arts and crafts poms poms
- Anything messy.
- Mud pies, mud holes, mud body paint
- WATER! In the sink with containers, in the sprinkler, in a sand and water table.
- Pour and measure – add a drop of food color for fun.
- Squeeze wet sponges.
- Walk the neighborhood with a watering can and “water” the flowers you see.
- Long baths – not just for getting clean
Songs, Rhymes and Stories
- Read books together
- Touch and feel board books
- Sing and dance
- Songs with lots of movement, like “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider”, “The Wheels on the Bus”, and “Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes.
- Have spur of the moment dance parties
My kiddo and her young friends (16-24 months) like to wiggle to music while wearing tutu’s…~Katherine
Cooking
- Pretend or real cooking
- Make goop, gak or slime
- Baking cookies or mixing pancakes together
- Bake banana muffins
- Have a Tea Party
- Decorating cookies with lots of sprinkles that go everywhere!
When my daughter was 3 she had 2 of her friends over and we made Valentine’s cookies–the floor was solid pink with sugar and sprinkles afterward! ~The Twisting Kaleidoscope
Arts and Crafts
- Finger painting
- Pudding Paint!
- Water coloring paint
- Stickers
- Sidewalk chalk scribbles
- Stamping
- Make handprint art – tracing, impressions in salt dough and paint handprints
More Play!
- Blowing and catching bubbles
- Balloons and balls -Balloon baseball!
- Bikes, Trikes and Ride-on toys
- Knobbed Puzzles
- Do “chores” with Mama and Papa
- Push baby strollers or shopping carts
- Rough and tumble play
- Build “forts” out of boxes or couch cushions!
- Make blanket tents and tunnels
And of course: Tickle, snuggle, kiss, and have lots of playful physical interaction.
I adopted my boys as 21 and 23 month old boys… they are now 5.5 I would say ANY of the suggestions here, because kids just LOVE to play and experiment, but more important was the fact that I was down on the floor with them, making eye contact, laughing, sharing, and connecting with them. ~Margaret
This is YOUR list. Thank You. Thank you for all of your beautiful ideas, your adorable examples; and thank you for inspiring me and so many other moms to enjoy parenting our toddlers!
Have anything else to add??
Edited January 2013 – in response to a couple comments as well as my own misgivings, I have renamed this post – it was called the Toddler Years Bucket List, but I have reconsidered and changed it. I can’t change the fact that there are thousands of pins on Pinterest out there with the previous name, I apologize if you saw that and it offended you.
All my best,
~Alissa
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Great list! Such a good reminder of the many fun things you can do with toddlers.
This is a wonderful list that truly values the rich normality of everyday life for very young children. They are soaking up so much from just these kinds of at home activities!
Thanks for this! My daughter will be 4 soon and I had a proud mom moment reading this because we’ve accomplished almost everything, and some things MANY times over. Great choices!!
Really enjoyed this list! Been looking for more ways to connect with my 2 year old since his baby sister was born 3 weeks ago, will definitely be doing some of these
So much fun!
very nice list….
I signed up for the newsletter, but I don’t see where I get the printable version of this list at?
No lie, As I was reading this I realized the song playing in the background of my computer is “You’re gonna miss this” by Trace Adkins
Crazy…
My daughter is almost 17 months and she loves to lay in the grass and look at the clouds. I point to some that resemble other shapes and she yells out “oh wow!” and points too. These little moments almost always end in some snuggle time before a nap, a tickle fest or lead to an investigation of what little critter crawled over her arm out of the grass.
So so sweet, thanks for sharing! Love it!
Great list! Thanks for sharing!
Great post!
I loved this and I’m so glad to see I’ve done almost everything mentioned on this list as my twins almost turn 4. While the toddler years can be certainly difficult, it sure has been full of laughter and fun too.
I used to mail little things to my much younger sister. My step-mother would get the mail and just hand her the envelope and let her rip into it. I’d also have bigger stuff delivered by UPS. She came to associate the postman and UPS delivery guys with stuff coming from the magic mail place. It was lots of fun for both of us.
In light of the horrific events in Connecticut, please re-name this blog post. It may have been tongue-in-cheek, but the true meaning of a bucket list shouldn’t be aligned with the end of toddlerhood. Thank you for your consideration.
Thanks Jennifer. That was something that crossed my mind at the time of writing it, but the term “bucket list” has become such a colloquialism that I felt it would be seen for what I meant. I’m am rethinking this morning.
I agree… I thought you were making sure your kid did all these awesome things before… Yeah. :-/
All of my grandkids loved to make “forts”. I took blankets, quilts, sheets and draped them over tables, chairs, counters and most furniture I could put together to create a multi-room cavern. We would leave it up most of the day… eat lunch (picnic), take naps, and play games in these creations. Like little rabbits in a warren…. They still talk about it and they are in their 20′s now. Funny how certain things stick with them..!!
Great lists for inspiration! Thanks!
Hi Alissa, this is SUCH a comprehensive and wonderful reminder – of the importance we parents have to actually PLAY and enjoy our little ones. I am sharing this on http://www.facebook.com/ConsciousParentingApproach, as we’re running Toddler Times and I would definitely want my fans to check out your tips!!
Thank you once again and keep up the good work – I LOVE your suggestions, always!!
Take a candle lit bath! At Halloween we light our jack-o’-lanterns in the bathroom and bathe in its glow. Literally!
That is genius!!
While exploring the forest, you may not want to touch everything. Keep an eye out for poison ivy people, you don’t want your toddler to touch it!
This list is a great reminder! Another idea: engaging in a “getting-ready” routine together (makeup, hair brushing, shaving with soap bubbles, etc.). My toddler is a girl, and she loves my makeup routine. When I put on mascara, she repeatedly says, “Eyes?!” I must then close the mascara and tap near her closed eyes to “put on” the mascara. Her favorite is the facial toner–I use the real product on myself with a cotton pad and get another one wet with water for her to rub all over her face. Her excitement and pride are totally worth the “wasted” cotton pads. She also LOVES to wear my mother-in-law’s hair curlers! It’s a bonding routine every time we visit with them.
Great post!
For some reason my son always wanted me to climb up into his ‘treehouse’ which is really the top of his wooden swing set. I finally did it one day and he absolutely loved it. It’s our special time together and he gets such a kick out of showing me all that he finds up there. I encourage moms (and dads!) to do enjoy swing sets/playgrounds once in a while. It’s therapeutic for adults also!
First of all – great list! All simple, beautiful things to share with kids. I had forgotten about kites… going to buy one tomorrow and hope to see my two-year-old’s face light up when he sees it flying in the sky! One idea to contribute… it is so simple, and my son thinks this game is hilarious. I draw eyes on our palms with washable markers… then hold our hands palm outwards (eye out) up to your own eyes. Its a little creepy looking, but it makes him laugh hysterically.
Ha! That’s a great and simple idea! Thanks.
{ 6 trackbacks }