Sometimes it can be tough to come up with ideas to keep a toddler or pre-toddler entertained for a whole day. Especially now we are in lockdown! I know there have been days where I feel like I’ve used every idea in the book, and it’s still only 10am. So I started compiling a list of all the things I can do with Jack as a mental note to myself to check back on when I’m stuck for ideas. I figured I might as well share this with you guys as well as I know a lot of you are also in some form of lockdown or isolation currently, and hopefully it will offer some ideas for you to keep your child entertained too.
I started this list when Jack was about 12 months and he still does these activities at 21 months, so these activities can be modified for older/younger toddlers depending on their development.
I’d love to know what you do to keep your toddler entertained all day, so make sure you let me know in the comments below!
HEURISTIC OR LOOSE PART PLAY
Jack loved playing with these, especially when he was around the 1 year mark. We have a heuristic/loose part set from NavyBaby, but you can also just grab anything from around your house that’s safe for your little one to chew and play with. Things like wooden rings, pegs, wooden spoons, pieces of fabric, a hair brush, and egg cup – you name it, your little one will have fun playing with it. Try to offer a range of materials – wood, steel, fabric etc. Even nearly a year on, Jack still loves playing with these. He uses them in different ways and enjoys loading these items up in his dump truck and driving them around!
POTS/PANS/BOWLS/AND OTHER KITCHEN UTENSILS
I quite often give Jack a large stainless steel bowl, a small pot, and a couple of wooden or silicone spoons. He loves banging away on the pots and dropping his toys into the bowl to discover what sounds they make. Try this in the sink for some water play. Alternatively, add in dried rice or pasta (just make sure you are keeping a very close eye to avoid choking) and let them practise scooping and pouring. It makes a bit of a mess, but is super easy to clean up! This is fun for all ages!
SENSORY BOOKS
When Jack was younger, we loved looking at sensory books such as the “That’s Not My” and “Touch and Feel” series. Jack loves animals so we mainly bought the animal ones and he loved looking at the pictures and feeling the different textures. It’s also a good way for kids to start to recognise animals, and Jack has learned all of his main animals and the sounds they make from these books. Now he’s older, he’s loving lift-the-flap books and other interactive books. There’s different sensory books available depending on what your child is interested in.
PLAYING WITH A BALL
So simple yet so fun, and it teaches young children co-ordination and the ability to predict what will happen. When Jack was younger, we would simply sit opposite each other and roll the ball to each other. When we first started doing this, Jack had no way to get the ball back to me, but now he races after the ball and comes running back to me with it, or throws it back himself. He’s also learning how to stop and kick the ball too. This has really developed his co-ordination!
MUSIC CLASS
We have a few different musical instruments that we will get out and play. Jack has a xylophone, a drum, maracas, and a tambourine and he loves making all the different sounds. All of these are great for assisting with rhythm and musical ability, plus it’s super fun. Jack loves to dance while I play the drum and runs around yelling “daaaaanccceee”
TRIP TO THE PARK
Getting out of the house is always a good idea, and the park is fun for toddlers, no matter their stage of development. A play on the swing, or a run around if they are walking, is a great way to get some fresh air and helps to break up a day at home. If you don’t have a park nearby, even just a trip to the duck pond, the local river, or even just sitting on the grass outside watching the cars go by is a fun and free outing. Obviously while we are in lockdown, check your rules around playgrounds – many are closed!
INDOOR PICNIC
A great one for a wet day is to grab a rug, pop it on the floor, grab some animal friends, and have a picnic for afternoon tea. It makes a nice change to eating the snacks in the highchair or at the table.
BOWLING
This one is sort of for slightly older and more co-ordianted toddlers, but I think younger toddlers benefit from trying and watching. Simply set up a few old toilet rolls (or halved wrap rolls), and get a ball and try and knock the rolls down. Jack loves this, and if he is sitting close enough he can knock some of them down. It’s great for co-ordination and cause and effect.
PEEK-A-BOO
Even at 21 months, Jack loves hiding under blankets, so peek-a-boo is one of his favourite games. I’ll either put a light blanket over his head and he will pull it off, or I’ll put one over mine and he runs over and pulls it off for me. This ends up in fits of laughter and it’s a game that’s sure to cheer him up if he is having a bit of an off day. It’s a good way to help younger children learn to take blankets off, and it also reinforces their memory.
ANIMAL SPOTTING
We don’t have any pets, so animals are a huge novelty to Jack. We are lucky to live close to a farm so we will head down to look at the sheep, cows and horses. Jack also loves looking out the window at the birds. I explain to him what each animal is and what noise it makes and he knows all his animal noises and loves making the noises back.
COLOURING/DRAWING
This is for slightly older toddlers, but even 1 year olds enjoy trying to scribble on a piece of paper. Jack has been drawing since about 14 months and he loves getting a pencil or a crayon and having a scribble. Of course its important to watch them as they are colouring, but it’s a fun activity to do together! For older toddlers, Google colouring pages and print some off and make your own colouring books!
WALKING PRACTISE/EXERCISE
This one was one we used to do a lot when Jack was learning to walk around the 12 month mark. We would walk up and down the hallway, and when he got more confident, we’d go up and down the street. We still take him for walks around the place, and Jack happily walks for 20-30 minutes now. I always try and get him out of the pram as much as I can when we are on walks and when we are in town as I think it’s really important to encourage walking and independence!
STORY TIME
Cuddling on the sofa and reading books is one of my favourite things to do with Jack. He gets so excited looking through all the books and it’s a great way to expand his language skills. We also love looking at ABC books, and this has been a huge part of him learning so many words so young. At 21 months he understands hundreds and hundreds of words and has a huge vocabulary for his age. I put a huge part of this down to the number of books we read!
TOWER BUILDING
Pretty sure every child loves knocking down a tower. We can spend ages building up the tower and then Jack loves knocking it over. As he’s gotten older he likes to help build the tower by placing blocks or cups on top of each other, and the towers are now getting larger and more intricate. This is great for learning co-ordination, and cause and effect. Duplo and MegaBlocks are hugely popular in our house now, and when Jack was younger he loved stacking cups.
PUZZLES
This one is for the slightly older toddlers, but puzzles are a great way to reinforce memory and shapes. Jack has a number of puzzles that he loves to do and the more he practises, the better he gets. We started doing puzzles at around 12 months and now at 21 months he completes many of them with ease. I need to get him some new ones!
