Like most of you, we like having the option to mix things up a bit on our days off by taking a spontaneous trip to the playground or by visiting the library to checkout new books. Before the “stay at home” orders dropped, my son loved to meander through Barnes & Noble to “read” all the board books that he could get his chubby little hands on. But, now we’ve got to get extra creative with our free time.
We’ve tried some new activities at home over the past few weeks. Some have gone over really well while others have been total flops or required way too much cleanup for my liking. I’ll outline the activities below, provide reference links, and rate the activities (1-5 stars) based on ease of set-up, child engagement level, and ease of clean-up. Here we go…
Water Table
My son’s great-grandmother sent him some birthday money a few months ago so we bought him a water table
- Ease of Set-up: ✭✭✭✭✩
- Child Engagement: ✭✭✭✭✭
- Ease of Clean-up: ✭✭✭✭✩
Buckets in the Bathtub
My son loves these water buckets
- Ease of Set-up: ✭✭✭✭✭
- Child Engagement: ✭✭✭✭✭
- Ease of Clean-up: ✭✭✭✭✭
Magnetic Letters
My mom bought some magnetic letters
*Obviously, the letters are on the smaller side, so you would want to be sure that young toddlers don’t put them in their mouth.
- Ease of Set-up: ✭✭✭✭✩
- Child Engagement: ✭✭✭✭✭
- Ease of Clean-up: ✭✭✭✩✩
Outdoor Nature Walk
Spending an afternoon exploring the outdoors brings us so much joy! My son’s most recent infatuation is picking dandelions and blowing their white seed fluffs out into the air. It cracks me up every time because he tends to spit on them instead of actually blowing air. Such great entertainment!
Here’s a simple yet engaging outdoor scavenger hunt printable that you can use on the next family walk around the neighborhood:
- Ease of Set-up: ✭✭✭✭✭
- Child Engagement: ✭✭✭✭✭
- Ease of Clean-up: ✭✭✭✭✭
Colorful Sand Sensory Bin
We just mixed food coloring with Epsom salt to create this bright, colorful sand. What’s better is that we can use the “sand” over and over because it doesn’t clump together as much as real sand. The one negative of it not sticking together is that you can’t build elaborate castles out of it.
- Ease of Set-up: ✭✭✭✭✩
- Child Engagement: ✭✭✭✭✩
- Ease of Clean-up: ✭✭✭✩✩
Colorful Noodles Sensory Bin
First, we cooked the spaghetti noodles as usual. Then, we mixed the cooked noodles with food coloring and allowed them to dry overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, we put the noodles in a large bin with various spoons, scoops, and shovels. Because who wants to touch cold, slimy noodles with their hands? Not me.
- Ease of Set-up: ✭✭✩✩✩
- Child Engagement: ✭✭✭✩✩
- Ease of Clean-up: ✭✭✩✩✩
Paint with Water
Y’all, this is really as simple as it sounds. Fill a small container with water, grab a small paint brush and a few pieces of construction paper. Obviously, the water marks go away when the paper dries, but that usually doesn’t happen until after my son moves on to the next activity.
Painting with water is a great way for toddlers to practice the art of painting without all the mess and fear of covering the walls or floors in actual paint.
- Ease of Set-up: ✭✭✭✭✩
- Child Engagement: ✭✭✭✭✭
- Ease of Clean-up: ✭✭✭✭✩
Coloring Cards
Gather some construction paper and some crayons to start making fun handmade cards for friends and family. My toddler’s artwork may just be fancy scribbles at this point, but those little scribbles can definitely make someone’s day by letting them know that we are thinking about them!
- Ease of Set-up: ✭✭✭✭✩
- Child Engagement: ✭✭✭✭✩
- Ease of Clean-up: ✭✭✭✭✩
Card Container Game
We used an empty grits container (yea, we’re southern), but you could also use an empty oatmeal or drink mix container to make the card game. Just cut a slot in the lid and gather some pieces of paper or cards. Help your toddler put the cards into the container one by one–great hand-eye coordination practice!
- Ease of Set-up: ✭✭✭✩✩
- Child Engagement: ✭✭✭✭✭
- Ease of Clean-up: ✭✭✭✭✭
Sensory Bags
The squishy sensory bag craze is way more intense than I realized. There are so many creative ideas for what to include in your bags. But, I went for bag fillings that I already had on hand.
So, I filled a gallon-sized Ziploc bag with water, baby oil, food coloring, and other random colorful food items. I mixed the items together and gave the sealed bag to my 15 month old. He studied the bag for a second, but quickly lost interest. He might be a little too old for these? But, I may try another bag (with different components) soon to see if I can get him a little more excited about them!
- Ease of Set-up: ✭✭✭✭✩
- Child Engagement: ✭✩✩✩✩
- Ease of Clean-up: ✭✭✭✭✩
***Some of these activities may include small objects that could pose a risk for an infant or young toddler. Always monitor your child closely and avoid small objects that could be a choking hazard.